I ended up getting an audiobook for this one, thinking it would help me get through it after the ebook just was hard...

It was better! But still took forever.

It just felt slow to me. I LOVE political thrillers, and this just was lacking a lot of action and adventure for me. I need action! I need to be enthralled and this was not it for me.

I know that Pitoniak is a popular author, as far as ratings go, but this book just didn't do it for me.

I love female spy stories and am always looking for more of them as they are still relatively rare in the genre. This was a really interesting change of direction from Anna Pitoniak's earlier work, and I really enjoyed it. I'd love to see her do more in this subgenre and maybe even up the action a tiny bit. I loved the father/daughter dynamics and the way the past informed the present case. I'd read a sequel if it existed and am eager to see where the author goes next.

Amanda Cole is a CIA agent that has been stuck in sleepy Rome for most of her career. When a lowly Russian operative stumbles into her post telling her that a US Senator is about to be assassinated in Cairo, she tells her superiors. Her bosses think that the operative is lying and does nothing. When the Senator is killed, she is thrust into a conspiracy that somehow includes her father, Charlie, when he was an agent during the Cold War.

Between familial relationships and an obligation to the country on why the senator was killed leads Amanda and brash talking, legendary senior agent Kath on a global investigation. It is a fast-paced espionage and political thriller that keeps you on your toes. I especially loved that both Amanda and Kath are two fierce female agents at the forefront of the investigation rather than relegated to menial tasks. I hope this turns into a series.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this ARC. The Helsinki Affair is out now.

Sarah Pitoniak's The Helsinki Affair is a captivating spy thriller that delivers a fresh perspective on the genre. The novel follows Amanda Cole, a brilliant young CIA officer, as she navigates a dangerous world of espionage, betrayal, and international intrigue. It was a quick and strong read for me. I'll look forward to more from this author.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me.

It's so much fun to read a spy novel/thriller featuring a strong, female main charachter. Amanda Cole follows in her father's footsteps as a CIA agent, Amanda has a fractured realtionship with her father, and a frisson-filled one with her older counterport, a 70 something veteran agent, Kath. These are both well-exlored relationships, and Pitoniak also brings the suspense as she moves the story between 2 different time periods, the present and 1990s Helsinki. It's a fun page turner!

I loved “Necessary People” but this one was a bit of a let down for me! I never really clicked with it. I didn’t feel fully in the atmosphere, and the characters fell a bit flat for me at times.

The setting was great -- loved it! Want to discover other books by this author. Loved the interplay between characters.

The Helsinki Affair is another spy thriller by Anna Pitoniak that does not disappoint. So many twists and turns and moments that will leave you shocked by how it all goes down.

CIA Agent Amanda Cole must find out who killed a Senator and why they did it. What she wasn't expecting to find along the way though is the connection to her own father who worked undercover during the Cold War. Amanda finds out information about her family that she didn't know about, and the danger it puts her in as a CIA agent. Full of twists and turns along the way as she unravels the truth of her own parents' past and the case she is working along the way she discovers things about herself with a little help from a senior agent (Kath) who is there to guide her along this investigation.

Overall this book is high stakes from start to finish with how many people and countries are involved in it. Amanda has to walk a very fine line as she is uncovering all these secrets, and it's one that does start to get to her after a while. She must make hard choices not only for the case but in her personal life as well. While this book is a long one and at times can feel a bit like non-fiction with all the information that is told about the Cold War it's also one that is very well researched and you can tell the author truly cared about the subject. I enjoyed Amanda and Kath's characters and all that we learned about them and their careers in the CIA.

I think this book is great for anyone who loves spy thrillers and wants more of them. If you liked Pitoniak's first book you'll love this one.

Can we get a spin-off of Kath's life because her life and the work she has done over the years sounds fascinating!

A spy thriller that will keep you guessing at times! I love how this story dives into being a female and a spy and what happens when the job means suspecting those close to you.

