It’s great to see female protagonists front and centre in modern spy thrillers and British agent Emma Makepeace is a case in point. First appearing in The Chase in 2022, she literally hit the ground running while dodging bullets as she fought to keep herself and her charge alive long enough to expose the traitor who sold them out. While some described her as a female James Bond, the twists in Ava Glass’s novel were worthy of more serious spy fiction.
Now we have book three, The Trap, and Emma has developed into a resourceful and conscientious field agent with experience to temper her judgement as she works for a hush, hush department of the security services on special assignments. This will be her toughest yet.
Times are tense, Chinese and Russian relations with the West have reached a new low and the clock is ticking on climate change. The latest G7 is coming to Edinburgh to discuss plans for saving the planet’s future. All the country’s security services are on high alert anyway but a spanner is about to be thrown into the works. In London, news comes through that Vladimir Balakin has just landed at Heathrow, setting off alarm bells and panic. Balakin is a top FSB officer, rarely out of Moscow, so his presence suggests a major Russian operation is about to go down on British soil.
Why would someone of Balakin’s rank be in Britain unless to cause trouble and perhaps destroy the G7 agenda? Rumours are rife but intel is sketchy, the possible scenarios scary. Surely the Russians can’t be contemplating bombing the conference? However, SIS has to be ready for all scenarios, even the unthinkable such as a dirty bomb or an assassination. Emma and her team are tasked with finding out what the Russian spymaster is up to and they wind up running an off the books op under the noses of MI6, concerned with general security.
Eventually, Balakin arrives in Edinburgh where he visits the home of a Russian oligarch. Perhaps that’s not unexpected but Nick Orlov is an unusual choice as he’s not seen as a Putin loyalist, in fact the opposite. Orlov becomes the target of Emma’s surveillance. To get close to him she has to act as his girlfriend. The honey trap seems the only way. She soon discovers that he’s afraid and rather than being a willing partner in the Russian plot he is being coerced by Balakin.
What does Balakin have on him? The problem is Emma soon realises she likes Orlov, the target is becoming more difficult to lie to and she can’t play her role dispassionately. Worse still, Orlov is falling for her. Will her cover hold and can she gain Orlov’s confidence enough for him to open up and reveal Balakin’s plans?
There are plenty of twists in the plot, pulse-racing action and clever tradecraft in this thriller. Most importantly, there are genuinely empathetic characters who lift the narrative. Glass has lots of fun with the moral dilemmas her characters face; how does Emma feel about hoodwinking a possible innocent setting up a honey trap, do the ends justify the means? Certainly, as a cat and mouse chase the pace never lets up.
Michael, the young doctor Emma had to protect in The Chase (titled Alias Emma in hardback) returns for this story, adding a little more emotional turmoil for her. She is, however, becoming a steely and determined spy, and not one who toes the line. She is now more experienced in the dark arts of the espionage game. In the first book she was thrown in at the deep end, learning the basics on the move. It’s still the deep end, plenty of danger, but Emma has more mastery of how things unfold in her world.
Emma has a new ally here too, a policewoman who proves to be very resourceful and is a welcome addition it the team around Emma, as a good ensemble is a boon for the story. For fans of this series the good news is a pilot show is being made by the film company that gave us The Night Manager. That could see the first two novels on the screen at some point in the future.
It’s pleasing to see more women writers turning to espionage fiction because they bring new perspectives and Ava Glass is certainly in the forefront of the current spy genre exponents. Equally good to see female characters on the page shaking up the genre, smashing tropes and stereotypes and brining more thoughtful ways of dealing with problems to the fore. This is a perfect beach read, if your escape to the sun isn’t excitement enough this will transport you.
Also try Zero Kill by MK Hill.
Penguin
Print/Kindle/iBook
£3.99
CFL Rating: 4 Stars