
Illegal Action
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $18.00
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Rosalyn Landor
-
By:
-
Stella Rimington
About this listen
Liz has been transferred to counter-espionage - the hub of MI5 operations during the Cold War, which has been scaled back as anti-terrorism has gained priority. But there’s plenty for her to do: there are more spies operating in London in the 21st century than there were during the height of East-West hostilities. Even the Russians still have a large contingent, although now they spy on the international financial community and on the wealthy ex-pat oligarchs who make England their domain.
In her new assignment, Liz quickly uncovers a plot to silence one of these Russians: Nikita Brunovsky, an increasingly vocal opponent of Vladimir Putin. The Foreign Office is adamant about forestalling a crime that could become a full-blown international incident, but there’s not a single clue as to how the assassination will be carried out - and Liz is solely responsible for averting disaster. So she goes undercover, attaching herself to Brunovsky’s retinue: racing against the clock to determine who betrayed him and suddenly facing a wholly unexpected second task - unmasking a Russian operative working undercover alongside her.
Dame Stella has once again distilled her experience as the first woman Director General of MI5 into a spy novel of arresting psychological complexity and unflagging suspense.
©2007 Stella Rimington (P)2008 Books on TapeListeners also enjoyed...
-
At Risk
- By: Stella Rimington
- Narrated by: Jennifer McMahon
- Length: 11 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An “invisible” is CIA-speak for the ultimate intelligence nightmare: The terrorist who, because he or she is an ethnic native of the target country, can cross its borders unchecked, move around that country unquestioned, and infiltrate its institutions with ease. An invisible on mainland Britain was the worst possible news. For Liz Carlyle, an MI5 Intelligence Officer, this report from MI6 marks the start of an operation that will test her to the limit and put her own life in jeopardy.
-
-
Gripping - Excellent Narration
- By Simon on 06-12-12
By: Stella Rimington
-
The Secret Hours
- By: Mick Herron
- Narrated by: Gerard Doyle
- Length: 12 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Two years ago, a hostile Prime Minister launched the Monochrome inquiry, investigating "historical over-reaching" by the British Secret Service “to investigate historical over-reaching.” Monochrome’s mission was to ferret out any hint of misconduct by any MI5 officer—and allowed Griselda Fleet and Malcolm Kyle, the two civil servants seconded to the project, unfettered access to any and all confidential information in the Service archives in order to do so. But MI5’s formidable First Desk did not become Britain’s top spy by accident, and she has successfully thwarted the inquiry at every turn.
-
-
Just about perfect
- By June Lapidow on 09-28-23
By: Mick Herron
-
Standing by the Wall
- The Collected Slough House Novellas
- By: Mick Herron
- Narrated by: Gerard Doyle
- Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Espionage. Blackmail. Revenge. Cunning. Slapstick. State secrets dating back to the fall of the Berlin Wall. All this and more in a tight package of five novellas by Mick Herron, CWA Gold Dagger-winning author of Slow Horses.
-
-
More Please
- By Katy on 01-27-23
By: Mick Herron
-
An Accidental Death
- A DC Smith Investigation Series, Book 1
- By: Peter Grainger
- Narrated by: Gildart Jackson
- Length: 6 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The story opens with the apparently accidental drowning of a sixth form student in the Norfolk countryside. As a matter of routine, or so it seems, the case passes across the desk of Detective Sergeant Smith, recently returned to work after an internal investigation into another case that has led to tensions between officers at Kings Lake police headquarters. As an ex-DCI, Smith could have retired by now, and it is clear that some of his superiors wish that he would do so.
-
-
Excellent British Mystery
- By Customer on 09-07-16
By: Peter Grainger
-
Red Sparrow
- A Novel
- By: Jason Matthews
- Narrated by: Jeremy Bobb
- Length: 17 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Drafted against her will to become a "Sparrow" - a trained seductress in the service, Russian intelligence officer Dominika Egorova is assigned to operate against Nathaniel Nash, a first-tour CIA officer who handles the CIA's most sensitive penetration of Russian intelligence. The two young intelligence officers, trained in their respective spy schools, collide in a charged atmosphere of tradecraft, deception, and inevitably, a forbidden spiral of carnal attraction that threatens their careers and the security of America's valuable mole in Moscow.
