Title:

The Spy Coast

Author:

Tess Gerritsen

Category:

Mystery / Thriller

Rating:

Date Reviewed:

April 13, 2024

he Spy Coast is the first book by Tess Gerritsen that I have read. It turned out to be a good story. I will check the library catalog to see what else she has written. The Spy Coast is marketed as the first book in "The Martini Club" series, so apparently Gerritsen has plans to bring some of these characters back for further adventures.

The first chapter of this book opened with Diana Ward holding a smoking gun with a silencer in her Paris apartment. Two dead assassins, who underestimated Diana's abilities, lie bleeding on the floor. Who are these men, who sent them? Are they Russians? Diana knows she must flee - she grabs a go bag and disappears down the fire escape, shedding her past identity and forever leaving her carefully constructed life behind.

The protagonist of The Spy Coast is Maggie Bird, a woman in her sixties who retired from CIA sixteen years ago. Now Maggie lives a solitary life in the secluded Maine town of Purity, tending her chickens and keeping a low profile. But it seems that the past is not done with Maggie. A stranger lets herself into Maggie house, she is sitting at the kitchen table when Maggie returns home. The intruder identifies herself as "Bianca". Bianca claims to work for The Agency, and says that Maggie's services are needed by Uncle Sam. Maggie is not interested.

"It is about Diana Ward," says Bianca. "She has gone missing. We would like your help in finding her."

Now Maggie is interested, and alarmed (though she is trained not to display her emotions). Diana Ward ran the Cyrano project, the disastrous outcome of which directly led to Maggie's retirement.

Maggie returns home the next day to find a body lying in her driveway. It is Bianca, and she was horribly tortured before her death. The chief of police of Purity, Joanna Thibodeau, heads up the crime scene. She is puzzled that Maggie seems remarkably composed. Most people would react in shock and fear at finding a dead person dumped in their driveway, but Maggie hardly seems surprised.

Police chief Thibodeau discovers that although Maggie lives alone, she has friends in the area. Ben, Declan, Ingrid and Lloyd - all retirees from the Northern Virginia area. All show a lot of interest in the threat to Maggie, offering ideas and speculating on motive - these old timers seem to be ahead of Thibodeau in the investigation. When Thibodeau demands an explanation for their behavior, they say that they have watched a lot of mysteries on TV and read a lot of novels about crime - they get together periodically to share drinks and talk about mysteries - they call themselves "The Martini Club". Thibodeau is skeptical.

Interspersed with the ongoing events, the reader gets flashback to Maggie's past, and what happened on Project Cyrano. Gradually the threats and suspense ramp up. Maggie has not entirely escaped her past, it seems as if someone long thought to be dead is now hunting her. How is this possible?

I liked the plot and the revelations. Although there is no Mission Impossible style leaps from airplanes or rappels down the side of a skyscraper, there is still plenty of suspense. As Maggie searches for clues, she faces peril. In the spy world, no one can be trusted. I liked the characters. I intend to read more Gerritsen novels.