Some books promise to be action packed, but this book delivers twenty times over. I can’t say enough about how persistent the breakneck pace of this book is. I could not put this book down - literally. I read it in one afternoon/evening and felt inconvenienced by needing to eat dinner.

Emma is tasked with bringing in Michael after it becomes clear that Russian operatives are coming for him and his family. Michael is resistant at first, but once he sees the danger he is really in, he agrees to go with Emma to MI6. But after she convinces him, Emma discovers her agency has been compromised, and now she needs tog ear him across London without help, all while avoiding CCTV. The terrifying cat and mouse night that follows will have you on the very edge of your seat for hours. Add this to your TBR RIGHT NOW.

this is such a fun book with a great sense of pacing/action
emma is pretty complex as a character but the book felt like it needed to be longer to truly flesh out both main characters
ending was a little too ambiguous for my taste (hello sequel) but i thought the main storyline was fine
kickass woman points: 4/5

Emma Makepeace isn’t her birth name. That’s Alexandra, born in London of a Russian widow. Her father was a fairly high-up Russian government employee whose love of country and hatred of the Russian leaders led him to work for the British to help save his country. The KGB were coming after him, so he got his wife out to the UK before he was arrested, tortured, and killed. Alex was born in the UK, went to University, joined the military (intelligence), and plucked by Charles Ripley into ‘The Vernon Institute,’ a secretive counter intelligence unit of MI6. She had wanted to be a spy since childhood.

Michael Primalov is a pediatric oncologist. Elana, his mother was considered a traitor to mother Russia. She was Russia’s top nuclear physicist, but managed to get out of Russia when Mikhail was but a baby and MI6 settled the family in their version of witness protection. He too grew up English, but rejected living in secrecy, went to med school and became an oncologist.

The KGB/GRU is not known for being very forgiving. They will hunt down traitors until the traitor has paid the dues. Four former colleagues of Elena, also living in the UK, have been murdered recently. Elana is the sole surviving member of this research group but her whereabouts are unknown. But Michal/Mikhail is living and practicing medicine in London. The Russians want to get him to draw out his mother from hiding.

Ripley assigns Emma to contact Michael to convince him to come with her and return to protective custody. Previous attempts have failed so Ripley thinks someone closer to Michael’s age might fare better, especially now that the Russians are getting terribly close.

A couple of attempts at talking with Michael have failed, but Emma sort of ambushes him on a morning jog. That didn’t go well, but she did identify a couple Russian agents on the same jogging path. She goes a bit undercover as a hospital nurse to talk further and now sees one of the thugs dressed as an orderly. Too close. Michael begrudgingly must go with her.

Off they go, on foot, trying to get to the MI6 offices on the Thames River. The cross-town route degenerates into a deadly cat and mouse game pushing Emma and Michael though sewers, the Thames, dumpsters, drunk night owls, multiple Land Rovers tracking their movements and a ton more.

You can probably guess that Emma eventually gets Michael to MI6, but the real story is the ‘why’ behind the Russians dogged hunt for Michael. That you’ll have to find out for yourself. I didn’t see it coming.

Looks like Alias Emma is Ava Glass’ first novel and it’s a barn burner. Just in her late 20s, Emma is a boss. She takes on each attempt on Michael’s life head on. Sometimes she wins, other times she has to slither out to fight later. Each contact with the Russians is worse than the previous. I’d guess that 80% or more of the book is the 24hr pursuit by the Russians.

I liked this and I hope that it’s just the beginning of an Emma Makepeace series. It’s that good. But it did remind me of a movie. In the late 1970s, a cult movie of sorts was in wide release. The Warriors. About a NYC street gang leader who tried to organize all the street gangs and control the city streets. But he gets assassinated, and The Warriors are blamed. The movie was a string of street fights between the Warriors and the gangs chasing them down the streets and subways as they fight their way home to Coney Island. My roommate at the time was a Bronx native and he just blasted the movie as being entirely unrealistic. He said if anything like this story every did happen, the Warriors would’ve just stolen a car and driven home. Case closed. On one level, that’s this book. Emma and Michael fighting their way across London instead of just stealing a car and driving to MI6.

But that wouldn’t have been any fun. Ava Glass’ version is fun.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance review copy. Due to be released Aug 22, 2022.