-
-
Sexy Saucy Spies
- By Mel on 06-13-13
By: Jason Matthews
-
A Winter Grave
- By: Peter May
- Narrated by: Peter Forbes
- Length: 9 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A young meteorologist checking a mountain top weather station in Kinlochleven discovers the body of a missing man entombed in ice. Cameron Brodie, a Glasgow detective, sets out on a hazardous journey to the isolated and ice-bound village. He has his own reasons for wanting to investigate a murder case so far from his beat. Brodie must face up to the ghosts of his past and to a killer determined to bury forever the chilling secret that his investigation threatens to expose.
-
-
Futuristic stories not my thinh
- By LouA on 03-28-23
By: Peter May
-
At Risk
- By: Stella Rimington
- Narrated by: Jennifer McMahon
- Length: 11 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An “invisible” is CIA-speak for the ultimate intelligence nightmare: The terrorist who, because he or she is an ethnic native of the target country, can cross its borders unchecked, move around that country unquestioned, and infiltrate its institutions with ease. An invisible on mainland Britain was the worst possible news. For Liz Carlyle, an MI5 Intelligence Officer, this report from MI6 marks the start of an operation that will test her to the limit and put her own life in jeopardy.
-
-
Gripping - Excellent Narration
- By Simon on 06-12-12
By: Stella Rimington
-
The Secret Hours
- By: Mick Herron
- Narrated by: Gerard Doyle
- Length: 12 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Two years ago, a hostile Prime Minister launched the Monochrome inquiry, investigating "historical over-reaching" by the British Secret Service “to investigate historical over-reaching.” Monochrome’s mission was to ferret out any hint of misconduct by any MI5 officer—and allowed Griselda Fleet and Malcolm Kyle, the two civil servants seconded to the project, unfettered access to any and all confidential information in the Service archives in order to do so. But MI5’s formidable First Desk did not become Britain’s top spy by accident, and she has successfully thwarted the inquiry at every turn.
-
-
Just about perfect
- By June Lapidow on 09-28-23
By: Mick Herron
-
Standing by the Wall
- The Collected Slough House Novellas
- By: Mick Herron
- Narrated by: Gerard Doyle
- Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Espionage. Blackmail. Revenge. Cunning. Slapstick. State secrets dating back to the fall of the Berlin Wall. All this and more in a tight package of five novellas by Mick Herron, CWA Gold Dagger-winning author of Slow Horses.
-
-
More Please
- By Katy on 01-27-23
By: Mick Herron
-
An Accidental Death
- A DC Smith Investigation Series, Book 1
- By: Peter Grainger
- Narrated by: Gildart Jackson
- Length: 6 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The story opens with the apparently accidental drowning of a sixth form student in the Norfolk countryside. As a matter of routine, or so it seems, the case passes across the desk of Detective Sergeant Smith, recently returned to work after an internal investigation into another case that has led to tensions between officers at Kings Lake police headquarters. As an ex-DCI, Smith could have retired by now, and it is clear that some of his superiors wish that he would do so.
-
-
Excellent British Mystery
- By Customer on 09-07-16
By: Peter Grainger
-
Red Sparrow
- A Novel
- By: Jason Matthews
- Narrated by: Jeremy Bobb
- Length: 17 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Drafted against her will to become a "Sparrow" - a trained seductress in the service, Russian intelligence officer Dominika Egorova is assigned to operate against Nathaniel Nash, a first-tour CIA officer who handles the CIA's most sensitive penetration of Russian intelligence. The two young intelligence officers, trained in their respective spy schools, collide in a charged atmosphere of tradecraft, deception, and inevitably, a forbidden spiral of carnal attraction that threatens their careers and the security of America's valuable mole in Moscow.
-
-
Sexy Saucy Spies
- By Mel on 06-13-13
By: Jason Matthews
-
A Winter Grave
- By: Peter May
- Narrated by: Peter Forbes
- Length: 9 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A young meteorologist checking a mountain top weather station in Kinlochleven discovers the body of a missing man entombed in ice. Cameron Brodie, a Glasgow detective, sets out on a hazardous journey to the isolated and ice-bound village. He has his own reasons for wanting to investigate a murder case so far from his beat. Brodie must face up to the ghosts of his past and to a killer determined to bury forever the chilling secret that his investigation threatens to expose.
-
-
Futuristic stories not my thinh
- By LouA on 03-28-23
By: Peter May
-
The Kill Artist
- By: Daniel Silva
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 11 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After the assassination of his wife and son, Gabriel Allon retires from his brutal anti-terrorist career and loses himself in his previous cover job: art restoration. But when Tariq al-Hourani, the Palestinian terrorist responsible for his family’s death, begins a killing spree designed to destroy Middle East peace talks, Gabriel once again slips into the shadowy world of international intrigue. In a global game of hide-and-seek, the motives of Gabriel and Tariq soon become more personal than political.
