This is a new to me author, but I will be definitely looking for more of her works. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and I can’t wait to see what else is going to happen. At least I hope there’s going to be more. The author pulls you into the story and doesn’t let you go until the very end. I love stories where it feels like you’re right there with the characters and the author does a great job of doing that.


I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.

It is a family affair in this one, where a daughter follows in the family footsteps of being a spy in the CIA, coming across a conspiracy long since covered up by her own organization.

Told in dual timelines, you get to experience what being ‘in too deep’ can do to a person. Difficult decisions will need to be made regarding her father and how to maintain diplomatic relations with Russia. You can only hide the truth for so long, and the time is up.

I liked the premise of the daughter uncovering past conspiracies involving her father, but her dad was really dumb in my opinion. I found myself frustrated with his decisions throughout. There were a lot of side characters to keep track of which was a bit distracting, but still a cool premise, with decent execution.

Appreciate the early copy from Simon & Schuster in exchange for my honest review

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of "The Helsinki Affair" by Anna Pitoniak. Following CIA agent, Amanda Cole. Cole tries to uncover the understory of what is unfolding regarding a senator's death. During the story, we learn about the history of things connected to her father's past (also a spy).
There were multiple timelines and international travel. It was well-written with a great plot and the fun ride. The political undertones were not my preference, and it was a read that i had to take in small doses. It was a good book, overall. I have already recommended it to my father.

Anna Pitoniak tries to write a spy thriller about a female spy. The book has gotten lots of attention because of it but as one commenter says about the review in the Washington Post, Why isn't there any discussion of the writing? Well maybe it's because the writing isn't great. (The Washington Post review wasn't very great either, getting as it does one of the most important facts wrong) Amanda isn't well written - the bit about her past dependence on alcohol is really weak. Katherine, an older fellow spy, is much more interesting. And Charlie, Amanda's dad, about whom the story revolves, is a shadow. All in all it's an ok book but not one that will push any of the old boys off their perches, much as we might like it to.

Amanda Cole has been following her father’s footsteps by becoming a CIA officer, but she is slowly becoming bored with her lackadaisical assignment in Rome. Then one day in summer, a Russian walks into the American embassy stating he knows of an assassination plot against a US Senator. Amanda’s superior doesn’t believe it, and twenty-four hours later the Senator is dead.

Amanda finds herself the new station chief and given assistance by the legendary spy Kath Frost in order to determine why the Senator was murdered. A terrifying question follows Amanda as she investigates. Why did the Senator have her father’s name in his notes? And why did Charlie Cole ask her to not involve him?

Espionage stories are one of the genres that I enjoy reading, especially authors like Daniel Silva. Anna Pitoniak is similar to Silva but brings a new element that Silva hasn’t quite yet. I really wanted to read an espionage novel with a female spy as the protagonist, and this was perfect. However, this is more of a family-based espionage story than a country against country espionage novel. The plot line follows two timelines between father and daughter, and the switching POV could be, and often was, a mid-chapter switch. That made it a little difficult to follow at moments. I wish it had been more by chapter with a chapter title to lead the way. There is also a bit of a cliffhanger at the end, and it makes me want to know more. What actually happens?

Overall, I rate this novel 4 out of 5 stars.

I’m now 3-for-4 on Anna Pitoniak books as five star reads, and—hooray—this is a good one!

I really loved The Futures and I also liked Necessary People. I did not particularly like Our American Friend (authors, please stop trying to imagine Melania Trump into being a sympathetic figure), so I was a bit nervous that Pitoniak was going with another spy novel.

But unlike the last book, this is a GOOD spy novel. I loved the premise of this, the intricacy of the plot, and the nuanced, complex characters. There were a few parts I found hard to follow, not being particularly well informed on the Cold War (especially with regard to the Soviet-Afghan War as a kind of proxy for Russian-American conflict), but it all comes together nicely, and the story moves better than many traditional non-action driven spy novels.

