Secret Service: The Sunday Times top ten bestseller

Tom Bradby

May 2019 · Random House

About this eBook

'A gripping thriller' Sunday Times
'Imaginative and unexpected' The Times
'A cracking, uber-topical spy thriller' Financial Times
'Enthralling and fast-moving... the stuff headlines are made of' Daily Mail
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The world is on the brink of crisis.
The Cold War is playing out once more on the global stage.
The Worlds' 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.

Up against the clock to uncover the Russian mole, Kate risks everything to get to the truth. But with her reputation to uphold, her family hanging by a thread and a leadership election looming, she is quickly running out of options, and out of time.

Secret Service is a fresh-from-the-headlines thriller for fans of Homeland, Crisis and The Bodyguard.

The next two thrilling instalments in the Kate Henderson series, DOUBLE AGENT and TRIPLE CROSS, are available now.

Ratings and reviews

An exemplary read! Thrilling, exciting, gripping ... and all the more scary because it's totally realistic in today's world. Kate Henderson is similar to thousands of other working mothers; she juggles childcare with her husband Stuart and often deals with office issues during her off-the-clock hours and vice-versa. However, Kate's job is a bit different to most of us; she is a senior MI6 officer and often has to travel far and wide at a moment's notice. When intelligence sourced by Kate's team turns out to be true, it appears that they have not only someone in government with leanings towards Russia but also a mole in their own building which racks ups the responsibility and the tension both at work and at home. This is an absorbing and awe-inspiring read! I was riveted from first to last, reading it all in a day - well, in all honesty there was no way I could fall asleep last evening without knowing how it was all going to play out. We are all well aware that there are dirty dealings behind closed government doors and this is an entirely believable scenario with powerful characters and a page-turning narrative. Tom Bradby creates an original, observant and highly memorable novel which I have relished and it certainly puts him on my 'must-read' list of authors. I cannot recommend this one highly enough - it's a well-paced, unforgettable and wholly unpredictable read, earning a full five shiny golden stars!

Upon reading the book description, I knew I had to read SECRET SERVICE, and the prologue confirmed I had made the right decision; it was exactly the sort of book I was hoping for. It's almost impossible to say anything about the superb plot without giving away spoilers, so I won't. Kate Henderson is a spy and chief of MI6's Russia Desk, she is married to Stuart, a civil servant; they have two teenage children. When the Prime Minister resigns for health reasons, all hell breaks loose: Kate learns that one of the candidates is backed by the Russians, and there is a traitor in the house. At first, I wasn't too sure I liked that there was so much emphasis on Kate's family life, but in the end, it was for the best, as it gives Kate more depth, more dimension, more challenges than a typical lone wolf agent. In the beginning, I also wondered if the book was part of a series, as some information seemed to be missing. It was not the case, we are told everything in due time, and in fact, it prevented info dumping. Kate is unlike any other spy I had ever seen, yet SECRET SERVICE is very much like the glorious spy stories of old. Tom Bradby writes in a polished, refined style that flows easily, with crisp descriptions giving an overall clear picture of the characters, their work environment, and the various locations. The pace remains steady throughout while allowing for the tension to build naturally. Mr Bradby achieves a perfect balance of adrenaline-fuelled action and the more sedate sides of espionage: watching, planning, and digging for information. There is never any respite, as there is always something going on. SECRET SERVICE kept me guessing all the way through. I think I must have suspected everyone at least once of being the traitor. Yes, everyone! The characters are exceptionally well drawn, and I connected with all of them, the good and the bad. At 96%, I still didn't know who was Viper - the mole! It was the person I had first suspected, but I just didn't know for sure! I wish I could say more about my favourite characters, but in true British fashion, Mr Bradby treats us to positively shocking plot twists, where the unfathomable happens and no one is safe. I was stunned a few times, and I admire an author who dares to be so bold. It gives the narrative so much more authenticity, and raises the excitement level tenfold. If you enjoy a flawlessly executed classic British espionage novel, SECRET SERVICE is a book you do not want to miss!

Kate Henderson is a senior MI6 officer running the Russia desk, when one of her undercover operations turns up evidence that a UK MP is in fact a high level Russian informer, however his identity is unknown and there is a leadership election looming! Kate must put both her private and professional life at stake in order to investigate this terrible state of affairs. This was the first Tom Bradby novel I had read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. He keeps his plot moving fast and the reader is kept on the edge of their seat. Perfect for fans of Frederick Forsyth and Gerald Seymour.

About the author

Tom Bradby is a foreign correspondent for the British television network ITN. He has spent the last eight years covering British and American politics, as well as conflicts in China, Ireland, Kosovo and Indonesia. He now lives in London with his wife and three children.