Reading this book took me back to when I was a young child. Growing up, I was OBSESSED with spies. It got to the point where, after wanting to dress up as Carmen Sandiego for Halloween for the fourth year in a row, my mother had to put her foot down. So, when I read the synopsis of this novel, I was super excited! And, it did not disappoint, for the most part. Emma Makepeace (a spy name if I ever heard one) is a fantastic character with a detailed and twisty back story. I loved that the main character was a badass female spy who used her wits and sometimes her physical abilities to take down her enemies. Michael was cool too, I guess lol. I also think Ripley was one of my favorite characters in the novel even though we don't get to see too much of him. He just had that dark allure about him that every spy needs. I liked the action scenes and the setting. I never got bored with the novel and finished it within a few days of picking it up. My only complaint is that the ending was very open-ended; it felt like there were a lot of plot holes that were left unresolved at the end. However, I feel like Ava Glass was leaving it open in order to be able to write a sequel, and if that is the case, then I view the ending as more of a positive than a negative. Overall, I really enjoyed this novel and was so glad to get to go back to my childhood obsession with the trade.

British secret agent Emma Makepeace is tasked with her first solo assignment: to guide a young, handsome doctor to safety across the dark London night and protect him from being kidnapped by Russian agents. This novel has big-screen movie written all through it. Good minor plots include Emma's reasons for wanting to be an agent and her mentoring relationship with her supervisor.

Great adventure through about 4/5 of the novel. It moved well, and kept me reading long after I should have gone to sleep. But the end just fell apart. Almost like the author was finished once the big adventure was over and she just wanted to end the book. There was so very much she could have done with the ending. So many ways she could have gone, but she chose the most pedestrian. Very disappointing.

I requested to read and review this book for free from Bantam Books an Imprint of Random House. This book has drama, mystery, maybe a hint of romance! It will leave you not wanting to put this book down. It will keep the reader guessing until the end which is means a great read. Who can you trust? Can even the most trustworthy people be compromised? Being a spy can be a rewarding but very demanding job! Can someone you work with or rescue be something more. Or is it just a moment in time thing. Emma has know what she wanted to be in life but is it truly something she wants to do. Riley is a complicated guy that has an evenore complicated past but is he trustworthy. And how does Michael fit in to this or is he just a passing moment in time. This is for any type of reader and can be read anywhere.

This was a great, thrilling spy read! I really loved Emma's character and hope there are more books with her. The hunt to keep her asset (Michael) safe against the Russians was a wild ride!!

This top-secret female spy thriller is a rush that will keep any reader up all night.

Emma – not her real name of course – is a little nervous as she has just received her first big assignment from the British intelligence agency to protect a handsome doctor, Michael, from another agency that wants him dead. It’s her job to convince him to come in with her. He tells her he’s fine and she’s crazy to think his life is in danger until there’s an incident that throws him off. Then it becomes more complicated.

Emma now has twelve hours to bring him to a safe place across London where Russians are trying to take him out because of a past event. Emma is well trained but she puts in a request for backup which is refused. She has to avoid highly sophisticated cameras and networks as well as Russian bullets to take Michael across the town. It’s almost impossible to be hidden in London with all the CCTV’s on the streets. Both Emma and Michael are in good physical shape and have no other choice but to hope they can make it.

It’s very predictable but fun. Emma noted that, “Invisibility is a spy’s greatest asset.” Yet she created her name as Emma Makepeace. Seriously? Just like watching the James Bond movies, the reader knows that this action-packed story creates situations that aren’t realistic. Yet, it’s highly entertaining. Plus, it reinforces the idea that the best spies can be anywhere. “People will accept anything as long as you give them enough reason to believe you are who you say you are.” I hope this story continues.

My thanks to Ava Glass, Bantam Books and NetGalley for allowing me to read this advanced copy with an expected release date of August 2, 2022.

Alias Emma by Ava Glass tells the story of agent Emma Makepeace as she takes on the Russians. She needs to get her subject in to safe custody by traveling across London at night and needs to avoid CCTV cameras. I really liked this story and the characters. The author made the fight scenes very believable and portrayed Emma as human with limitations. Also when traveling across town noted how tired and exhausted they were. Totally believable!! I hope there is more of Emma coming soon. I will recommend this book. Thank you for allowing me to review this book.