Pitoniak is an auto-read author for me, now as ever, and I love how well she handles so many different genres of fiction.

Growing up, the last thing Amanda Cole thought she wanted to be was a spy. Her grandfather was in the CIA as was her father Charlie, and she’d seen firsthand the strain the job had put on her parents’ marriage. Now at the age of forty, she’s happily single and less contentedly second-in-command of the CIA’s Rome desk. Rome is nice, but savvy, talented Amanda wishes she could spend her days actually doing the job she’s trained for instead of whiling away her hours in comfort and abject boredom.

Even so, she’s experienced enough to have little time for an unlikely informant showing up at her station’s gates one day. When Russian bureaucrat Kostya Semonov claims that his information has to do with an impending assassination attempt on powerful American Senator Bob Vogel however, Amanda takes the meeting. After listening to his story, she’s convinced that his intel is legit. Alas that her station chief doesn’t feel the same way.

When the worst happens and Amanda’s beliefs are vindicated, she’s given greater responsibilities, including supervision of Semonov before he’s sent back to Russia to gather more intel for her. But a secret file Vogel had been putting together makes its way to her father, who finds himself listed in it as a person of interest despite having worked solely for the CIA’s public relations wing for decades. Charlie Cole’s career in active espionage, if not his entire life, had taken a downward turn after his disastrous posting to Helsinki forty years ago. It’s not an era he wants to revisit, so he punts making a decision about the file to his daughter, handing it to her and asking her to keep his name as far away from the case as possible.

Amanda knows straight away that she has to bring the file to the attention of her superior. What she’s less sure about is mentioning her father in relation to it:

QUOTE
She had to come clean about Charlie’s strange request; had to tell the director that her father was clearly hiding something. It was now or never. <i>Come on,</i> she thought. <i>Start talking. Right now. Right now!</i> But there, in the thick silence, it suddenly occurred to her. The obvious outcome of telling [her boss was that the] conflict of interest was glaring. She, as [Charlie’s] daughter, would instantly lose the assignment.

But she badly wanted to see this through. The Russians assassinating an American politician was uncharted territory. Plus, Amanda was the person Semonov trusted. What if, by removing herself, she destroyed any chance at progress?
END QUOTE

As Amanda delves further into the case, she begins to uncover the real reason the Russians wanted Vogel dead. With the help of CIA savant Kath Frost, she unravels a breath-taking global conspiracy to manipulate the world’s markets. But she also discovers details about the clandestine acts that led to her father’s career downfall, and that perhaps continue to keep him compromised. How will she reconcile her need for justice with her desire to protect her father from harm?

Amanda Cole is a fascinating character: smart, compassionate and sometimes completely oblivious to what a jerk she’s being. She feels like a fully realized person, and not just one of the cardboard caricatures that lead far too many cerebral spy novels. Kath, her greatest ally, is an absolute delight, as the two women bond over the misogyny they’ve faced in their careers from their own people. More importantly, Kath tempers Amanda’s more knee-jerk responses, in a partnership I’m eager to see much more of.

But the real star of The Helsinki Affair is Anna Pitoniak’s nuanced view of espionage and its history. As Abe Romanoff, the American ambassador to Russia, says to Amanda over breakfast one day:

QUOTE
“Do you know why the Cold War lasted as long as it did?”

“Because they wanted to kill us and we wanted to kill them.”

He smiled, bemused by her tone[.] “That was part of it, of course. But, also, it’s because certain people were enjoying themselves too much to stop. Not <i>most</i> people. Most people aren’t that cruel. But a few powerful people, on their side and on ours: They loved the game. They loved having an enemy, having a crusade. My God, you look back on those years and they seem almost baroque. Double agents. Triple agents. Mole hunts. Conspiracies inside conspiracies.”
END QUOTE

Cruelty, Ms Pitoniak posits, may be more efficient in getting things done in the short term. In the longer view, however, it only perpetuates unnecessary suffering, not just of the people involved, but of innocents caught in cruelty’s outward-moving ripple.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the loneliness that permeates the book’s final pages. Espionage, this book infers, is a field which reflects back onto its practitioners. Charity comes back to you, as does cowardice. The trick, as Amanda learns as the gripping narrative unfolds, is in navigating between the two and holding onto the values you know to be true and worthwhile, not just what’s easier to do or believe.

