What a great book. I read it within 24 hours and couldn’t put it down. It’s fast paced, gripping and extremely intense. From start to finish I was entranced and felt like I was part of the case/ investigation. Can’t wait to see what else is in store for Emma Makepeace and Mackenzie.

5 stars!

Step aside James Bond as Emma Makepeace once again takes center stage! Emma Makepeace is back in thrilling, high octane action as the coolest UK intelligence agent yet, as she heads to Edinburgh to stop Russian interference with a pending global G7 summit.

As all the top world’s leaders start to head to the summit, a top Russian oligarch, top level spies and muscle men get spotted indicating that a high-level Russian assassination may be in the works. Emma and her team at The Agency set up operations in Edinburgh to head off the assassination. All sorts of internal intelligence agencies politics get triggered along the way, along with what seems to be an insider mole feeding information to the press.

Trying to infiltrate behind the scenes to figure out what the Russians are up to, Emma has to make the difficult decision to go undercover as a “honey trap” which may mean having to resort to sex to gain a Russian’s insider trust. The moral dilemma, and Emma’s increasing ambivalence, runs through much of the novel – a resonant counterpoint to male agents typically being more readily willing to sleep with the enemy as need as opposed to the more nuanced personal feelings that a woman brings to the table. Emma feels both fierce and dedicated to her team, as well as vulnerable and uneasy about using her sexuality as a weapon. Also, Emma feels genuine attraction to the Russian Nick, which throws into issue how she’s had to sideline personal relationships in order to do her intelligence work. The intricacies of these feelings as Emma sorts through them shows the gift of Ava Glass’s character building of Emma.

Secondly, Emma who’s used to operating as a lone ranger, gets assigned to partner with a woman on the Scottish police force in her undercover work. As Emma moves from suspicion to trust, and from disparagement to admiration, a deep friendship between the women emerges.

Good luck trying to stop somewhere in the middle of this lightening fast read!

Next book in the series, PLEASE HURRY!

Thanks to Ava Glass, Random House, Penguin and NetGalley for an advanced reader’s copy.

Excellent. Thoroughly enjoyed this fast paced spy thriller.
Part of a series so reading the previous book may give insight to some of the characters.

Looking forward to the next installment

4.5 stars!

Fast paced and addictive, the next instalment of the ALIAS EMMA series is another readable delight. I raced through this one in a matter of days. Armed with new characters and an alluring plot, Ava Glass expertly crafts her spy novels in a way that keeps you gripped and guessing. I absolutely love the way Glass places you right in the middle of the action. No page is wasted in this book - there’s not a boring moment within. The reader joins Emma Makepeace for another thrilling mission, and it’s her most deadly one yet.

“She has one week to catch a killer…”

Set tensely in the lead up to a G7 Summit in Edinburgh, intelligence agent Emma Makepeace has one task: stop a high profile assassination from happening to the British Prime Minister. This book is fuelled with political intrigue and unputdownable prose. We fly from London, to Edinburgh, to Rome and back again, and with twists and turns at every step I couldn’t put this book down. Stylish, sophisticated, and driven by high stakes, I was hooked until the very end. THE TRAP is out in August 2024 - but the first two books in the series are out now, so what are you waiting for? Highly recommend!!

4-5 stars
Emma Makepeace #3
Emma works for an ultra covert spy agency led by Ripley.

All security agencies are on high alert because of the G7 meeting to take place in a weeks time in Edinburgh. A major concern is why FSB agent Vladimir Balakin has arrived in London. Why is he here? Emma and other agents, including MI5, tail him to the Russian embassy. Is an attack planned or disruption of the G7 in some way? They later that Balakin has registered a new flight plan and is heading to Edinburgh and so are the team with Ripley as lead. They have seven days to figure it out, seven days to work out what is planned. Emma just knows something bad is about to happen, the signs are ominous but are they all walking into a trap?

This is a really good series and Ava Glass continues to deliver. Right from the start this one pulls me in and engages my full attention. You can’t help but pick up the tension in the air as it comes in waves off Emma as Balakin’s actions continue to puzzle.

Emma is a really good central protagonist, she’s likeable and very smart and here there’s a little (just a little) touch of vulnerability, as the job she has to do here shows how conflicted she is about some of the actions that she’s required to take. She gets a partner in Edinburgh in Mackenzie and this is good for Emma.

This novel is a good blend of spy thriller combined with politics and a lot of it feels credible as actual events are referenced to give it believability. There are news media inserts about the G7 which are a good contrast to what’s going on frantically behind the scenes. After a few slick moves from Emma, it’s game on. There are misdirections, red herrings, a cat and mouse scenario, traps and more traps, huge risk and danger. It makes for exciting reading.

The setting in Edinburgh is a great atmospheric backdrop for what unfolds but the action also moves to Rome, enough said!! The author does atmosphere by the truckload!

As the tension builds towards the end, I ponder if it’s yet another trap. The finale is breathtaking and makes for exhilarating reading. However, I ask myself if that scenario is something the Russians would actually set up?? It’s fiction, so flow and go and it’s all good!

Overall, if you like spy thrillers and you haven’t read the series then you are missing a treat.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Random House UK, Cornerstone for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

More class from Glass!
We were pitched into the story immediately, with a journalist setting out the scene as Edinburgh prepared for a G7 Summit. The Agency had its work cut out, with no intel, to find out why top Russian spies and an oligarch were on their way to Scotland.
Plenty of thrills and action as Emma Makepeace is reluctantly paired with a Scottish police woman who will be her guide in Edinburgh. Emma has to overcome her personal aversion to operating a honeytrap to lure wealthy Russian Nick into divulging his links with the Russian heavies. Glass deftly creates believable characters who have all the idiosyncrasies you would expect from people who have to live different lives to keep us safe.
As with its predecessor, this would make a terrific film!

Ava Glass's Emma Makepeace spy thrillers get better with every new book - and as she started on a high with a tense chase through a London night, that is quite an achievement. This latest installment sees Emma and other Agency staff in Edinburgh ahead of a G7 summit. A top Russian spymaster is in town but they have no idea what he's planning. The only solution, to get as close to his contact as possible, whatever it takes. And time is ticking down...

What sets these books apart isn't the taut plotting and the genuinely breathless feeling of peril but Emma herself. She's clever, talented sure, but she's also human and with every book her conflict grows as the toll her work takes deepens. And a chance encounter on an Edinburgh street just enhances that conflict.

Another fabulous outing for Emma and the team. Highly recommended.