Alias Emma

This one hits the ground running, and does not let up until the end. Agent Emma Makepeace (not her real name), who is with a super secret British intelligence agency, is just starting out in the espionage business. And her first solo assignment is a doozy.

Her job: assets from the former Soviet Union are being murdered throughout London, and Emma is ordered to shepherd Michael, the son of an expatriate Russian scientist, to safety before he is captured or assassinated. After some difficulty, Emma is able to convince Michael, a pediatric oncologist who is married to his work, to except her assistance. As you might imagine, things take an unexpected turn for the worst. Emma’s boss is suddenly and suspiciously incommunicado. A crack team of Russian assassins is hot on her trail. It is the middle of the night, and she is stuck in the heart of London, where there are CCTV cameras on virtually every building. The ruthless Russians have somehow taken control of the video feeds and are using facial recognition software to track Emma everywhere she goes. To make matters worse, there may be a fox in the henhouse of British intelligence, and the only person Emma can trust is herself.

Emma’s backstory, which helps to explain her motivation, is deftly interwoven into this roller coaster ride, allowing the reader to take an occasional breather. It’s a good thing, too, because the pace is pretty relentless, and Emma’s training and intelligence are sorely tested.

This is an old-fashioned thriller. The plot doesn’t break any new ground, but it’s redeemed because Emma is a modern type of heroine. It is refreshing to see a capable female protagonist who is intense, smart, clever, and able to defend herself against the bad guys.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy. All opinions are my own.

If you like spy stories, intelligence secrets, and high intensity than this book is for you! This is an action packed, edge of your seat read, that felt more like a movie. The main character Emma, is very relatable and likable as she navigates her new position as a secret agent. Who can she trust to keep herself and her mission safe? As expected in a spy novel, everyone is watching and no one can be considered innocent.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC.

I thought that this book was super interesting! It entertained me from start to finish. I also thought that the characters were well-written and believable. My only complaint is that the ending seemed a little bit rushed. But overall, it was a great book!

"New Author" Ava Glass has written a fascinating and engaging tale about a young female British Spy.

Emma Makepeace is a likeable young woman who wants nothing more than to be a spy for her adopted country and to enact vengeance on the country she was forced to leave. She graduates from "Spy School" and is given an incredibly hard assignment - convince oncologist Michael Primalov to be moved to an undisclosed location before Russian agents find him and kill him. Michael is less than willing and Emma has multiple obstacles to overcome to keep him and herself safe as we learn that London has the most security cameras posted in the world!

I loved the spy information and the training flashbacks and enjoyed this fast paced and thrilling story. I would recommend this book to any James Bond fan and suspect this isn't the last we have heard of Emma. One question, who is Ava Glass? This author is publishing under another name.... like an undercover spy. If you like spy books, strong female heroines and action paced thrillers, then Alias Emma is for you!
#RandomHouse #Ballantine #Netgalley

Alias Emma
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Thriller / Mystery
Format: Kindle eBook
Date Published: 8/2/22
Author: Ava Glass
Publisher: Random House Publishing
Pages: 288
Goodreads Rating: 4.10

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for providing a digital copy of the book for me to read in exchange for my honest opinion.

Synopsis: Emma, newly minted secret agent, 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. When Emma's handler goes dark, there's no one left to trust. And just one wrong move will get them both killed.

My Thoughts: I am not usually a fan of the spy genre, but found this book enjoyable. This IS the female Bond!! Fast paced, action, edge of seat thriller. Our author is well known but is writing this under a pseudonym to attract a different audience. This appears to be a first in a series, which I welcome. Emma’s character is well developed with depth by filing in her backstory, not afraid of anything, ingenious in finding resources to complete the mission, and just this badass persona that I enjoyed very much. Emma is very likable and I rooted for her the entire book. The author’s writing is complex, twisty, and did an amazing job with descriptions of the scenery and action, so much so that you felt like you were in Emma’s pocket along with the journey to save Michael! I had a hard time putting down this book once I started to read. I highly recommend that you preorder this novel that will be released in August!

