I love Tom Bradby as a writer, his novels are really exciting and realistic...and yet this one falls slightly short of the last novel.

Double Agent is a follow on to Secret Service. The story picks up right where the last one finished off. Kate is in Venice letting her children visit her ex husband who was revealed in the last book to be a Russian spy. While she is waiting for them to be delivered back to her she is taken by Mikhail, a senior agent in the SVR. He promises to give Kate and MI6 evidence that the British Prime Minister is a Russian spy - he has evidence in the form of a sex video and a list of payments made, in exchange for his and his fathers defection to the UK. Back in the UK with her family she returns to work and reveals to her bosses what Mikhail has said - yet the Foreign Secretary wants more conclusive proof before she is prepared to sign off on the deal. Kate sets about finding evidence that will satisfy her bosses yet at every turn the Russians seem to be one step ahead, her daughter is giving her trouble, her ex husband wants to reconcile and Kate herself is struggling with insomnia and depression.

This isn't as thrilling a read as Secret Service but it is still a good book and I did enjoy it. I was a little bit put off by the ending that felt a little rushed but all in all it was a great read.

Thanks to Netgalley and the Publishers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wasn’t sure what to expect when offered this book as an ARC. Not read many spy books but l really got into the book. Loved the characters and the flow of the book. Will now read the previous book by Tom Bradby. A great read would thoroughly recommend.

How to publish a successful novel? Choose a celebrity – tick. Choose a popular theme: spy thriller with a mole – tick. What can go wrong?

Tom Brady is a successful newscaster, journalist, author and generally nice guy. He has intimate knowledge of politicians and royalty so the intrigue, immoral behaviour and scandals described in the novel may have a hint of truth!

The espionage and political shenanigans provide the basis of an enjoyable read. The twists and turns in this thriller lead to a pulsating climax.

Kate is a UK spy trying to land a senior Russian spy who wishes to defect. He has allegedly knowledge of the PM’s deviant sexual behaviour and financial evidence of bribes received from his Russian masters. In the background there is a mole leaking information to the Russians. Kate’s husband was believed to be the original culprit but he is now resident in Moscow. But could there be another mole at a senior level?

The espionage and political manouvres are excellent. However, Kate’s personal backstory with her dysfunctional family lacks credibility. It feels like padding at times. Shame as the story is otherwise very entertaining.

Double Agent
When Kate Henderson takes her children to meet their father in Venice, she doesn’t expect to be kidnapped by Russians and taken to meet adversary Michael Borodin. His request surprises her - asylum in the UK for him and his family. But as Kate struggles to decide if his story is genuine, she faces battles on a more personal level. Is there still a traitor within MI6 who will betray her plans or is the whole thing a KGB ploy?

The sequel to Secret Service, Tom Bradbury has once again come up with an action packed thriller. There were moments of confusion for me, especially as the story neared its climax, but overall it’s a good story, moving from Venice to Finland, from Moscow to Tbilisi. I couldn’t work out who’s side Suzy was supposed to be on, and I’m hoping there’s another instalment coming to clarify the Prime Minister’s involvement in all of this, as I feel the story has more to give. Very enjoyable book.

Author Tom Bradby is a respected novelist, screenwriter and journalist, and has a regular slot as a news reader at ITN here in the UK. Double Agent is his follow up to the highly addictive and intelligent international spy thriller, Secret Service, although it could be read as a stand-alone.

MI6 senior intelligence officer Kate Henderson’s work life balance has hit the buffers since we last met up with her in Secret Service. She wants to spend some time with her children Fiona and Gus, and arranges to take them for a weekend in Venice, which also allows them to meet up with their father, who was previously outed as a Russian spy, and banished from the UK, and after defecting to Russia, he now resides in Moscow in a run down high rise apartment block where his life has definitely taken a turn for the worse.

Whilst the children spend time with their father, Kate takes a stroll around Venice and is temporarily kidnapped by a would be Russian defector, who offers her many secrets, including a sex videotape purporting to be that of the British Prime Minister, in return for sanctuary in the UK.

From here on in, the action never stops, the characters are all utterly believable, the storyline is full of twists and turns, so much so, that a bookmark is rendered unnecessary, as the pages literally fly by. Unmissable!

A spy story with a human touch. I really enjoyed it and was please to have the story from Secret Service continued but felt that you did need to read the first book in the series to really understand what was going on.
A great read which made me want to pick it up and continue but didn't want it to finish!
It certainly made me wonder how the spying world really works.
Thoroughly recommended.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a real page turner. I think you really needed to have read the first book in the series and it would not have been nearly as enjoyable as a stand alone story. As it was it was good to revisit the characters and meet some new ones. The main character, Kate, does seem to have had a hard time and I did wonder how realistic it really was that she would have operated in the way that she did. This did not, however, detract from my enjoyment.
I was a little disappointed in the end and assume there is going to be a third book. I shall look forward to that.very much.

