Alias Emma
A Novel
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4.2 • 110 Ratings
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
“A thrilling read . . . I could not have loved it more.”—LISA JEWELL
“Emma Makepeace is a worthy heir to the James Bond mantle.”—JAMES PATTERSON
In this “high-octane spy thriller in the Ian Fleming mold” (CrimeReads), a British spy has twelve hours to deliver her asset across London after Russia hacks the city’s security cameras. Can she make it without being spotted . . . or killed?
Shortlisted for the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award • One of the Best Books of the Year: PopSugar, CrimeReads, Library Journal
Nothing about Emma Makepeace is real. Not even her name.
A newly minted secret agent, Emma's barely graduated from basic training when she gets the call for her first major assignment. Eager to serve her country and prove her worth, she dives in headfirst.
Emma must covertly travel across one of the world’s most watched cities to bring the reluctant—and handsome—son of Russian dissidents into protective custody, so long as the assassins from the Motherland don’t find him first. With London’s famous Ring of Steel hacked by the Russian government, the two must cross the city without being seen by the hundreds of thousands of CCTV cameras that document every inch of the city’s streets, alleys, and gutters.
Buses, subways, cars, and trains are out of the question. Traveling on foot, and operating without phones or bank cards that could reveal their location or identity, they have twelve hours to make it to safety. This will take all of Emma’s skills of disguise and subterfuge. But when Emma’s handler goes dark, there’s no one left to trust. And just one wrong move will get them both killed.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Ava Glass’ explosive espionage thriller is chock full of action and intrigue. Ever since she learned her father was killed by the KGB, Emma Makepeace knew she wanted to be a spy. Now an MI6 agent, Emma is sent to extract Michael Primalov, a young doctor who’s been targeted by Russian agents. But when the mission goes very wrong, Emma must rely on her ingenuity and training if she and her charge hope to survive the night. Glass deftly alternates between a fast-paced chase through London’s underground passages and in-depth flashbacks into her heroine’s fascinating past. With each death-defying escape and shocking revelation, we found ourselves growing even more invested in the book’s young, passionate star, a winning 21st-century superspy.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In the pseudonymous Glass's superb debut, a series launch, British intelligence agent Emma Makepeace undertakes her first truly important assignment from her boss, Charles Ripley. Spies for the Russian military have been killing former Russian scientists now living in the U.K. Ripley wants Emma to protect Michael Primalov, the son of Russian physicists who spied for England. Michael acquiesces to Emma's help after a close call with two assassins. When Emma phones her boss for help, Ripley is suspiciously unavailable; she and Michael are on the run from the Russians—and maybe someone from within the Secret Service. As they cross London in an effort to reach the safety of MI6, they have to avoid the city's ubiquitous security cameras, electronic surveillance, and roving teams of Russians. Along the way, Glass (the Harper McClain mysteries as Christi Daugherty) smoothly works in Emma's backstory, which includes her selection and training for the Service and the highly personal reasons that made becoming a spy "everything she'd dreamed of." Intense, cinematic action propels this terrific old-fashioned thriller neatly brought up to date. Glass is off to an impressive start.
Customer Reviews
Tenacious woman spy
Emma — not her real name, as indicated by the title, is an English spy. She works for the Agency and has been given her first big job. She needs to bring an English citizen into safety before the Russians take him. The book goes between past and present as the reader learns about Emma’s past and the reasons she becomes a spy. Full of action and thrills, the book ends in a way that points to the need for a sequel. or a series featuring Emma? I look forward to Emma’s return and more by Ava Glass. Thank you to Bantam and NetGalley for the digital review copy in exchange for an honest review.
Alias Emma
Preposterous actioneer mixed in with some humdrum spy stuff. Spends a lot of time on the runway but never really gets airborne.
A female James Bond!
I could not have loved "Alias Emma" more. Everything you could want out of a spy novel - mystery, action, suspense, but all with a female as the lead. I really loved that the majority of the book took place across 12 hours, which made the plot all the more suspenseful. Great character development by Ava Glass. I would love to see this turn into a series, similar to James Bond. There is so much potential with the spy network created in these pages! Not to mention, it would make a fantastic movie!