This book had me staying up late to finish. You get so invested in the characters, especially our lead, and I found myself holding my breath several times. Really solid spy/political thriller

A wild ride of a read, hold on dear friends and family. Every step of the novel had me mind boggled.

Thank you Netgalley for the E-Arc exchange for an honest review.

I tried reading this one but I barely got to the 15% mark and realized this is not for me. The characters and the plot just didn't hold my interest at all. It started promising but for some reason I wasn't connecting with the characters or the plot

I enjoyed Pitonaik's previous novel and couldn't wait to start her latest female-driven spy novel. This novel not only has one female lead character but two. Here's hoping that this turns into a series as it has that potential.

I love a good mystery.

Amanda Cole’s character was so well written. The intrigue and action kept building as the book continued. The mystery was hard to figure out and I loved it. I don’t like when it’s easy to figure out what is really going on. The Helsinki Affair was so well done and I look forward to reading more books by Anna Pitoniak.

This book was not for me. I appreciate the publishers and netgalley giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

I enjoyed Our American Friend so I jumped at the chance to read the author’s next book. It certainly kept me reading wanting to find out how all the pieces eventually came together and what the final puzzle looked like. That said, there was still a lot of jumping around and suspension of disbelief that made it a frustrating experience. However Kath is a gem and I’d love a spinoff book about her crazy life.

I don’t want to write a long list of nitpicks so I’ll say this, if you want a US-Russia spy novel with a slow churn story and various forms of relationship drama, it’s worth a read. If you’re looking for a nonstop thrill ride, look elsewhere.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review.

I always get excited for a new spy thriller, but The Helsinki Affair didn't quite hit the target. The setup was intriguing—Amanda Cole, a CIA agent in Rome, gets a tip about a planned assassination of a US Senator. The premise promises high stakes and international intrigue. However, the execution was lackluster.

Amanda's quest to unravel an international conspiracy after the assassination takes us on a whirlwind tour from Rome to Helsinki, yet the storytelling felt bogged down by too many details and awkward sentence structures. The narrative's frequent point of view switches, especially noticeable in the audiobook, added to the confusion rather than the suspense.

Halfway through, the novel took on a nonfiction tone that seemed out of place in a supposed thriller. The characters lacked depth, and I struggled to stay engaged. Although the ending had a decent twist and left room for a sequel, the overall experience was underwhelming. I finished the book more out of a sense of duty, as it was an ARC, than enjoyment.

The novel's bright spot was the potential of its premise and a few well-done scenes that reminded me of what could have been. I'm giving The Helsinki Affair 3 stars because it had its moments, but I was hoping for a lot more. Now, I'm planning to revisit the author’s earlier work, Our American Friend, which I've heard is much better. Here's hoping it delivers the thrill that was missing here.

** Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for a review copy of this book. The opinions are my own.

The Helsinki Affair is a spy story that manages to be about relationships, families, career ambitions, and the Cold War all at once. When CIA agent Amanda Cole begins to dig into a murder case that includes a personal tie to her father Charlie's own murky past in the Cold War, she has to ask herself if finding out the truth is worth it. I am coming to accept that no matter how fast I want to read an Anna Pitoniak spy novel I’ll have to take my time with it. I think I like being in the worlds the author builds best that way, over time. I already miss the father/daughter duo Amanda and Charlie, and I'm pleased to be surprised that every guess I made was wrong! Thanks to Net Galley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC!

I was excited to read another Cold War novel from this author. I really enjoyed Our American Friend. Unfortunately, this novel wasn’t as interesting or compelling for me. There were a lot of characters and time jumps that made it difficult for me to follow, especially on audio. I found it hard to connect to the characters. I liked Amanda’s inner strength, intelligence, and ambition.

This was a smart well-researched spy thriller. I found it particularly refreshing that it featured a female CIA agent/diplomat & strong female characters. The novel was slow to start, but picked up and keep me interested. A lot of characters, overlapping storylines. All in all an interesting read - 3.5 stars.

Thanks to Simon & Schuster and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for a fair review.