3.5⭐️
The first Sophie Racine Thriller. I haven’t read anything by this author before, action thrillers are not my go to genre, I chose this book out of curiosity after seeing the author in an interview.

There are several time frames, where we learn from Sophie’s past how she became an assassin.
Sophie is on a singlehanded vengeance mission against a Russian mole who gave the French secret service secrets to the Kremlin. Even her bosses don’t expect her to survive the mission.
Sophie becomes entwined with Aidan Snow a British MI6 officer who is tasked with releasing a student from war torn Ukraine.

I didn’t gel with the protagonist, or the action heavy storyline.
So overall it was an interesting excursion, but it’s not for me. This is down to my preference rather than shortcomings of the book.
For lovers of crime thrillers with a gutsy female protagonist I think that you would enjoy it.
Thanks to Netgalley for the arc

Thank you to the publishers, NetGalley and Alex Shaw for allowing me to read this book for an honest review.

This is my kind of book. It is an action packed murder mystery involving the secret service. The main character (Racine) is a French assassin and is given the task of taking a traitor out. Some of the chapters in the book return to the past when Racine (Sophie) was a child and the links she has to the traitor.

During the chase Racine meets up with Snow (from the UK) who has been sent on a separate rescue mission. They team up for their mutual safety because both their missions involve the same people.

It is a well written action story. The only fault I had with it was during a lot of the dialogue one persons comments are in the same paragraph as the others persons comments and it is not always simple to realize oh that is the other person talking. This is a simple editing function to fix and did not detract from the enjoyment of reading the book.

I would love to see Racine and Snow united again in the next edition of the series.

I have no hesitation in giving this a full 5 star rating and if you enjoy this genre make sure you get a copy of this book.

Sophie Racine is a highly trained assassin for the French Secret Service. She is on a mission in the Ukraine, to assassinate a Russian mole who betrayed not only France, but was also responsible for the deaths of some highly trained and important agents, however, that’s not all, this particular mission is also very personal to Racine herself, due to an event that left her traumatised, and nothing will prevent her from seeking out traitor, Sasha Vasilev, and being instrumental in the execution of this valuable Russian asset.

Meanwhile, on a separate mission in the Ukraine, ex SAS trooper and MI6 Officer Aidan Snow, is attempting to secure the freedom of an innocent British student Mohammed Iqbal, who has been kidnapped after being caught up in the conflict in rebel controlled Donetsk.

Time is running out for the pair of them though, as Russia is about to close the borders, essentially trapping Racine and Snow.

As Racine and Snow’s missions collide, it becomes like an action packed Hollywood movie, barely giving time to draw breath, as our kick ass protagonist Racine, and the highly competent Snow, take on the villains, in what is a terrific start to this new series.

The writing is OK, and there's a lot of action throughout, which is great, except when the main character has to make stupid mistakes in order to bring it on. The ending is also a little strange, as I don't know if it's supposed to be a cliffhanger or not. Normally, I don't like jumping around in time, but as an introduction in a first in a series, this isn't too bad.

Alex Shaw has produced another bang-up action thriller in the grand tradition of action thrillers. He seems to go from strength to strength. Highly recommended.

What a fantastic read. I absolutely loved this book. Action packed spy thriller of the utmost top quality. A female James Bond only better.
Loved how Sophie, the main character, teamed up with our favorite spy, Aiden at one point and I’m not giving anything away with this quote.
Aiden says “ If I was James Bond I’d have brought a picnic and a bottle of champagne “
Seriously though, this is one of the best spy thrillers I have ever read. I am so looking forward to seeing more of the exploits of Sophie Racine.
This should be at the top of your reading list.

This is a really fast paced read - full of action and had me hooked from the beginning. Sophie is a French intelligence officer attached to a secret department .She is an assassin - the best - and even though her identity is not known her reputation is.This mission ,however,is also personal.
Also operating in the same field is ex SAS and now MI6 officer, Aidan Snow.His mission is to extract an innocent citizen caught up in the conflict.
Their paths cross and ,even though they are both working as individuals and their operations are deniable they find it is to their mutual benefit to help each other.
Lots of twists to keep you turning the pages and an ending that's going to whet your appetite for mor
I read this in one sitting which doesn't happen often.

The book started off OK then the story went downhill.

There was a good pace to the story and I was gripped. Then suddenly the pace dropped and I was bored reading it.

I need to be gripped by a book within the first few chapters, if I'm not i lose interest and the book gets put to one side.

I wanted to like it but unfortunately became bored.

This book certainly has pace and bodies. Situated in the Ukraine and associated Russian dominated countries, the author demonstrates a deep knowledge of the politics and geography of the region. Having a woman as the selected political assassin is an unusual twist too to the story. It would be better as a film than a book because it’s pace would be better appreciated visually. There is a rough edge which not all readers will appreciate.

