spy thriller – Escape Into Reading

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine, Bantam

Date of publication: August 2nd, 2022

Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Spy Thriller, Espionage, Suspense, Adult, Contemporary, Spy Thriller

Series: Alias Emma

Alias Emma—Book 1

Goodreads Synopsis:

Emma Makepeace is about to spend the longest night in her life.

She’s on her first operation with a shadowy organisation known only as ‘The Agency’, assigned to track down and save an innocent man wanted by the Russian government.

All Emma has to do is bring him in to MI6 before sunrise, and before an assassination team gets to him first.

But the Russians have hacked the city’s CCTV cameras. There are spies all over London searching for the two of them. And her target, Michael Primalov, doesn’t want to be rescued.

As London sleeps, a battle is taking place on its streets as Emma fights to keep Michael alive.

But what sort of reception await them if and when they get to MI6?

First Line:

The sun was setting over one of the most expensive streets in the world when nthe assassins arrived.
Alias Emma by Ava Glass

I usually do not read books that are about spies or any espionage. It’s a genre I do not care for, and I typically go out of my way not to read anything from it. So, I was surprised (and a little irritated) when I read Alias Emma and realized it was a spy/espionage/thriller. That was on me, though. When the publisher sent me the invite to review, I automatically accepted without reading what I was getting. Imagine my surprise when I started liking Alias Emma. This book might be the one that has cracked my dislike for that genre. It was that good.

Alias Emma is the first book in the Alias Emma series. Anything else I would write in this section can be ignored (aka my warnings about reading books out of order in a series). That doesn’t apply here.

Alias Emma had a solid and engaging storyline. Emma is a secret agent working undercover at a shop run by a low-level threat when she gets a phone call she has been waiting for. She has been assigned to pick up a man, Dr. Michael Primalov, and bring him to the M16 before daylight. She must also keep him safe from Russian assassins and rogue agents from her agency. But that is easier said than done. The Russians have taken over London’s CCTV, her handler has gone missing, and she is receiving no help from her agency. With a cryptic message from her handler about staying in the dark, Emma must fulfill her mission. If she can’t, an innocent man will die. Can Emma do it? Can she bring Michael to the safety of the M16?

I loved Emma. She was stubborn (which served her well in this book), tough, and knew how to think outside the box. I loved seeing how she was recruited and her more tragic backstory. She was a very fleshed-out character. She did irritate me during some scenes but other than that, I liked her. I also loved how she saw something through to the end. And oh boy, did she with Michael.

The storyline with Emma, Michael, the Russians, and getting to the M16 was well written. The author did a great job of keeping my attention by constantly changing the storyline. Every time I thought something was going to happen, the storyline shifted. I did have my doubts about them getting to the M16. They were both up against so much.

The storyline with Emma, her agency, and the rogue agent kept me on the edge of my seat. I was alternately irritated for her and frightened for her. But everything did iron out in the end, but it was a ride to get there.

The spy/espionage angle of Alias Emma was very thought-provoking. I liked that the book featured a female spy who was relatable. I got a very James Bondy vibe during parts of the book, and I loved that Emma had to use her intuition to feel situations.

The action angle of Alias Emma was well written. I couldn’t get over the amount of running Emma and Michael did during this book. I also couldn’t get over the number of hand-to-hand combat situations that Emma had with the Russians. Again, it was another thing that kept my attention on the book.

The end of Alias Emma was interesting. I say interesting because I was fascinated with how the Russian storyline ended. The images I produced in my head after the Russian team passed the British one at the hotel in Paris were not good. I also liked how the author left open the storyline about specific agents going rogue. There was an explanation, but the way it was left made me wonder if book two would explain more.

I would recommend Alias Emma to anyone over 16. There are a few kissing scenes (mainly to conceal identities), language, and moderate to high violence.

If you enjoyed reading Alias Emma, you will enjoy these books:

The Last Pilgrim (Tommy Bergmann Book 1) by [Sveen, Gard]

Publisher: AmazonCrossing

Date of publication: August 23rd, 2016

Genre: Mystery, Crime, Thriller, Fiction, Historical, Historical Fiction, War, European Literature, Scandinavian Literature, Spy Thriller, Espionage, Adult Fiction

Series: Tommy Bergmann

The Last Pilgrim – Book 1

Hell Is Open—Book 2

Blod i dans—Book 3

Bjornen—Book 4

Drommenes gud—Book 5

Goodreads Synopsis:

Young, lovely Norwegian Agnes Gerner is waging a dangerous and secret fight. Outwardly, she is a devoted Nazi sympathizer engaged to a prominent businessman. In fact, she is part of an underground resistance doing everything to win the war against the Germans. The only hope she has of being reunited with the man she truly loves—who serves under the code name “Pilgrim”—is if the Nazis are defeated. Of course, there’s no guarantee that she’ll be alive when that happens…

Many years later, three sets of remains are found in a popular Oslo forest—two adults and a child. Despite his boss’s call to not spend extra time on the old case, Detective Tommy Bergmann cannot help but dig deeper, especially as he uncovers connections to a more recent murder. As he unravels the secrets of the past, it becomes clear that everything is permissible in war—and that only those who reject love can come out victorious.

My review:

I wouldn’t say I liked this book when I first started reading it. I had a lot of problems keeping my attention focused on it. Once I got past the first few chapters, I started to like the book.

I didn’t expect that I would like Tommy Bergmann by the end of the book. In the beginning, I detested him. He admitted that he beat his girlfriend over their 12-year relationship. He did have an awesome work ethic, and his remorse for his past behavior came across the pages. Even though he is a fictional character, I wanted to slip him a card to a psychologist. When he had a chance with another woman, he called it off because of his issues with his ex-girlfriend.

Agnes annoyed the ever-living out of me. I can’t put a finger on it, but I read her chapters with a bad taste in my mouth. I did find it fascinating how female spies were regarded during World War 2. Agnes proved them wrong. Her scenes with The Pilgrim also didn’t ring true to me. I figured out that he wanted a piece of ass and a place to crash, and she fell in love with him.

I liked the dual storylines. The author kept them apart and devoted entire chapters to Tommy and Agnes. I got confused was the beginning of the book when Kaj and the detective were killed. I got confused in the 2003 chapters when Tommy came to the crime scene. And then when he was called the woods when they found the bones.

The author did a great job keeping the killers under wraps until the end. He took me on a multi-country jaunt to find out how those two cases were connected. I did figure out the 1942 storyline about halfway through the book. But the 2003 storyline (and how they connected) did take me by surprise, and I was a little shocked by the ending.

I would recommend The Last Pilgrim to anyone over 21. There is sex and lots of violence.

If you liked The Last Pilgrim, you will enjoy these books:

Tag: spy thriller

Alias Emma (Alias Emma: Book 1) by Ava Glass

The Last Pilgrim (Tommy Bergmann: Book 1) by Gard Sveen

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