THE SPY COAST: REVIEW

 

(Barry Meehan reviews Tess Gerritsen’s “The Spy Coast”. This is … very much a pacy thriller that twists and turns when least expected. She has a fluent style of writing, in a way that brings her narrative to life)

 

To all outward appearances, it would seem that the aptly-named Maggie Bird is merely a chicken farmer in the seaside town of Purity, USA. 

She is retired, and does all the things a normal retiree in that part of the world would do – dinners with neighbours, book clubs, coffee mornings, etc. The only thing that might set Maggie apart from her fellow retirees is that she is an excellent shot with a rifle.

While she is happy to discuss everyday occurrences with her friends and neighbours, the one thing she will not talk about is her past. All seems quiet in her country life, until a female body is left in her driveway one night. Peace is suddenly a thing of the past, as Maggie knows the body is a reminder of her former life as a spy for the CIA – a life that ended badly many years previously, almost costing her own life.

Who else can she call on for assistance but the members of one of her book clubs, which actually consists of a cell of former spies, just like her, all retired to the same part of the country, who put their collective intellects to the test to keep ahead of the game, as well as a very persistent local police officer who realises something out of the ordinary is afoot, but is always one step behind the well-trained cell of CIA operatives.

Tess Gerritson is probably best known for her Rizzoli and Isles  series of thrillers, but she has also written many stand-alone thrillers, amongst them Girl Missing, Harvest, Life Support, The Bone Garden, Playing with Fire, and The Shape of the Night. The Spy Coast is a welcome addition to the list, very much a pacy thriller that twists and turns when least expected. She has a fluent style of writing, in a way that brings her narrative to life. Normally when reading any novel, there comes a time when one has to go back a page or two to check up on a fact or twist, but not with The Spy Coast. It’s easy reading, but that’s because it’s very intelligently written.

The Spy Coast is well worth reading. It comes highly recommended. - Barry Meehan

It is published by Penguin Random House UK: ISBN 978-0-8575-0520-0