If you are new to Tom Bradby and his novel Double Agent, you're in for a treat, a double treat. I say this because I would recommend you first read Secret Service as his latest offering is a sequel. The novel continues with the possibility that the Prime Minister may be working for the Russians. Allegedly filmed in a honey trap and subsequently funded by large tranches of cash in offshore accounts, the Intelligence Services wonder who is setting up whom. Fast moving and gripping with some great characters, I found it hard to put down. The ending gave me cause to question so much I am in danger of an over-thinking implosion.

MI6 officer Kate Henderson returns in Double Agent the follow up to Secret Agent by Tom Bradby and it is an enjoyable spy thriller with a number of twists and turns as you would expect from this genre.

Whilst Double Agent can be read as a stand-alone novel it will make more sense to a reader to have read the previous book

The story moves along at a reasonable pace although the ending did feel a little rushed.

Overall the book was enjoyable and one I would recommend

This is a rollercoaster of a story which follows up the next dramatic episodes in Kate Henderson's career in the intelligence services. If you like conspiracy theories and believe that very few things in politics should be taken at face value then you'll love this political thriller. If you can, read Secret Service first to get the back story but it's not essential.

It kicks off with MI6 and MI5 interfering in each other's work, a huge scandal which threatens to engulf the government, the establishment and the Prime Minister and Kate trying to cope without her husband who has defected to Moscow and relate to her challenging adolescent children who, by and large, blame her for his absence.

Reviewing the previous novel, I commented on Kate's ability to turn up anywhere around the globe fresh as a daisy and ready to work but, in this story, she's anything but that. She can't sleep, she has anxiety attacks, she is seeing a psychiatrist and it's possible that the previous case she believed to be resolved was actually another example of smoke and mirrors. Meanwhile, the head of the service is coping with a wife who is close to death, the team are up to all sorts of sexual shenanigans, the two halves of the intelligence services are spying on one another and the Prime Minister may, or may not, be a Russian agent!

And, that's just where it starts! Tom Bradby not only writes well and can sustain a fast-paced narrative but you always have the sense that a career working in news journalism means he's a bit closer to the knitting than some authors so that most of what happens is pretty credible in a world where elections are won and lost through lies told to vulnerable voters, social media is used for corrupt purposes and the Prime Minister relies on a cutthroat unelected sidekick. And that's not even to mention the USA!

Winding up the narrative requires some impressive twists and turns and there's an unexpected twist in the final pages. Everyone has a price and everyone can be compromised but you'll have to buy the book to find out. You won't regret it because Double Agent is a great holiday, or lockdown, read.

Marvellous, I couldn't put it down. Spying and betrayal and international intrigue and lost love are all here and at a great pace too. Kate is a high flyer in MI6 set to maybe even reach the top. Married with two children she is shaken when her husband is outed as a Russian agent and disappears to Moscow. But was he in someway responsible for the 'suicide' of one of her team -a well loved member - who she cannot believe would kill himself. When she is contacted by a high ranking Russian SUV agent wanting to defect he offers a sex tape of the Prime Minister plus records of payments that prove he is a Russian agent too. But is he and what is going on.

My only criticism is that I felt it ended too soon. I wanted a let down - a nice ending that wrapped up the whole story for me - a sort of hug at the end. However I so thoroughly enjoyed it that I will happily recommend it to friends.

Another cracking tale about the corridors of power and corruption.

Having read the first one, and getting to know the characters, we are back with Kate Henderson and her team, and she is still reeling from the betrayal of someone close. She is having a mini break in Venice when she is kidnapped at gunpoint by a Russian defector who is making claims that the British PM is a Russian spy, and taking backhanders.

She has to get those in power to agree to the defector to be allowed to come to England in return for evidence against the PM.

Kate’s travels take her to some bleak areas of Russia where she meets up with her old friend to try and find out the truth. But what is the truth, how does she know who to trust? I certainly didn’t, and Im still not sure after finishing the book! I really couldn’t make my mind up, what was the truth and what was lies.

The author keeps you guessing right until 99% of the book, and I’m now wondering if there will be any more in this series.

I absolutely loved the excitement and the thrill of it all and I did think Kate was a female James Bond.

My thanks to the author, the publishers and Netgalley for the ARC. Please let us have more of Kate Henderson.

Another slice of dark deeds and treachery in the world of MI6 continuing the tale of Kate Henderson. Once again her family take a leading role as the suspicion that the PM is a Russian mole is backed up by a potential coming over of a senior Russian officer from their secret service and his family offering all the evidence required. It all trundles happily along with no real shocks until a satisfactory conclusion that leaves the door open just enough for a third episode.

Worthy successor to Bradby's previous novel 'Secret Service'. However, it's difficult to say too much about it, without giving anything away.
The main character, Kate, demonstrates the real pressure being a senior intelligence officer can experience, especially if she has to deal with office politics as well. A fast moving novel, with a twist, or is it!!!?

Highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and TransWorld Digital for a review copy.

