BLOG TOUR: The Traitor - Ava Glass

LONDON. EARLY MORNING.

A body is found in a padlocked suitcase.

Investigator Emma Makepeace knows it's murder. And it's personal.

She quickly establishes that the dead man had been shadowing two oligarchs suspected of procuring illegal weapons in the UK. And it seems likely that an insider working deep within the British government is helping them.

To find out who the traitor is, Emma goes deep undercover on a superyacht owned by one of the oligarchs.

But the glamorous veneer of the rich hides dark secrets. Out at sea, Emma is both hunter and prey, and no one can protect her.

Never has the turquoise sea and golden sands of the Riviera seemed so dangerous.

As the hunt intensifies, Emma knows that she is in mortal danger. And that she needs to find the traitor before they find her . . .

 

What did I think?

Wow!  Ava Glass stole my breath; I'm sure I forgot to breath when I was reading The Traitor.  It is completely awesome!  It's Ava Glass' second book featuring intelligence agency operative Emma Makepeace but you can read it as a standalone as I haven't read The Chase but I definitely want to now.

Emma is a very strong and well-developed main character.  With Russian heritage, she is the perfect spy to place on a Russian yacht but, with no mobile phone coverage, the risks are very high.  It's a risk that Emma is more than willing to take though.  Yikes!  I'm glad I don't bite my nails or I'd have bitten them down to the quick.  

I absolutely loved this book and with a traitor in their midst I suspected almost everyone, even those people that Emma trusts.  I'm really not surprised that film rights have already been acquired as it is an outstanding spy novel.

Incredibly fast-paced and filled with danger, The Traitor is a breathtaking novel that drew me in from the start and continued at break-neck speed until the very end.  I think the book cover must have been coated in superglue as I simply couldn't put it down and my poor eyes were worn out at the speed I was demanding them to read.

Very highly recommended and an absolute must-read.  Just don't forget to breathe when you read it!

I received an ARC to read and review for the blog tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Buy it from:

UK.Bookshop.org

Amazon

About the author:

The Traitor is the highly anticipated follow up to Ava Glass’ 2022 debut spy thriller The Chase.

The Chase is currently shortlisted for Best Spy Novel at the 2023 Crime Writer Awards alongside established names including Robert Galbraith (JK Rowling) and Linwood Barclay. No small feat for a debut novelist.

Film rights to The Chase and The Traitor have been acquired by Ink Factory, producers of The Night Manager, who are currently working on a pilot in conjunction with Sky Atlantic, now in the final stages of editing. Next step will be casting!  

Ava Glass is a former civil servant with the highest security clearance bar one.  She has seen just enough of the inner workings of espionage to ensure that she will always be fascinated by spies.

Prior to working at the home office, Ava Glass worked as a crime reporter, covering multiple homicides, making her writing both fresh and dangerously believable.

Follow the tour:

The Blue - Lucy Clarke

They had found paradise.  What would they do to keep it?

With a quick spin of the globe, Kitty and Lana escape their grey reality and journey to the Philippines.  There they discover The Blue – a beautiful yacht, with a wandering crew.

They spend day after languorous day exploring the pristine white beaches and swimming beneath the stars, and Lana drifts further away from the long-buried secrets of home.

But the tide turns when death creeps quietly on deck.

A dangerous swell of mistrust and lies threatens to bring the crew’s adventures to an end – but some won’t let paradise go…whatever the price.

What did I think?

This book was simply amazing, completely gripping and an absolute page-turner.  I’ve had it in my pile to read for quite some time and although I was interested enough to request a copy, other books seemed to pique my interest more.  How wrong I was to leave this little beauty gathering dust.  If you have it in your TBR pile, read it now!

I love books that flick back and forth between the past and the present so I knew that once I picked this up, I wouldn't be able to put it down.  You feel that all of the characters on The Blue are running away from something or perhaps simply trying to make a new start, either way they are all hiding secrets and you don't know who can be trusted.  You can feel the air almost crackling with tension; on the surface they all appear to be friends but underneath alliances are being made and it's only a matter of time before the weakest may get thrown overboard.

I was absolutely captivated by this story, I fell in love with the beauty of both The Blue and the scenery she sailed in.  I read it so fast as I wanted to know why Lana left The Blue, what happened to Joseph and whose body is now floating in the sea.  There was so much I didn't even see coming, even though the clues were there but I was just enjoying myself so much being swept along with the magic of The Blue.

This really is a stunning book, it is so vivid and written so beautifully that I felt I was part of the voyage.  I won't ever hesitate again in picking up another book by Lucy Clarke.

I received this e-book from the publisher, HarperCollins, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon