Slim Parsons is an MI5 agent frustrated at the lack of progress of a case for which she has spent two years undercover and risked her life. Her actions at the end of her involvement have left her burned out and with problems with her bosses. For her next case she is planted as a journalist on an internet site which investigates government waste and dishonesty and publishes classified material – her job is to find out how they are getting the information and prevent the publication of official secrets. During her work, though, she grows sympathetic to their cause and feels her loyalties torn.

This was overall a decent read but I did have issues with it, most of which are down to its length. The author talks in the acknowledgements of how long it ended up being and how much he cut to get it to its present length but to be honest, more cuts would have made the pace better. The main story took a long time to get going and got bogged down with subplots, there were too many largely irrelevant characters, and some aspects which the author obviously found interesting and wanted to include (the archaeology, the church) really added nothing. The main plot was good and Slim was an interesting character but it felt a little lacking in a sense of urgency to me and too much irrelevance stopped me feeling as involved as I could have. 3.5 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy in return for an honest review.

A brilliant piece of work.
Forget overly long paragraphs, the complex plot, and the large array of players, this book is a joy to read.
The book opens with the lead character Slim, helping out on an archaeological dig that makes a spectacular discovery. She is hiding away there after falling out of favour with her MI5 employers after an assignment went wrong. Despite that, she is persuaded to take another undercover role with MI5, with a cover role as an inversigative reporter.
Despite being brought back into The Security Service, she is not really trusted by them, nor by those at the media company she has to infiltrate. On top of all this, she has turmoil in her private life with an ailing mother and a missing brother.
Over this scenario, author Henry Porter weaves an intriguing tale that brings in wartime history, organised crime with people smuggling, modern slavery and money laundering, as well as massive political corruption and even AI!
The pace is frenetic, and I found this book very hard to put down.

This was quite a contemporary read with a strong female lead in Slim Parsons and relevant issues of government leaks, news manipulation,espionage and deep cover ops,. The plots, sub plots and characters were very well developed. I can definitely see this being made into a mini series soon

A thrilling espionage adventure, not my usual type of read however as I used to live very near to Bletchley Park it intrigued me and I dived into the story with interest. Slim, the heroine of the story, was an angsty, prone to violence young lady and it was great to see her character development as life events impacted on her. There were so many characters in the story that it took a while to get my head round who was who.

This would make a great tv series as there are so many people who were from different walks of life, political, secret service, journalists, archaeologists that it does keep you guessing all along.

Overall a great read and to be recommended.

Thank you to Netgalley the author and publishers for an arc in exchange for an honest review

Well, what a blast! The Enigma Girl covers so many subjects, some really topical, like freebies to politicians. however it stops at Prime Ministers, multi-millionaires who cannot afford to go to SpecSavers. At the heart of the novel, there's one word: CORRUPTION, It's endemic in our so called democracy but there is one person who fights it and that is the heroine Slim Parsons, a disillusioned spy. She believes her morals are higher than the people who pay her. They are.
Anyway if you believe in Slim Parsons then you'll love this novel but if you like the parliamentry gravy train of 'free' concert tickets, clothes, optrician's designer ranges, football boxes and police cavalcades for the glitterarty, you might be discouraged. Although I believe the author meant it about the 'last lot'.
“Plus ça change”
Despite a lot of subjects having been covored very well by numerous other authors, Henry Porter does a sterling job in bringing so much of it together in a page turning masterpiece. I am so pleased he rightfully attributed the Polish input to breaking the Enigma code, which they did in its earliest form. I also liked his nod to an ephemeral presence, which no one understands until they experience it.
It's got to be a five star review from me.

A most entertaining read about reluctant spy, Slim Parsons, recalled to do one more job in exchange for information about her missing brother, Matt.

Slim struggles to keep on task and instead goes on a one-woman crusade to bring down two criminal enterprises and their leaders.

I liked the plotting of the book, the characters and the trade craft.

I am absolutely fascinated by Bletchley park and everything that was achieved there. This book really bought it to life for me. The character of slim was very well written. I loved it.

Unfortunately this book wasn't for even though it's the type of story I usually enjoy. The historical background was well researched and interesting. I forced myself to keep plodding through the first 40%, but I'd had enough. I then read the last 10%. Apologies to the author. I was not tempted to go back and read the bit I missed. I'm sure the latter half was faster paced than the first half. I was surprised that the author had already trimmed the book down. The actual plot was good just too long-winded for me. Books are always a matter of personal taste and I'm sure many readers will enjoy it.

It’s been quite some time since I read a really good spy thriller and I’m pleased to say The Enigma Girl was just a brilliant read that kept me gripped. The story starts off at a slow pace but once I got into it there was absolutely no stopping me from reading it every spare moment I had.
I loved all the information about Bletchley Park I did know a little about what went on there but not so much so for me this made the read doubly interesting and it was obvious the author had done a lot of research. The writing was excellent and the characters all realistic I think the only thing I thought could have been better was the book was a tad too long but maybe that’s me.
So a thoroughly enjoyable , interesting story from an author that was new to me and it most certainly won’t be the last I will read from him, many thanks.
My thanks also to NetGalley and Quercus Books for giving me the opportunity to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

A deep and disturbing story.