Set chiefly in the Eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk also known as the Donetsk People's Republic and Paris, France. We find the DGSE's female agent Racine (known as Sophie to her friends and she has few of them) pitched against a former DGSE operative who she is tasked with assassinating (The General Directorate for External Security is France's foreign intelligence agency) . We get a taste of her mettle in the opening chapters when she is sent on a mission to Tunisia. MI6 gets a hint from the DGSE that a British national is being held in a facility in Donetsk and it isn't long before British agent Aidan Snow and Racine hook up in the Donetsk People's Republic, the former to liberate the national, the latter to assassinate her disgraced DGSE target .
This is a full throttle, action packed thriller which was my pleasure to read. There was sufficient unfinished business in my view (and hope) for a sequel and I cannot wait! This is a five star review from me and worth every one.

Alex Shaw has the rare talent of being able to combine the tropes of a Len Deighton-style spy story with the high-octane, fast-paced demands of a present day action thriller.
Sophie Racine is a great character, well developed through a series of flashbacks. She's an assassin but can command one's empathy and respect.
Donetsk, the disputed territory in Ukraine, is a great backdrop, sitting as it does right next to the great Russian Bear.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for this ARC.

I’ve really enjoyed the Jack Tate books by Alex Shaw and was pleased to read his latest book featuring a new character Sophie Racine. Wow, this was a cracker of a read, one I thoroughly enjoyed and it definitely hit the mark with me. Racine is sent to Ukraine to assassinate a Russian operative who betrayed her country. She crosses paths with a MI6 officer who is on a different mission and they combine forces and work together. I thought this book was a thrilling read, it is very fast paced and full of great action scenes. It moves from past to present so easily, it is brilliantly written and grabbed my attention right away and continued to hold it right to the end. I loved the plot twists in the story and the last quarter of the book was full of them, most I did not expect and some which literally took my breath away and really wowed me. The book raced to a very satisfying conclusion with a hint of more to come and I would definitely read another book featuring Racine as the main character. She is a very likeable, believable and determined character who I couldn’t help but root for. I think this is a fab start to a new series and eagerly await the next book from this author.

Traitors is an undeniable summer blockbuster fueled by cinematic action sequences of the highest caliber and a badass female protagonist making her debut in stunningly brutal fashion.
Alex Shaw is no stranger to writing gripping action-packed thrillers but Traitors may very well be his best work yet. A highly skilled assassin in a black ops French unit known as The Department, Sophie Racine receives a dossier to hunt down and assassinate a former French Legion who turned out to be a Russian sleeper agent. Racine enthusiastically undertakes the mission, driven by a scalding rage for her target with whom she has a personal score to settle. From the first page itself, Racine establishes herself as a bona fide expert in combat with pulse-pounding shootouts and hand-to-hand combat sequences that feel ripe for a big screen adaptation. As Racine races from France to a full-blown warzone in Ukraine where the Russian sleeper agent was located, she cannot help but wonder whether she is the hunter or the hunted as her foreboding sixth sense warns her of the dangers to come.
From the moment she lands in Ukraine, she gets to work racking up her kill count relentlessly. Keeping that in mind, Alex Shaw does not portray Racine as indestructible. She bleeds and tires just as any operative would but her specialist skills, emotional strength, and tenacity differentiate her from the enemy combatants as she shoots first and true without succumbing to fear and chaos around her. The flashbacks served an essential role to help readers understand her hardened exterior that holds in a barrage of angry and bitter emotions waiting to overtake her. Alex Shaw nails the delicate art of writing a strong and bold female protagonist without sexualizing her to the point where her looks seem more essential than her skills in the field.
On her mission, she comes across Aiden Snow, an ex-SAS operative who Alex Shaw’s fans will know very well. His directive is to rescue a British student who was abducted in a hate crime based on his ethnicity as a Pakistani. As their paths intertwine, Racine and Snow make an excellent duo with the right chemistry that is not rushed in a setting where the bullets flying around them are more pressing matters. Snow adds to the magnificent shootouts with his technical prowess with all sorts of weapons. And together they wreak havoc on the bad guys in the most enjoyable way.
Traitors is an absolute must-read powerhouse smash-hit and one of 2021’s very best. You simply cannot afford to sit this one out. The shocking twists-filled ending will have you desperate for the next Sophie Racine thriller!

A traitor causes the deaths of many people and so Sophie Rancine is sent to the Ukraine to eliminate him. Action from the first page and lots of twists and turns.

Will Rancine complete her mission? Missions cross over so lots of twists and turns in the novel. Read and enjoy.

A fast-paced spy thriller with a charismatic (French) heroine.

