Where do spies go to retire? What happens when old foes and a mission gone wrong come back to haunt you and force you out into the open when you are no longer protected by the agency? These are the questions that Gerritsen seeks to answer in this wonderful revamp of the standard spy thriller!
Maggie Bird, formerly with the CIA, retired to the small seaside village of Purity, Maine after a mission went terribly wrong. Here she has filled her days by caring for her chickens, befriending the young girl who lives on the next farm and periodically getting together with a local circle of former spies called the Martini Club.
But Maggie’s tranquility is shattered when a body turns up in her driveway. She knows it’s a message and a warning but who is sending it and why are they coming after her now? To further complicate things, Purity’s acting police chief Jo Thibodeau, who usually deals with drunk tourists and not dead bodies, suspects Maggie is hiding pertinent information. Faced with a warning and afraid that old foes are going to try and settle old scores, Maggie turns to her former colleagues in the Martini Club to help her track the killers and free her from the ghosts of her past.
This was so much fun! I thoroughly enjoyed this book, but what really made it extra special was what I read in the Author’s’ Note at the end of the book!
‘The Spy Coast was inspired by an odd little secret I discovered years ago about my small Maine town. Soon after we moved here, my physician husband opened a medical practice, and when he asked his new patients about their prior occupations, this was how the conversation sometimes went:
Doctor: “What did you do for a living?”
Patient: “I used to work for the government.”
Doctor: “And what did you do for the government?”
Patient: “I can’t talk about it.”
After about the third or fourth time this happened, my husband realized there was something very peculiar about the retirees who live here. A local Realtor finally revealed the secret: “Oh, they were all CIA.” We discovered that, just on our short street, we had two retired spies as neighbors. Why have so many of them congregated in this town of only five thousand inhabitants? Is it because they feel safely anonymous here in the woodsy north, far from any nuclear targets? Is it because our town was featured prominently (or so our Realtor told us) in a retirement magazine for spies? Or because Maine has been used so often as a location for safe houses in the past?
These are among the theories I’ve heard, but I’ve never managed to get a straight answer because the people who actually know that answer can’t—or won’t—talk about it.
Because of their age and their silver hair, we may not give these retirees a second glance. They are simply our neighbors who rub shoulders with us in the local coffee shop, push their carts down the grocery store aisles as we do, and wish us good morning at the post office. They blend in so well that we never stop to wonder about who they used to be, or what secrets they’ll guard till the grave.
Unassuming retirees with secret past lives make fascinating characters to explore, and that’s how The Spy Coast was born. I wanted to write about spies who don’t look like James Bond but instead are like my neighbors, quietly living as utterly ordinary retirees . . . until the past comes back to haunt them, and they’re forced to call on old skills they thought they’d never have to use again.”
Gerritsen has done what she intended and more, creating fascinating characters who are full of life and all the thrills and suspense you could ever want! A second book in this series will be released in March of 2025!
Brenda’s Rating: **** (4 out of 5 Stars)
Recommend this book to: Sharon, Martin, Lauren and Keith
Book Study worthy? Yes
Read in ebook format.
Aiden Bishop has been invited to Blackheath Manor to solve the murder of Evelyn Hardcastle. The only problem is that Evelyn will die every day until he solves the murder. But there is one more twist, every day Aiden will wake up in the body of a different guest at Blackheath Manor, one of whom might be the murderer! Will Aiden be able to solve the murder and save the woman he loves?
(Here is the list in order in print form so you can copy it easily: American Assassin, Kill Shot, Transfer of Power, The Third Option, Separation of Power, Executive Power, Memorial Day, Consent to Kill, Act of Treason, Protect and Defend, Extreme Measures, Pursuit of Honor, The Last Man, The Survivor, Order To Kill, Enemy Of The State, Red War, Lethal Agent, Total Power, Oath Of Loyalty and Code Red. Coming in September of 2024, Capture or Kill.)
In The Hunter, Cal Hooper has finally settled into the village and is dating a local woman named Lena. He has been teaching Trey some woodworking skills and together they are slowly building a solid reputation for restoring old furniture. But when Trey’s dad suddenly returns with an Englishman who believes there is gold to be found in the hills and valleys near the village, the calm is shattered and Cal’s cop instincts are warning him that something very dangerous is about to go down. Although Cal wants to protect Trey from whatever her father has planned, Trey sees an opportunity exact her revenge against those he thinks are responsible for her brother’s disappearance. With dreams of getting rich quick, many of the villagers buy into the the scheme proposed by Trey’s dad, but when a dead body is discovered instead of gold the stakes suddenly become very high. As Cal and Lena try to protect Trey, they discover just how far they will go to protect the ones they love.
Being a pirate is a dangerous business. Shek Yeung knew that from the very start, but when her pirate husband saved her from life in a brothel, she jumped at the chance to live differently. But then her husband was killed by the Portuguese and she knew that if she did not act quickly she would lose everything. So she came to an agreement with her husband’s second-in-command; she would marry him and bear him an heir and in exchange she would retain power over her half of the pirate fleet.
Millie applies for a job as a housemaid for the Winchester family. Millie needs this job as it will give her the opportunity for a fresh start. Nina Winchester lives a seemingly idyllic life. She’s a stay at home mom to her young daughter. Her husband is handsome and wealthy man, and have a lovely home with a beautiful garden. She seems to have everything but seems unhappy. 
The flight had been relatively calm thus far and the various passengers were getting eager to disembark at JFK. There was Slimboy a Nigerian pop star who had to hide the fact that he was gay by surrounding himself with women, who was looking forward to a bit more freedom in New York City. Joanna, a Black American lawyer was trying to figure out how to succeed with her Big Pharma client without having to play the “good old boy game.” Victor Miesel, a critically acclaimed author was wondering how he could break through and receive global recognition for his work. And then there was Blake, a family man who was also a contract killer who had a job to do. 
June Hayward has always been in the literary shadow of Athena Liu. No matter what June does, Athena does it better and now she is a literary darling while June is an after-thought, a non-contender in the literary world. Still, June tries to maintain a connection with Athena, because Athena is in the know regarding changing trends in publishing world, and that is helpful if June hopes to break through her current writers’ block.
Mrs. King had been the housekeeper at the grandest house on Park Lane for many years and was essential to the smooth running of the house, But once the owner of the house passed away, his daughter, now an heiress, seems to not hold her in as high esteem and she is abruptly dismissed. 
Takako’s life spins out of control the day she learns from her boyfriend, Hideaki, that he is marrying another woman. He hopes, he says, that he and Takako can remain friends ‘with benefits.” Reeling from this news and the dreams she had of marrying Hideaki herself, Takako falls into a deep depression and no longer able to work, she quits her job. A few weeks later she gets a call from her distant uncle, Satoru. He runs a second hand bookstore in the book district in Tokyo and needs someone to manage the store while he attends to other business. Reluctantly Takako agrees. Her uncle has always been strange and unconventional, but she is quickly running through her savings, so free room and board in exchange for minding the shop seems like a good deal.
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