This one didn't rise to the level of Our American Friend for me, but it did solidify Anna Pitoniak as a must-read author.

The Helsinki Affair felt like part spy thriller, part book club/contemporary fiction. The plot didn't totally come together for me. But I enjoyed it SO much. There's just something about her writing that draws me in and hangs onto me (plot holes and questionable character choices be damned).

I also love that her main character, a CIA agent, is a woman, who works (well!) with another woman. They're both highly competent AND warm. A delight. Though be forewarned of a quick little subplot regarding alcohol abuse (labeled, handled, but potentially triggering to some all the same).

(𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 @𝘚𝘪𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬.) With 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗛𝗘𝗟𝗦𝗜𝗡𝗞𝗜 𝗔𝗙𝗙𝗔𝗜𝗥, I am an Anna Pitoniak completist. I’ve read all 4 of her books, enjoying them each to varying degrees, and her latest falls near the top. This is the story of a CIA operative stationed in Rome who stumbles onto a Russian plot that leaves a U.S. senator dead, assassinated. When Amanda heads back to Langley to give her report, her father drops a file on her that leaves Amanda’s head spinning. ⁣
⁣
Just like Amanda, her father was once a CIA operative, but has worked a desk job in DC for the last 30 years. As Amanda digs deeper and deeper into the case the connections between it and her father’s last overseas posting in Helsinki become increasingly difficult to explain. ⁣
⁣
I’m not normally a huge fan of spy thrillers, but Pitoniak is an author I trust, and that’s a good thing because I really liked this book. It had a lot that worked for me: a dual timeline, believable twists, engaging characters, and family ties that really amped up my interest. The main character, Amanda Cole, was a spy that appealed to me because she felt real. So much so, that I wouldn’t mind reading another book featuring her and that is a rare compliment coming from me! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I was expecting a bit more from this one considering how much I loved Our American Friend. I found that I wasn’t as engaged in the story as I had hoped.

The Helsinki Affair is a pre and post Cold War thriller, told in 2 timelines. It involves a father and daughter, both CIA officers. The father got caught up in the Cold War while serving as a case officer in Helsinki and was honey trapped by a Russian agent. The daughter coincidentally gets some intel while serving in Rome that leads her to investigate what really happened during her childhood. I wish this wasn't quite such a coincidence, but it was a fun read. I especially enjoyed the Russian characters, they were very entertaining.

The Helsinki Affair by Anna Pitoniak is the story of Amanda Cole, a CIA agent, who gets involved in figuring out a secret Russian plan that consists of the assassination of a US Senator and papers with her father's name (also a CIA agent) on them. Will Amanda figure the case out in time, or will her superiors continue to throw roadblocks in her way?

The aspect I enjoyed the most about this captivating spy thriller is the main character. Amanda is decisive and has instincts that are always spot on. And further, she trusts those instincts, which makes her an exceptional agent. It's easy to get behind Amanda and follow her through the story's many twists and turns.