Tom Bradby newsreader and author and if you've read any of his books you know he is gifted at fiction as well as real life, mind the last few years have seemed surreal in so many ways seems life can truly be stranger than fiction.
"Double Agent" is a great thriller and a true escape from all that's going on around us all. If you've read"Secret Service" then you will know the background for this adventure if you haven't no problem it is definitely a stand alone but if you haven't and find you have a lot of time on your hands or are going away then get them both you won't regret it in my opinion that is.
Kate our heroine has taken her two kids Fiona and Gus to Venice for the weekend so they can meet their Dad who had been kicked out not only of his home but the country due to lack of loyalty being a Russian Spy and having slept well Kate's former best friend. The biggest surprise for Kate in Venice is being kidnapped briefly by a want to be Russian defector alone with his Father who haas lost favour with Puttin. She is soon released to go home and begin the work, the prize for Britain as well as 2 high profile deflectors is a video of the Prime Minister of the UK with well I'll let you read all about that for yourselves plus they are offering evidence of payments made to him from Russia.
So this is a good old spy story not so much James Bond but none the less a tence and gripping ride, definitely more believable. The characters are fun with the odd Moron thrown in to spice it up a bit think it's okay to call them that. I loved the whole story as I did Secret Service if you have read the first and enjoyed it you will just love this one im sure I did either way.

A worthy follow up in the second of Bradby's Kate Henderson Thrillers series. I was gripped by Henderson in the first offering and Double Agent continues to nicely balance between Kate's personal life and her work for MI6. The plot kicks off in Venice when Kate is delivering her children to see their defector father. When she is kidnapped the pages then turn seamlessly as he plot rapidly unfolds. I particularly enjoyed the references to what happened in the first outing (although it is an enjoyable stand alone read) and their influences on what's happening in the follow up. The details given about cabinet briefings and the tension between the government and the security forces is absolutely on the mark thanks to Bradby's career and feels particularly poignant today. No plot spoilers from me except to say this was a fabulous read - more please.

Wow what another fantastic book this was to read... I literally read it all in 1 day as it was that good you couldn't put it down! As it follows on from the first book - although you could read this one as a stand alone - you already know the characters so don't need to waste a chunk of the book trying to work out what each character is like etc. A good storyline with lots of twists and turns although I did think that the ending was a bit rushed, but not enough to stop me from giving this 5 stars.

" Our prime minister's lax personal morals are legendary. There can hardly be anyone in the country who doesn't know of his many affairs," says one of the characters in the Secret Services around which this second novel about spy Kate Henderson is based. Who on earth can they be referring to?
I enjoyed the first novel by Bradby which had a cracking paced plot around the possibility that because of leaked information about the previous PM having cancer, the Russians might well have a vested interest in his successor. Nothing new in stories around us that talk of the influence of Russians (and particularly Putin) in the results of Election s either in the UK or America. Add to the mix that Kate's husband, a civil servant had been bribed because of his extra marital affair to feed information to Russia as well and you've got a highly volatile personal and professional situation. He's now exiled - very unhappily for someone who's supposed to have been feted by his Russian masters - in a dingy flat in Moscow. All around Kate is much woe. She's struggling too, perhaps so much to mar her judgement?
It did feel to me that it would have been better to have read the first novel ,because slightly disappointingly this second rehashes a lot of the previous plot. It then sensationally adds a potential sex tape of the new PM with underage girls and potential defectors from Moscow wanting to defect to the UK in exchange for this devastating piece of evidence. There is no disguising the author's description of the floppy haired Eton educated PM so the nature of the sordid allegations might just raise a few eyebrows at No 10 when this is published. There's financial gain and possibly another double agent embedded amongst MI6 too just to add more confusion.
Once again the plot races forward, and does hold your interest, but maybe so fast that detail is sometimes overlooked and the background family life of Kate which when highlighted is extremely intimate and provides a nasty twist to the plot is seemingly more an add on and could have been explored more deeply. Bradby obviously has studied the intricacies of MI6, its operations and those often troubled people who work in those offices overlooking the Thames. Following Kate with surveillance is clearly described although I did find Kate's globetrotting across Finland to St Petersburg and then Moscow somewhat rushed with a nasty death thrown in it did make extra drama with a major twist that was finally laid bare.
It is still a good read which I enjoyed, although I am now a bit tired of Kate and perhaps the conclusion serves to show she ,like us as readers now need a rest. But for intrigue and throwing a massive spanner in the works of the establishment and politicians covering up their nasty business it proves again that there is a huge swathe of potential drama to be made out of these,plots. Even in this technologically advanced 21st century we still never tire of what should be dated spy stories.

Kate's work life balance is pretty screwed in this second installment of the working mother M15 agent thriller series. Come to think of it work is pretty messed up too. I really enjoyed this second installment and hope for more racing round Europe battling against her internal demons and treachery at home and at work. Be warned a couple of truly shocking scenes that will make you yelp in surprise (love those).

I read secret service by Tom Bradby and loved it so was excited to get an advance copy of this book. I love Kate Henderson as a character, tough, feisty and very well written. Another great book