This novel is set in places and involves the sort of (Ukrainian) people and politics which the author knows about and this makes it a palpable improvement on his earlier works. Those tended to be set mainly in American settings, perhaps to appeal to an American readership, and also featured highly-technological super-weapons, which are a trap for an author who does not fully comprehend the fruits of his own research. The author, wisely, approached this novel with the premise that a grenade in a modest apartment is dramatic enough.

Although this is an action thriller and the pace rarely slackens, there are layers and twists to the plot and it is a battle of minds as well as muscle. The international politics are more convincing than before (especially as this review was written the day after what the press are already calling “the Black Sea Incident”) and Russian intelligence officers are portrayed as sufficiently intelligent to hatch plots which pay off even if the heroine does her best to thwart them. And that brings us to Sophie Racine, the best thing about this book. The late, great Leslie Thomas once introduced one of his female characters with the line “you should have seen her throw a grenade” and the ability to use a grenade wisely is what sets a truly charismatic female action heroine apart from the AR-toting also-rans.

The supporting cast is mainly a British SIS officer and former SAS trooper who supplies the heroine, not with muscle (which would be superfluous) but restraint and the occasional less-violent solution, such as asking nicely. This, too, represents an improvement on the author’s previous work. At the time of the Yugoslav Civil War, when Western peacekeepers went in, it was pointed out that the hallmark of the SAS was actually subtlety and if what you wanted was an enemy base utterly pulverised, you sent in any line infantry regiment of the British Army.

An action packed page turned of a thriller introducing French born government assassin Sophie Racine in a suicide mission that's more than just work; this one is personal. Helping her along the way is Aiden Snow, former SAS and now MI6, as he attempts to rescue a UK citizen from terrorists. I can't wait for their next acventure.

I received an ARC through NetGalley's program.

As the 1st book in the series, it is a definite winner. I have read other books from this author and they all keep your interest. In this one, Racine, a member of DGSE has been tasked with the assassination of a traitor that became a spy for Russia. The story provides a glimpse of Racine's life growing up and how she was selected to join DGSE.

Her assignment required her to go to Ukraine to perform the deed. She was to be on her own once she entered the country. DGSE would provide her with the necessary materials that she would need. Unknown, but at the same time, a member of MI6, Aiden Snow, was instructed to free an English medical student who the Russians had captured. The location that he was going to was the same one that Racine was also going to. At this location, things did not go according tp plan. Racine wound up being captured, but was able to escape and met up with Aiden who discovered that the individual that he was there for had been moved.

Eventually Racine and Aiden were able to free the English student. They were all forced to evade the forces looking for them. Racine left the other two so that she could complete her mission. After completion, she then had to find a way out of the area. All of the roads had set up checkpoints, and Racine had to fight to get out.

To discover what happened after the mission was completed, whether Aiden made it out with the student, and why this assignment was personal for Racine, then you must read this story.

Rating: 2.1/5

The blurb describes this as being perfect for fans of "Killing Eve". Given that the central character, Sophie Racine, is a highly-trained, multilingual spy / assassin that comparison with Luke Jennings's "Codename Villanelle" (on which the tv series "Killing Eve" was based) is understandable. However, even though "Codename Villanelle" was not as good as the subsequent television adaptation, the central character of Villanelle still had stronger, more rounded appeal than Alex Shaw's creation, Racine, conveys in "Traitors".

This is the first book to feature Sophie Racine. However, the debut lead protagonist is joined by ex-SAS Trooper, Aidan Snow, who has been the central character in a number of stories by this writer already. "Traitors" is certainly a pacy read and there is no shortage of action throughout, but much of it is also formulaic and clichéd, with the descriptive writing being more sensationalist rather than sensational.

Even though there is a basic plot underpinning the narrative, the storyline is very much action and event-driven. It is difficult not to get the impression that the plot is merely a necessary means of allowing the author to link together a series of graphically described action sequences. Developments linking the scenes often seem a little tenuous and there a number of very convenient happenings that allow the good guys to emerge from seemingly inextricable circumstances.

Characterisation throughout the novel is largely superficial. As you might expect, a bit more effort is put into establishing a backstory for the main protagonist - usually via the medium of flashbacks - but, for the most part, even the more fleshed-out characters are quite two-dimensional.

An okay way to pass the time without having to exercise the grey matter too much, but ultimately not particularly satisfying.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for supplying an ARC in return for an honest review.

Two Intelligence officers, one French, one British, find their separate missions becoming tangled, as both race to Eastern Europe to complete them. Aidan Snow is trying to find a student who has been kidnapped and Sophie Racine’s mission is vengeance.
This is a well plotted and fast paced thriller, set in the Ukraine, action packed and exciting. I’ve read some of the Jack Tate series by this author but not Aidan Snow, however this is just as good as the other books of his I’ve read. Well worth reading.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I stayed up all night reading it, it was so hard to put down once I had started. A riveting action thriller from Alex Shaw. Highly recommended. Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for giving me an advance copy of this book.