-
-
Reluctant Assassin
- By Snoodely on 10-30-13
By: Daniel Silva
-
A Foreign Country
- By: Charles Cumming
- Narrated by: Jot Davies
- Length: 9 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On the vacation of a lifetime in Egypt, an elderly French couple are brutally murdered. Days later, a meticulously planned kidnapping takes place on the streets of Paris. Amelia Levene, the first female Chief of MI6, has disappeared without a trace, six weeks before she is due to take over as the most influential spy in Europe. It is the gravest crisis MI6 has faced in more than a decade. Desperate not only to find her, but to keep her disappearance a secret, Britain’s top intelligence agents turn to one of their own: disgraced MI6 officer Thomas Kell.
-
-
Worth listening
- By zoe catsiff on 01-13-13
By: Charles Cumming
-
Damascus Station
- A Novel
- By: David McCloskey
- Narrated by: Andrew B. Wehrlen
- Length: 12 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
CIA Case Officer Sam Joseph is dispatched to Paris to recruit Syrian Palace official Mariam Haddad. The two fall into a forbidden relationship, which supercharges Haddad's recruitment and creates unspeakable danger when they enter Damascus to find the man responsible for the disappearance of an American spy. But the cat-and-mouse chase for the killer soon leads to a trail of high-profile assassinations and the discovery of a dark secret at the heart of the Syrian regime.
-
-
The Performance !
- By Allenby on 01-02-22
By: David McCloskey
-
Eye of the Needle
- A Novel
- By: Ken Follett
- Narrated by: Samuel West
- Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
His code name was “The Needle.” He was a German aristocrat of extraordinary intelligence - a master spy with a legacy of violence in his blood, and the object of the most desperate manhunt in history.... But his fate lay in the hands of a young and vulnerable English woman, whose loyalty, if swayed, would assure his freedom - and win the war for the Nazis....
-
-
All-time great thriller, great reader, great idea
- By Glenn Hopp on 03-14-21
By: Ken Follett
-
The Ultimatum
- The Guardian, Book 1
- By: Karen Robards
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan
- Length: 9 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Growing up, Bianca St. Ives knew she was different from all her friends. Instead of playing hopscotch or combing her dolls' hair, she studied martial arts with sensei masters and dismantled explosives with special-ops retirees. Her father prepped her well to carry on the family business. Now a striking beauty with fierce skills, the prodigy has surpassed the master.
-
-
Cliffhanger!!!
- By Jan M on 03-25-18
By: Karen Robards
-
Evans Above
- By: Rhys Bowen
- Narrated by: Roger Clark
- Length: 6 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Evan Evans is a young police constable who has traded in the violence of city life for idyllic Llanfair, a Welsh village tucked far away from trouble. Nestled among the Snowdonia mountain range, Llanfair looks to Constable Evans like a town forgotten by time, but he quickly learns that even the bucolic countryside has its share of eccentric - and deadly - characters.
-
-
Interesting....
- By brian on 01-22-17
By: Rhys Bowen
-
The Keeper of Lost Causes
- Department Q, Book 1
- By: Jussi Adler-Olsen
- Narrated by: Erik Davies
- Length: 15 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Carl Mørck used to be one of Denmark’s best homicide detectives. Then a hail of bullets destroyed the lives of two fellow cops, and Carl - who didn’t draw his weapon - blames himself. So a promotion is the last thing he expects. But Department Q is a department of one, and Carl’s got only a stack of cold cases for company. His colleagues snicker, but Carl may have the last laugh, because one file keeps nagging at him: A liberal politician vanished five years earlier and is presumed dead. But she isn’t dead...yet.
-
-
Dark, Cold, and Danish
- By Ted on 11-28-12
-
Red Widow
- By: Alma Katsu
- Narrated by: Mozhan Marnò
- Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lyndsey was once a top handler in the Moscow Field Station, where she was known as the "human lie detector" and praised for recruiting some of the most senior Russian officials. But now, three Russian assets have been exposed - including one of her own - and the CIA is convinced there's a mole in the department. With years of work in question and lives on the line, Lyndsey is thrown back into life at the agency, this time tracing the steps of those closest to her.
-
-
Somewhat disappointed- no spoilers
- By Stephen on 04-04-21
By: Alma Katsu
-
Bruno, Chief of Police
- By: Martin Walker
- Narrated by: Robert Ian MacKenzie
- Length: 8 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bruno is a former soldier who has embraced the pleasures and slow rhythms of country life - living in his restored shepherd's cottage; patronizing the weekly market; sparring with, and basically ignoring, the European Union bureaucrats from Brussels. He has a gun but never wears it; he has the power to arrest but never uses it. But then the murder of an elderly North African who fought in the French army changes everything and galvanizes Bruno's attention.