"The Enigma Girl" opens with MI5 operative Slim Parsons working on an archaeological dig, having been placed on gardening leave following her previous less-than-successful assignment. Working undercover, with her cover blown, she spent months slowly crossing Europe to get home, avoiding both her enemies and her bosses.

But suddenly she is recalled, having remained on leave longer than she ought, is debriefed and immediately given a nice simple assignment - to infiltrate a news website that's causing concern in Whitehall, having published information that can only have been leaked by an insider. It seems to be staffed by people descended from wartime codebreakers at Bletchley Park. Slim's job is to find out where the information comes from.

But soon Slim is immersed in a dark and complex plot, and a story which unfolds slowly as it deals not just with her assignment but also her personal life. There are quite a few threads to keep track of, and more than a few characters, but as we get deeper into the plot, it's clear Slim has more at stake than she thought. For those interested in Bletchley Park and the work of Alan Turing are in for a treat.

At almost 500 pages, this is a long book, and it could have lost a hundred and still been a fine read. There are several sections where nothing much happens and the prose gets stodgy. Fans of Porter's previous books might find this one a little different, but it's definitely worth reading. Slim is a new and dynamic characters, who we could do with seeing more of. Recommended.

Slim Parsons , a specialist undercover MI5 intelligence officer working in the shadows, fouls her assignment . Lucky to escape with her life, she makes her way back to England using covert routes. When she finally reports home and summoned to MI5 Century House, she is clinging by her finger tips to her job. Slim is assigned a new role as a reporter, to a small news group that just uses news on the internet. They have reported information about government that is highly confidential . Slims task is to infiltrate the group and ascertain as to who is leaking government information.

The Enigma Girl moves in a breathless pace that is dizzying in its extreme . Twists and turns on every page has the reader spell bound.
Move over James Bond , Slim Parsons is here.

3.5* The Enigma Girl - Henry Porter

Slim has dropped off the grid and away from her former employers MI5 since an undercover mission went wrong. Brought back into the fold, she is asked to undertake another deep undercover mission to understand how an online news site is printing material thought to be held secretly at the heart of Government. As Slim struggles with family issues and the pressure leads to her being increasingly cavalier with her own safety, potential corruption at the heart of Government is bubbling to the surface.

This is an enjoyable book but comes with caveats. Like others, it took some time to get into and, even once I was in, there were still periods when the plot and prose dragged. The author says in the acknowledgements that his editor advised him to reduce the words - I suspect it would be a sharper book for the reader if he had gone a lot further with his edits.

The characters, esp Slim, are fun but there are a lot of people and issues to get to grips with, given the number of plotlines. Some are also a stretch on the imagination, such as the nurse looking after Slim's mother and Slim's friend Bridie. As part of the editing, I suspect some of the side-issues could be removed, which would help the pacing of the plot. I also felt that the initial promise of links to Bletchley Park didn't get the spotlight that it might have.

Overall an enjoyable read but it has taken me longer than usual to get to the end.

I’ve enjoyed previous books by the author and was looking forward to The Enigma Girl featuring MI5 agent Slim Parsons.
Henry Porter writes an engaging and well paced page turner. The plotting is straight forward without the twists and turns of some spy thrillers and at times Slim’s actions are unbelievable. Overall however this was an enjoyable addition to the genre.
3.5 stars.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC

Henry Porter has already shown that he can write an excellent spy thriller and I enjoyed his Paul Samson series very much.

he has found another winner in Slim Parsons, a heroine for the times who follows her instincts rather than authority and finds her way through a complex situation featuring an oligarch seeking revenge and a rogue website publishing information that the government would far rather says buried.

The writing is terse and tense and the story flows. Slim is a complex character with a troubled past and I look forward to seeing her character develop in subsequent books in what promises to be yet another winner from an excellent author who really knows his stuff.

Wow really great book!

Her last deep cover job for MI5 ended with a life-and-death struggle on a private jet that caused her to go on the run from both the deadly target and her angry bosses in the Security Service. They say that violence comes too easily to her; that she's bordering on delinquent and unsuitable for the roll of an MI5 operative. Yet she is recalled and asked to infiltrate a news website that's causing alarm in the highest circles. Linesman turns out to be anything but simple. Her personal loss, her previous deep cover role, and a threat to MI5 itself from her original target come together in a three-way collision. And all the while she is watched by someone even deeper in the shadows than she is.

I read this in record time, it was a hard book to put down. It grabbed my attention from the first page. This is my first read by Henry Porter and it won’t be my last. I’m really keen to explore more from this author. The main character in this book is very likeable and the storyline was fast faced and suspenseful. I highly recommend this book, I would certainly buy and gift this to friends or family.

Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the ARC of The Enigma Girl.