Triple Cross: The unputdownable, race-against-time thriller from the Sunday Times bestselling author of Secret Service

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Triple Cross opens with Kate retired from MI6 and trying to rebuild her shattered life, following the events in Double Agent, in the South of France. The pleasure of time with her family, however, is shattered by the arrival of the British Prime Minister and a request to re-enter the fray to determine once and for all, whether there is really a Russian mole, known as ‘Agent Dante’, at the heart of British Intelligence. Kate reluctantly accepts the task, for good reasons related to the earlier books, and finds herself commencing a dangerous investigation, which no one wants to succeed. Attempting to rebuild her shattered life in the South of France, former MI6 operative Kate Henderson receives an unexpected and most unwelcome visit from an old adversary: the UK Prime Minister. He has an extraordinary story to tell – and he needs her help. The identity of the mole also doesn't make any sense whatsoever, as it contradicts many clues that were given in books one and two, not to mention that the reasons given for that betrayal were not only weak, but also unconvincing and downright stupid. Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Transworld Publishers for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes. Trying to preserve what little progress has been made with her family, off Kate goes. Everything seems to be falling into place for her, pushing her in certain directions, a little too neatly. Is she being set up to reach a false conclusion? Is she being set up to take the fall as a Russian mole? Can she play the Russians into letting her husband go? Kate has a lot of masters, a lot of information, and she's playing several dangerous games at once, as she tries to close this chapter once and for all.

Bradby’s portrayal of squabbling Whitehall folk continues to be intriguing and distinctive (and piquantly naughty, coming as it does from ITV’s chief anchorman).”— Sunday Times (UK), on Double AgentThese are spy novels we traditionally love to read. Fast-paced, contemporary and bringing an immediate and constant threat of danger to the principle characters. The recurring theme is that the British Prime Minister might be a Russian spy and that there may be a high level mole in the U.K. intelligence service. In the year 1994, he married Claudia, Vice-Admiral Hon. Sir Nicholas Hill-Norton’s daughter. The couple have three children. While he starts peering through the glittering surface and into the murky depths underneath, Field glimpses a world beyond the glamour of the expatriate life in the city. A world where it all has its price, and human life is just another asset to barter. The plot is to find the mole or is it a rat the twist

On the downside, it could be argued that some of the scene-setting and descriptions were over-long, but it all added flavour and gave the reader an opportunity to draw breath. The ending was tense whilst not being over-dramatic and it was also totally logical and well planned. Many of the loose ends were tied up satisfactorily and “Triple Cross” is, therefore, a worthy conclusion to an interesting trilogy that is a worthwhile read. From 2005 until 2015, he was the political editor for ITV News, and presents the political discussion series The Agenda with Tom Bradby and the News at Ten.When the PM approaches her with a special assignment outside the powers and influence of the secret service she is conflicted but believes she can redeem the situation. The damaged PM needs his name to be finally exonerated and who better than by his biggest critic who was /(is) Kate. For Richard Field, it represents a brave new world far away from the past that he is trying to escape from. Seconded to police force, his first moment in active duty is a brutal crime scene. Lena Orlov, a young White Russian woman, lies on her bed spreadeagled, having been sadistically murdered. Triple Cross is probably a more considered spy novel than its predecessors and there is a lot of to-ing and fro-ing about the mole’s identity and whether there is even a mole. The book, however, steadily builds in suspense, with some well-written and suspenseful set-pieces, and a terrific chase climax, which is as exciting as anything I have read in recent years. The final revelation of the truth behind ‘Agent Dante’ is well worked out and reasonably surprising, although there are clues in the final stages.

Kate has left her role at MI6 under somewhat of a cloud and is trying to rebuild her life in France where she is living with her two children, with whom she needs to reconnect. Everything she had in life has been turned upside down including losing her husband from whom she is now separated. Therefore, the last thing she wants is for the British Prime Minister to turn up unannounced on her doorstep. His reputation is at stake, largely due to Kate’s investigations in the previous novel in the series and he has come with an unbelievable story which he asks her to investigate. If true, it will clear his name and hopefully uncover a mole (Dante) who allegedly holds a senior position in the echelons of MI6. Against her better judgement and with a lot of bribery and arm-twisting, Kate accepts the challenges and leaves her children to work with her old team on an independent investigation sanctioned by the PM himself. As I wrote previously these books are closer to George Smiley’s world to that of James Bond. There is still plenty of action along with the kind of twists and revelations that are integral to well written espionage fiction. Overall, then, I have to say this: I will be sad to see Kate Henderson go. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading her journey as a human and as a spy trying to uncover the truth of a massive Russian disinformation campaign, but Triple Cross is Tom Bradby at his best: pushing down on the action accelerator while peppering the journey with enough sentimentality and plot twists to carry the reader along with him. A Russian agent has come forward with news that the PM has been the victim of the greatest misinformation play in the history of MI6. It's run out of a special KGB unit that exists for one purpose to process the intelligence from 'Agent Dante', a mole right at the heart of MI6 in London. Kate Henderson has left MI6 and is attempting to rebuild her life in the south of France with her children, Fiona, and Gus, who are hoping to see her reunite with their father Stuart. A visit from the British Prime Minister changes her plans.

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

The best book on the northern conflict since Harry's Game...An excellent read on any level. It scores heavily as a thriller and as an accurate unblinking look at what is happening right now' I have enjoyed this trilogy very much. It is tightly plotted with Kate Henderson continuing to be a strong lead. All three novels have been five-star reads for me.