-
-
Amazing!
- By J. Lindsey on 06-11-16
By: Martin Walker
-
Agent in Berlin
- The Wolf Pack Spies 1
- By: Alex Gerlis
- Narrated by: Duncan Galloway
- Length: 11 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
To live among wolves, first you must become one… An unmissable new spy thriller from best-selling master of the genre, Alex Gerlis. War is coming to Europe. British spymaster Barnaby Allen begins recruiting a network of agents in Germany. With diplomatic relations quickly unravelling, this pack of spies soon comes into their own: the horse-loving German at home in Berlin's underground; the young American sports journalist; the mysterious Luftwaffe officer; the Japanese diplomat and the most unlikely one of all... the SS officer's wife.
-
-
I Love WWII Spy Novels…But
- By Gary L. Richardson on 03-29-22
By: Alex Gerlis
-
Secret Service
- By: Tom Bradby
- Narrated by: Juliet Aubrey
- Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The world is on the brink of crisis. The Cold War is playing out once more on the global stage. And governments will do whatever it takes to stay at the top. To those who don't really know her, Kate Henderson's life must seem perfectly ordinary. But she is in fact a senior MI6 officer, who right now is nursing the political equivalent of a nuclear bomb. Kate's most recent mission has yielded the startling intelligence that the British Prime Minister has cancer - and that one of the leading candidates to replace him may be a Russian agent of influence.
-
-
don't understand most of it
- By Sonja Alper on 03-23-22
By: Tom Bradby
-
The Trinity Six
- By: Charles Cumming
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
London, 1992. Late one night, Edward Crane, 76, is declared dead at a London hospital. An obituary describes him only as a 'resourceful career diplomat'. But Crane was much more than that—and the circumstances surrounding his death are far from what they seem. Fifteen years later, academic Sam Gaddis needs money. When a journalist friend asks for his help researching a possible sixth member of the notorious Trinity spy ring, Gaddis knows that she's onto a story that could turn his fortunes around. But within hours the journalist is dead, apparently from a heart attack.
-
-
Fun exciting intrigues perfectly narrated.
- By Ramon on 03-17-11
By: Charles Cumming
What listeners say about Illegal Action
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- A. A. Baldwin
- 05-01-15
More fun with Liz
Another interesting thriller from Stella Rimington. In this one Liz has moved jobs to another section but many of the same work colleagues remain in her sphere. This one has Russian and Irish connections. Fascinating and complex.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Michelle
- 06-14-17
illegal action
There were to many names with frivolous story lines. the only thing that kept me listening was brilliant performance of Roslyn Landor. The story was lame and uninteresting.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
- Doug
- 03-17-09
Dissapointing
The beginning and middle were OK. Narration was good. The main character and story started with a lot of promise but turned into a real "eye-roller" at the end. Things became very illogical and contrived. If the British secret agents and their supporting teams were this stupid in real life, the UK would be in big trouble!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- istadevata
- 05-31-21
Good grief! How does this book have over 4 stars?!
For someone who is put forth as a sharp-minded, insightful, no-nonsense government agent, Liz Carlyle -- in this book at least -- is astoundingly thick, obtuse, lacking in common sense and devoid of the most rudimentary of investigative and agent-like skills. And i found myself very disappointed, since the story and characters are interesting enough that this could have been a really enjoyable novel. There's only so much incredulous head-shaking, willing-suspension-of-disbelief i can do before my head just snaps off!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- W
- 09-06-15
Very disappointed
This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?
I don't really know. Things moved at a snail's pace; too many characters were introduced too quickly; supposed main character was not the focus; conversations between characters were boring and recounted in too much detail. I kept waiting for it to pick up. A lot like waiting for paint to dry. Avoid. I've had to stop listening. Couldn't take it any more and fell like I wasted my credit.
What do you think your next listen will be?
I would like to say another espionage novel but after this one I feel wary.
How could the performance have been better?
I found the different voices the actor affected just too off-putting; too unnatural. Like nails on chalkboard. She should have chosen more subdued voices and not felt the need to differentiate the characters so dramatically through accent and voice.
You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?
Not so much. The one thing I'd say is that it is probably based in real knowledge of the spy trade given whom the author is -- but that's not enough to sustain a reader.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!