Good book! This book had a lot of great action! It also had suspense, intrigue, and lots of cold blooded murder! The storyline was very interesting and kept me glued to my kindle! I will definitely recommend reading this book as it was well worth reading! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

I loved the premise of this one more than the execution. There seemed to be holes in the story and then it just ended so abruptly.

I don’t care for the spy genre. I do try, I don’t like to put limits on my reading, but time and again, spy stories just don’t do it for me. Too overdone, too convoluted with intrigue, too action-driven.
This one is no exception, except that it’s pretty streamlined. Maybe because it’s short, maybe because it’s meant to have a wider appeal, but either way this is the popcorn edition of spy fiction. A movie-adaptation ready one night/real time sort of adventure across London as an intrepid spy known as Emma is trying to bring her designated protectee to safety.
Of course, he is handsome and of course, sparks do that thing sparks do, and of course, the evil guys are oh so evil and have tapped into London’s extensive CCTV network so they see all and of course, Emma is tough as nails and nothing, not even bullets, can stop her, and of course, she’s had some super training by her boss which will be flashed onto in flashbacks and made her the superspy that she is. You name a cliché and you can probably find it in here, but that’s spy genre for you.
The overall production is kind of silly, but it’s fun enough, nothing that overworks one’s brain, lots of action, some romance, a decent serving of cheese et voila, a spy thriller.
Is it going to change my mind about the spy genre? No, definitely not. But it’s obvious the effort was made. Wherein normally spy fiction can get too cerebral, this book strategically went the opposite way, straight into the cheeseboard.
That name alone…seriously, a spy with an alias Emma Makepeace. Can we be more obvious? Nothing more creative for a woman on a lifelong revenge mission?
What about the romance? Does it have to be quite so cheddary? Not an ounce of subtlety. At least, the ending didn’t go too cheesy. But who knows, maybe it’s just gearing up for a sequel. Seems to be the thing to do these days.
But it’s readable, it’s entertaining. It’s like spy fiction for people who don’t care about spy fiction. Very much an action movie of a book. If you’re into that sort of thing. Reads quickly too. Thanks Netgalley.

This was an action packed spy book which mostly took place over one night.
Emma Makepeace (not her real name) is a new agent for a top secret agency in London. Her initial assignment was as an undercover working in a clothing store. Her first big assignment came from her handler, Ripley, to get a pediatric oncologist to a safe house. The doctor is the son a Russian dissidents who have worked with the British agency and whose life is in danger. Michael doesn't believe her initially, but becomes convinced during their adventure.
Once Emma and Michael got on their way, she realized that 3 SUVs with Russian agents were following them closely. They had hacked the Ring of Iron - the CCTV system covering most of London' streets. Emma's quick thinking, preparation an training got them through the city - although not without some injuries.
In addition to the pursuit by the Russians -her handler went dark and the replacement officer gives her very little information or guidance about her assignment.
This was fast paced, and I was thankful for some breathers interspersed every few chapters- which gave Emma's family history, her military training, and some agency training - which helped me get her perspective. These chapters were fairly well developed.
My primary objection was the lack of story development as 80% of the book was about the chase through London. It would have helped me to have a general map of London to get an idea of the places that were mentioned.
The ending was alright but inconclusive. It seemed to me to be setting up a sequel which I would probably enjoy.
I received this e-ARC book from NetGalley and the publisher and am leaving this review voluntarily. (3.5 stars)

4.5 stars for this female driven spy-action novel. If you like James Bond movies, this is one to put on your list.

Emma Makepeace is an agent for the Vernon Institute, and her second major assignment is to extract the son of a Russian scientist to a safehouse in London before the Russian assassins on their trail can kill her and kidnap him. What complicates things is that the Russians have hacked the London CCTV system and her agency has left her with no resources but her own wits to trek across London, avoid the cameras, and deliver Michael to safety.

This book is short and frenetically paced. It is a true action novel, with conflict and tension packing every page. I enjoyed getting to know Emma and Michael, and loved the snippets of her backstory that we got every few chapters, that not only explained who she was as a person, but also built the apprehension and worry I as a reader felt for them in their journey on foot across the city. This one is definitely one to read, and I will read any sequels that maye end up being written, as this was clearly set up with several unresolved plot lines, to be continued in the future.

Thank you to Random House - Ballantine and NetGalley for the electronic ARC of this novel for review.