Thanks to Stella and NetGalley for allowing me to read The Hidden Hand before the publication date.

It takes the reader into the hallowed halls of Oxford University, exposing the control which foreign powers exercise over the staff and students.

Stella has spun a yarn about Intelligence Agencies and Spooks which is a very easy read…..leaving the reader to ponder how much of the story is fact and how much is fiction.

Easy to read and not dependent on having read book #1. A well plotted book that highlights current concerns. However when the main protagonist puts her phone down before she walks into a situation which is telegraphed throughout the text as dangerous I lost patience . Pleasant enough read.

Very enjoyable spy thriller. In this second book with Manon Tyler as the central character she is now undercover CIA at Oxford, St Felix’s College. She has to befriend a Chinese student, who turns out to be a genius at AI deep fakes.

A convincing follow up to the first in the Manon Tyler series and I hope there will be more to come.

Easy to read and easy to follow. I thoroughly enjoyed this. No plot spoilers.

Recommended. I read a proof copy provided by NetGalley and the publishers.

Manon Tyler, a CIA agent is sent to St Felix college in Oxford to keep an eye on Ai Ming, a brilliant Chinese student studying AI and Deepfake, who has been transferred from Harvard by the Chinese government. Charles, the new director is aware of the mission and gives Manon a job, under an alias. Charles and Manon get on very well, and there is a lovely subtle hint of romance.
The plot is very clever, with Chinese agents, technology, blackmail plots and corruption.
Manon and Charles investigate with the help of MI5 and MI6 - I was impressed how well all the agencies worked together. There were some references to the previous book in the Manon Tyler series so it might help to read that first. I enjoyed this book as a standalone novel.
Recommended.

Relevant culturally at this moment in time. Paranoid, quirky and full of intrigue, a tale that resonates for 2024. I liked the ocean hopping university aspect too.