2024 the best spy novels review

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(as of Dec 20, 2024 11:43:08 UTC - Details)

A retired CIA operative in small-town Maine tackles the ghosts of her past in this fresh take on the spy thriller from New York Times bestselling author Tess Gerritsen.

Former spy Maggie Bird came to the seaside village of Purity, Maine, eager to put the past behind her after a mission went tragically wrong. These days, she’s living quietly on her chicken farm, still wary of blowback from the events that forced her early retirement.

But when a body turns up in Maggie’s driveway, she knows it’s a message from former foes who haven’t forgotten her. Maggie turns to her local circle of old friends—all retirees from the CIA—to help uncover the truth about who is trying to kill her, and why. This “Martini Club” of former spies may be retired, but they still have a few useful skills that they’re eager to use again, if only to spice up their rather sedate new lives.

Complicating their efforts is Purity’s acting police chief, Jo Thibodeau. More accustomed to dealing with rowdy tourists than homicide, Jo is puzzled by Maggie’s reluctance to share information—and by her odd circle of friends, who seem to be a step ahead of her at every turn.

As Jo’s investigation collides with the Martini Club’s maneuvers, Maggie’s hunt for answers will force her to revisit a clandestine career that spanned the globe, from Bangkok to Istanbul, from London to Malta. The ghosts of her past have returned, but with the help of her friends—and the reluctant Jo Thibodeau—Maggie might just be able to save the life she’s built.

From the Publisher

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0C2F4V6BM
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Thomas & Mercer (November 1, 2023)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 1, 2023
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 4646 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 341 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 166251512X
Reviewer: Ski Bear
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: A pleasant surprise read/listen
Review: “The Spy Coast” is my first Tess Gerritsen read (though we were Rozolli and Isles followers on TNT I never had read the books) a recommended free read and listen with Kindle Unlimited that was leaving soon; after reading the summary and desperately needing something different from usual reading prowess, I downloaded and listened/read in one sitting with “Whisper-Synch”, the coolest product Amazon.com has to offer imo. Well paced, good storyline and storytelling by the narrator who gets five out of five stars from me. Really, if you like crime fiction and suspense, taunt but not gory or hard boiled, this is your next book. What’s not to like; retired CIA blue hairs with varicose veins, false teeth and too much time on their hands, an X- operative suddenly pulled back into the life she so desperately worked so hard to put behind her, a wonderful very successful physician as a husband living in a small unremarkable town under a new alias with no traces from her past life to connect her to her new life and husband.Of course this proves to be reckless delusional thinking considering the agency she worked for, the many enemies she has accrued as the result of her investigations with a relentless absolute unfailing constitution to go 110% 24/7 seven days a week until the job is done, her subjects apprehend and her pockets dripping with evidence- many of whom are extremely powerful people with most powerful friends in epic powerful positions with just unlimited resources. Add the small town sheriff who has a murder in her small Main community that leads back to Maggie, our protagonist, that has five retirees sitting around the kitchen table when the Sheriff calls on her for an interview; well, it’s all the trapping one needs for a entertaining page turner filled with likable characters, suspense, some twists, and a little comic relief though never campy! The humor is subtle, appropriate to the scene and very relatable. I will be reading the follow up to “The Spy Coast” very soon! Well worth the credit, charge or cash. In fact, I purchased the Kindle edition when I returned it back to Kindle Unlimited, if you are not familiar with Kindle Unlimited or Whisper-Synch and do a lot of reading, I highly recommend joining asap! (these books have an expiration date, just like borrowing from a library but without having to go to the library to return late books lol, and you have months before they expire most of the time)

Reviewer: Bookworm Sandy
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Gray Panthers on the Loose!
Review: What happens when five retired government spooks living quietly in a small town in Maine realize a mission they thought was closed twenty years ago has come to their neighborhood? Well, let’s just say the game is back on, even if it means sidestepping the local sheriff eager to get to the bottom of this trouble. The characters are engaging, the plot goes international quickly and the reader is treated to action, twists, and a bit of humor. If you’ve seen and enjoyed the Bruce Willis movie “RED” you’ll get a kick out of this book. A great summer read.

Reviewer: LeahS
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Excellent read
Review: Plot was suspenseful and a well developed cast of characters. Kept my attention through the whole book. I will look for more books from this author.

Reviewer: Geneva Handleman
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Very Good read!
Review: This was a very interesting book and although it was a spy novel it had great characters who were trying to lead a normal life in retirement. The plot is a very personal story of love, family and spies.I usually find that spy novels are more about people who have few friends other than their partner but this group has become very close and try to look out for one another. It is a story about friendship.I found it very enjoyable and would be glad to recommend it to anyone who loves to read

Reviewer: Boyd L. Randolph
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Surprisingly engaging and enjoyable.
Review: Character development was good as was the plot premise. One minor criticism might be the expectation that readers would believe jetting from location to location with little supporting detail. Very minor. All in all a protagonist who is easy to root for and a plausible ending premise. Good read.

