Friday, January 6, 2023

Alias Emma by Ava Glass

Movies and TV series always make the life of a spy seem glamorous and dangerous with conspiracies and villains around every corner.  It is a seductive image for some, but far from the truth for most spies.  Emma Makepeace's current assignment is neither glamorous, nor particularly dangerous - she is keeping tabs on a person of interest who is anything but interesting.  The job isn't the most exciting in the world, but as they say be careful what you wish for, because wanting a more exciting assignment can lead to you actually getting one!  Her cruisy little assignment ends abruptly when she is called in to bring in a man that has a very large target on his back - and has no interest in coming into protective custody.

An assassination team has been targeting former Russians living in the United Kingdom, and they are very good at their job.  Emma is giving the 'simple' task of convincing a potential target to come into protective custody, but as she soon discovers he is not keen to abandon his job as a doctor for a potential threat.  Convincing him to go with her is only the first part of the challenge, London is one of the most heavily surveilled cities, with CCTV cameras everywhere.  It is a race against time, and as a very junior spy Emma has limited resources and connections to see them safely to where they need to be.  It would be a mistake for Emma to underestimate how badly the Russians want their target dead - but it is also a mistake for them to underestimate Emma and how far she will go to complete her mission.

Alias Emma is an adrenaline fueled read that deserves to be read in a single session.  This is a book that starts with a bang and doesn't stop until the last page.  There have been several action thrillers written over the past few years that are written in the same spare style (possibly best described as the James Patterson effect) and they have all ultimately taken the action thriller and distilled it down to the key elements - creating a fast-paced read that hooks you without distraction from start to finish.  Glass has created a unique and interesting cast of characters that are put to the test in some rather interesting ways.  

Look out for the sequel Game of spies which is due for release in August 2023.

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Reviewed by Brilla

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