Rip Tide

In Rimington's thought-provoking fifth thriller featuring MI5 agent Liz Carlyle (after Dead Line), Liz, MI5's liaison with French intelligence, interviews 23-year-old Amir Khan, a British citizen from Birmingham, who was captured by a French naval vessel when he and other pirates tried to hijack an Athens-based freighter owned by United Charities' Shipping Organization off the coast of Somalia. While Amir is mostly tight-lipped, Liz manages to squeeze out enough information to send the investigation to Birmingham and the New Springfield mosque, which has disturbing ties to Pakistan and terrorism. Meanwhile, UCSO in Athens, worried that its ships are being specifically targeted by pirates, wonders if there's a leak in the organization. Luckily, the charity director has the ear of MI5 and MI6 as the widening picture grows grimmer by the day. Rich with authentic details from Rimington's own life as director general of MI5, this is a must-read for fans of contemporary spy fiction. (Sept.)