Enigma Girl - by Henry Porter (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

From internationally bestselling author who is "filling the gap left by Len Deighton and John le Carre" (Evening Standard) comes a propulsive espionage thriller for fans of Mick Herron, Daniel Silva, and Olen Steinhauer. Meet disgraced MI5 agent Slim Parsons, a character who - like Lisbeth Salander - will sear your soul

Slim Parsons is all but burned. When her last deep-cover job for MI5 ended with a life-and-death struggle on a private jet, she went on the run from her deadly target - a conniving businessman and money launderer codenamed "Hagfish." Now she's back at home, in hiding from her angry bosses in the Security Service, who have accused her of being overly violent and unsuitable for the role of an MI5 operative.

But after several months off the grid, Slim is called back to another job - Operation Linesman - where she is asked to infiltrate a news website Middle Kingdom whose explosive articles clearly show that they've hacked into the most high-security government databases. She accepts the assignment on condition that the Security Service searches for her missing brother.

But Linesman turns out to be anything but simple. Slim uncovers a curious connection between the Middle Kingdom hackers and the legendary Bletchley Park codebreakers. Her new colleagues are becoming suspicious of her intentions, and Hagfish is out for revenge and threatening MI5 itself as it all comes together in a shocking crescendo.

And all the while she is being watched by someone even deeper in the shadows than she is.

Review Quotes

Praise for The Enigma Girl:

"Superbly twist-laden . . . [Slim Parsons] swiftly establishes herself as a heroine for the ages . . . Porter has been compared to Mick Herron and Gerald Seymour, and it's easy to see why, but The Enigma Girl is the work of a wholly individual and readable talent."--Alexander Larman, Guardian

"With echoes (hence the title) of the code-breaking at nearby Bletchley Park, The Enigma Girl is at once a novel of ideas -- about immigration, AI, press freedom, the state, history -- and a cross-section of Britain, Dickensian in the size and diversity of its cast. Yet it never forgets to be an exhilarating thriller."--Sunday Times

"Henry Porter has established himself as one of Britain's finest spy writers, and here his supremely elegant talent is on full display... If you have never read Porter, now is the time to start."--Daily Mail

"[Porter] has written some of the best espionage thrillers of recent years and his latest, The Enigma Girl, is a powerful read."--Andrew Roseheim, The Spectator

"Like John le Carre's George Smiley, Slim Parsons isn't an action hero; she's a regular person with a special set of skills. And, once readers have met her, they won't put the book down until they've finished it."--Booklist

"Journalist Porter has been compared to Mick Herron, among other top spy novelists . . . But Porter never loses sight of [Slim's] humanity and basic vulnerability; the reader feels her personal losses while rooting for her to overcome them . . . Journalism and spycraft make for compelling bedfellows in Porter's latest thriller."--Kirkus Reviews

"Porter, a veteran Fleet Street journalist and award-winning spy novelist, knows his way around both the corridors of power and the new media . . . [A]nother smart, timely read."--Adam LeBor, Financial Times

"The Enigma Girl is perfect in its spy craft and the reader's affection for Slim develops easily as she manipulates almost everyone in her life to survive. Porter has given us another wonderful espionage novel with strong characters and intricate plot lines. How Slim stays under the radar is nothing short of brilliant. I want more of this character."--Pam Elliott, Pam Did It

Praise for Henry Porter:

"Henry Porter is one of our most accomplished thriller writers."--Financial Times

"Magnificent... [Porter] has learned the oldest lesson: that characterization and narrative are all."--The Economist, on Remembrance Day

"A powerful, propulsive piece of thriller writing."--The Observer, on Remembrance Day

"Credible and thrilling . . . a memorable addition to his field."--Daily Telegraph, on Remembrance Day

"Henry Porter writes fabulous novels . . . A spy novel for everyone who loves le Carré and Deighton, but with a crisp modern woman in charge. You won't put this novel down until the final paragraph."--Globe & Mail (Canada), on The Bell Ringers

"A topnotch Cold War thriller... [a] tour de force on a par with John le Carré."--Library Journal (starred review), on Brandenburg Gate

"An espionage master."--Charles Cumming

"Henry Porter is one of our most accomplished thriller writers. As a Fleet Street veteran with an eye for news, he mixes current affairs with precisely engineered storytelling and complex, rounded characters."--Financial Times

"British espionage fiction is the best in the world, and Porter is part of the reason why." --Lee Child

"Henry Porter has fast become one of the masters of the genre."--Sunday Telegraph (UK)

About the Author

Henry Porter has written eight internationally bestselling thrillers, including Brandenburg Gate, which won the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger, and The Bell Ringers, which was also nominated for the award.