Reviewer: Amazon Customer
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Great book
Review: Well written, great storyline and perfect transitions that are easy to follow. Overall great book and very intense! Loved it!

Reviewer: LR in Missouri
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Great book.
Review: I started reading Tess Gerritsen's books because of the Rizzoli and Isles TV series. She is a very good writer and keeps you wondering how spies stay alive. I hope she has written Book 2 of the Martini Club series. When you read this book, be sure to read the author's notes at the end. I think my jaw is still on the floor, but I'm not going to tell you why...you'll have to read the book for yourself.

Reviewer: Jaclyn
Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Well written unique spies
Review: I like mysteries, I like thrillers, but somewhere along the way I lose interest in spies. I keep trying when a good looking one shows up, and this one marked all the boxes for me.I loved the martini club, a group of 5 former spies who've retired in the same remote village in Maine. When a threat from Maggie's past comes looking for her, they're quick to offer their support and unique skills.They're older, but not out of the game yet. Other than having to keep their pasts (and thus most of their information) secret from local sheriff Jo Thibbedeau, as a group they're able to share quite a bit of information. The habit to work alone and trust no one is very much still alive in Maggie though.A great mix of spy novel and mystery, I'm on the fence whether I'll be reading the next one. But despite what the star rating might say, I did enjoy this one. It's just not my normal genre, and thus graded a little harsher.

Reviewer: Elle Zee
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Maggie Bird, ex-spy, is just trying to live her retirement out in small-town Purity, Maine as a chicken farmer. Unfortunately, an old case, the reason she packed it all in 16 years previously, has come back to haunt her. Normal life suddenly changes when a mysterious assassin leaves a corpse in her driveway and shoots at her while she feeds her chickens. Fortunately, Declan, Ben, Ingrid and Lorne, other retired CIA operatives living in the small town, are ready to help solve the crime. The friends meet regularly for martinis and potluck suppers, and (supposedly) also to discuss books. With wits still sharp and tradecraft skills still honed, Maggie's friends come to her aid as she tries to solve to mystery of who wants her dead after all these years?An excellent read! Looking forward to The Martini Club's 2nd Thriller.Well-written, a good plot and interesting characters. I'm looking forward to The Martini Club's second adventure with intrigue!

Reviewer: Jaime Roy Doxsey
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: O livro é um convite para imaginar o passado renascendo numa história de jubilados que precisam aplicar suas habilidades e inteligência. Os velhos não são mortos.

Reviewer: K9
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: A great introduction to new characters….just going to download book two right now! If you enjoy the Rizzoli & Isles books definitely read this…

Reviewer: Martin Suter
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Excellent book, compelling and gripping story keeping me guessing until the end.

Reviewer: preeta chag
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Rating: 5 starsHighly RecommendedTess Gerritsen has penned a super page-turner. The first chapter pull you in; by the second, one is completely hooked.‘The Spy Coast’ is the first in the Martini Club series featuring a former spy and ex-CIA agents.Former spy Maggie Bird is residing in the seaside village of Purity, Maine, the past behind her, a mission which was successful but tragic. She is living the life of a resident on a chicken farm, but is always apprehensive of the former years coming back to haunt. A history which forced her to an early retirement to this discreet life.But the past always catches on. Comes back to haunt and terrorise. Opening up the not-so-healed wounds and memories creating an intense drama of suspense, fear, thrill and action.A woman, possibly CIA, comes to question her one fine day and is found dead the next day in Maggie Bird’s driveway. And the drama unfolds. She is aware that the enemies of yesterday are back for vengeance, and begins a series of events propelling a chilling escape, and the past confronting the present.In Purity, Maine, Maggie Bird is surrounded by her four former friends (all ex-CIA), who are out to prove their relevance and determined to protect their friend, Maggie from murder.The book begins in Paris and travels to Maine, London and Bangkok in pursuance of life and death. Maggie Bird’s yester life of Danny, Philippe and Diana and Bella is engrossing.Purity’s acting police chief, Jo Thibodeau is showing promises of being a smart one in the sequels to follow. Only used to dealing with accidents and known mishaps and tragedies, the discovery of a body in Maggie Bird’s driveway arouses her sixth sense and her ability to try and ferret further.The book’s narrative easily flits between the past and the present creating a web of intrigue, secrecy, and suspense.‘The Spy Coast’ is born from the author’s discovery of being surrounded by ex-CIA people in Maine where she currently resides. ”I wanted to wrote about spies who don’t look like James Bond, but instead are like my neighbours……..until the past comes back to haunt them,” she writes in the author’s note and which she has repeatedly emphasised in interview’s post the book release.But as the book is about spies and secrets, it throws up an interesting angle- of leading double lives. Of secrets stored. Of secrets unshared. Of the fear of revelations. And finally, the revealed.