Do you thrive under pressure? 

 

Emma Makepeace does. Well, she usually does. She’s one of Britain’s top intelligence agents after all, and intelligence agents don’t exactly get to live a life of leisure. 

 

The thing is, she’s been struggling a little lately with some doubts and a little paranoia. She’s been wondering a little if it’s time to get out. All those thoughts are simmering on the back burner of her mind right now though, because The Agency is about to head to Edinburgh to help with security for a global summit and all of a sudden the head of Russian intelligence is in London and no one has any idea why. It can’t be anything good, that’s for sure. Spies know better than to believe in coincidences. So Emma, her colleagues, Russian intelligence, and a whole bunch of global leaders are all converging in Edinburgh at once. Emma is going to try and help stop a massive global incident… if they can ever find out who’s at risk. 

 

I’ve been reading the Emma Makepeace series since the first book was released and from the start they’ve been absolutely stellar. I was sent a physical copy of the uncorrected proof for this one by the publisher (thanks, Bantam!), and it now sits in a place of pride next to my copies of Alias Emma and The Traitor. This is by far my favorite espionage thriller series and the one all other thriller series’ have to measure up to. Emma Makepeace is one of my favorite female protagonists in contemporary genre fiction today: businesslike but not cold, prepared but not persnickety, impulsive but not careless, competent but not pedantic, caring but not overtly emotional, determined but not overzealous, skilled but not arrogant. Ava Glass not only writes Emma as an intelligence agent we’d all secretly love to have coffee with just once, but also as someone whose memoirs we’d love to read one day. 

 

I love how Glass keeps her books very tight: the story, plot arc and developments, pacing, action, character movements, and the way the confusing, chaotic, hemmed in atmosphere of Edinburgh helps to match Emma’s similar energy as this book moves on. 

 

It’s another great Emma Makepeace novel and my only regret is now I have to wait for Glass to write the next one. 

 

I was provided an uncorrected digital and physical copy of this title by the publisher and author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you. 

 

File Under: 5 Star Review/Book Series/Crime Thriller/Espionage Thriller/Political Thriller