Another excellent book by Stella Rimington!

I enjoy the realistic feel of her stories, which is understandable given her background as Director General of MI5.

Li Min, a doctoral student in computer science at Harvard specializing in artificial intelligence, receives a summons from her handler, Deng. She is informed that she will be leaving soon as she has been given a significant opportunity. She will continue her studies at the Institute for the Study of International and Cultural Affairs, established by Oxford University, where she will continue her AI work, specifically her research on deepfakes. She is also instructed to cultivate a friendship with an American student.

Manon Tyler, a CIA operative, is deployed to the UK to investigate suspicious activities at the college, which appears to attract a disproportionate number of Chinese students, and to establish contact with Li Min, who they believe may be of assistance in their investigation.

Is there a chance they can succeed before time runs out?

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion

It's an interesting novel about the placing of Chinese students into Western universities by the Chinese government, in order to gain intellectual property and conduct unwilling espionage on the Communist Party's behalf. Rimmington's previous career must have given her a clear insight into the inherent dangers of the growing tensions between China and the Western nations.

The book is an easy read and from my perspective has a fairly predictable plot. The main characters are stereotypical of the spy genre and lack any truly believable personalities.

Good intense story,first time have read a novel by this author and will be teading Book 1 and her orevious seeies’
Liked the characters and the settings and was annall round good read

I thoroughly enjoyed this and was desperate to get through it. Such a good page turner.
I liked the premise of the story, the characters, and every twist and turn.
Such a good author, will definitely read more.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Hidden Hand Stella Rimington

5 stars

Li Min is a brilliant Chinese student very skilled at Artificial Intelligence, studying at Harvard. University. Suddenly she is told she will be moving to . Oxford University to continue her studies and she must make friends with an American student, Sally Washington although she has no idea why.

Meanwhile, Manon Tyler, fresh from her success as detailed in the first book of the series is also sent to Oxford where her remit is to befriend Li Min and discover what she is being asked to do. When Manon discovers that Sally's father,Donald works in the Department of Defence specialising in nuclear submarines it is obvious what the Chinese are trying to gain knowledge about,

I really enjoyed this book as I found the plot very interesting and not at all far-fetched. I enjoyed the different characters from the grieving Charles Abbot to the threatening Mr Chew. Knowing the author's previous employment I can well believe that this sort of thing could well be going on in our universities and it also made the threat of Artificial Intelligence even more real..



Karen Deborah
Reviewer for Net galley

Manon Tyler returns in Stella Rimington’s The Hidden Hand which despite having a promising storyline didn't quiet deliver on its potential and left me feeling slightly disappointed.

A Manon Tyler story. We are in Oxford with Manon investigating a Chinese student who was a friend of Manon's friend in America. We follow the lead characters through a tense and at times exciting and dangerous time. This book is well written and an insight into spycraft and international politics. A fascinating read which has left me hungry for more by Stella Rimington. With thanks to Netgalley,Bloomsbury Publishing and the author for this advanced copy.

An enjoyable book but a bit slow. Having read only one of Rimington's books before, which was brilliant, I was disappointed with this one. It was all very predictable. Maybe I was expecting too much. Despite my negative comments, I still enjoyed it.

Brilliant idea hat a fantastic roller coaster of a read. No one can do it better than this author she is the one who knows!! Thanks

Manon Taylor is undercover for the CIA in an Oxford college. She’s there to find out what exactly a Chinese student who is brilliant at AI deep fakes is working on.


The style of writing in the book started off a bit clunky but got better as it went along. Despite this it was an enjoyable pacy spy thriller.

What are the Chinese government up to? How are they manipulating their country’s students who are studying in the USA and the UK and who else is being persuaded to help them? CIA agent Manon Tyler goes undercover to find out. An enjoyable read and I would recommend. Thank you to Net Galley and the author for an ARC.

As usual in my reviews, I will not rehash the plot or publisher's blurb - instead, I recommend that you read this for yourself!

Although I've read other novels by Stella Rimington, this was the first "Manon Tyler" book for me. Although it is apparenty the second in the series, I had no problems following it, and would say it can be read as a standalone novel.

There is an excellent cast of characters - all well written, and with good contrasts between them and their motivations. Having read several newspaper articles covering the topic of foreign espionage in universities (not just in the UK), I found the plot very interesting.

The pacing was good - I stayed up late to finish the book = and I enjoyed the setting - largely in and around Oxford and the University there - and could picture the locations.

A very enjoyable "page turner". Looking forward to reading more in the series (including the first one now!)

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC. All opinions my own.

I hadn't read a Stella Rimington book since the early Liz Carlyle novels so wasn't sure what to expect from this new Manon Tyler thriller. I found little has changed with Rimington's style. It is an easy read but has the same weak character development and is a little formulaic but then many espionage novels are like this and that's not necessary a bad thing so long as the story holds the attention. It's a good enough read but if you want something more indepth and challenging you'd need to look elsewhere. Still worth a read though.

The Hidden Hand is the second book in the Manon Tyler series but it can be read as a standalone novel. It's a pacy and entertaining read with a plausible storyline. I liked the academic setting and the topical issue of foreign espionage in UK universities. Recommended.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

A brilliant story, full of suspense. No doubt Stella Rimington's background in the intelligence services brings a very authentic feel to this novel and it may be more true to life than we would wish. Highly recommended.

Rather disappointed with this most recent book by Stella Rimington. I found it rather predictable with stereotyped and somewhat lightweight characters and with Stella's knowledge I would have liked to have read a better rounded and deeper plot. It was just not a gripping read.
My thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

The second in the spy thriller series featuring Manon Tyler. This book is set predominantly in Oxford, in the university arena. It's an easy to read story and the characters are likeable. The main "thrill" was very predictable and had been signposted up at an early stage. The plot felt rather lightweight and I would have preferred a bit more intensity but overall a fast and entertaining read.

Second book featuring Manon Tyler, a CIA agent who is sent to St Felix college in Oxford to 'spy' on a brilliant female Chinese student studying AI.

Whilst the plot is clever, involving Chinese agents, the characters are flimsy and I struggled to a predictable end.

Thanks to Net Galley and Bloomsbury Publishing for the chance to read and review.

As expected, an enjoyable read from start to finish. Always find Stella’s books keep you engrossed and she never disappoints.

A young Chinese AI genius, Li Min, is hauled off her research degree course at Harvard and sent to Oxford. The new head of the Institute she is attached to at St Felix's College has suspicions about the extent of coercive control the Chinese government has over the (large ) cohort of Chinese students at the college and that they are accessing other students' research to sent back to their CCC masters. A CIA agent, Manon, is put in place to get a handle on what is going on, When Li Min is eventually told what the task is that the chines want her to do, she realises it is totally unethical, and will betray a friend. Can Manon turn her or will the Chinese rumble her and take Li Min back to China. Its a can't put is down spy thriller and more than most of the genre is entirely plausible due to Stella Rimington's knowledge of the world of intelligence. Makes you think that if this is the kind of thing going on in our universities (it is), her chums back at MI5 ought to be doing a bit more about it.