The thriller is told in dual timelines. How Amada's father is connected to her case is intermittent with the current timeline. The switches in timelines frequently happen rather abruptly and jarringly, and the details regarding the Russian plot made my attention lag. Still, I enjoyed watching Amanda and Kath in action as powerful female main characters, and I loved the pacing and twists and turns that led to a very open-ended conclusion.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Simon and Schuster, and Anna Pitoniak for allowing me to review this suspensful spy thriller. This is such a great twist to the typical spy thriller we are all used to reading. This one involves women spies and I loved every minute of it! I loved the mystery surrounding the father/daughter relationship and the fact that they are both in the CIA. I also enjoyed the settings in Russia and Italy. I appreciated the dual timelines though I was a bit confused with some of the transitions, but I caught on quickly. The ending was open ended enough to perhaps hint at a sequel and I would love to read more! If you love spy thrillers with a twist, I highly recommend this book! Thank you again for allowing me to review this entertaining spy thriller.

I enjoyed this book and would love it to become a series. It is a spy novel with father and daughter working for the CIA. As the daughter works there in the present her father’s history and work at the CIA comes into play. I resonated with Anna the duaghter though I think some of her issues were solved rather quickly. Her colleague Kathleen could get her own series. Charlie, the father, I struggled with more. He made some mistakes that just seemed so stupid and obvious that it was hard to believe them.
Overall the book was a quick read and a decent addition to the spy genre.
I was given a copy by NetGalley. Views are my own.

’m not a big fan of CIA espionage type books. Not sure why I decided to read this book. I liked Amanda but did think the story moves a bit slow. I’m sure fans of this genre will enjoy this book

Anna Pitoniak's political thriller, Our American Friend, was one of my favorite books of 2022. Flexing to espionage thriller for her next book seemed a natural for Pitoniak. I am 100 percent here for the result. The Helsinki Affair is a tautly paced, female-centered, globe-trotting spy thriller featuring complex, mature women characters, corporate blackmail, Russian oligarchs, and a subplot that enlightened me about meme stocks. Another crucial plot complication involved main character Amanda Cole and her father, Charlie Cole, both working for the CIA, with Amanda's star rising and Charlie's having long ago fallen and settled at a desk. But what was it that precipitated that fall? The answer, which is tied to Amanda's latest gripper of a case, threatens to upend the case and the Cole family. All is hanging by a very thin thread. The ending is both surprising and satisfying and may leave the door open for further books involving these characters.

[Thanks to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for an opportunity to read an advanced reader copy and share my opinion of this book.]

I had really high hopes for this one, and I think that may have been my downfall here. I think had I had different expectations, I would have enjoyed this more. I was expecting much more of a high stakes thrill. What I found seemed much more tame with a lot of plot holes that you’d have to overlook in order for the book to work.

It’s hard to explain without giving anything away, but there were a few instances of something happening that you wouldn’t expect to have happened had it been a real world scenario. I did enjoy the dual timelines and found her father’s timeline very interesting. Overall, if you’re looking for an easy spy fiction read, I’d recommend checking this one out.

Thank you to Simon Books for my gifted copy!

The Helsinki Affair
By Anna Pitniak

Amanda Cole is a 40 year old CIA agent stationed in Rome – and feeling bored with this assignment. She longs for more excitement in her life. Little does she know that she is about to get her wish – but that her father (also working for the CIA) may start her on a path that may point directly to him as a possible double agent.

This is an interesting tale, which flips back and forth between Amanda's current story and her parents' time stationed in Helsinki over 30 years ago. What happened in Helsinki, who was behind it all, and what is the impact on the current geopolitical scene?

I found the story interesting – but felt somewhat let down by the ending. I have a problem with stories that are unresolved. I am hoping that this means that the author is planning on a sequel to provide resolution.

This is 4.5-4.75 stars for me. An excellent, fast-paced read. I loved the author’s intro so I understood up front her background as a book editor who specifically wanted to find the type of spy drama she loved but with a female lead…so she wrote Helsinki Affair! Based on the synopsis, I thought I might be in for something hokey like the recent Arnold Schwarzenegger Netflix father/daughter spy drama FUBAR…but it definitely was more serious than that. I often find Cold War/Russian spy narratives convoluted, and I appreciated how accessible and straightforward this story was. It still crammed in a lot of past and present in multiple cities, and that story development probably came at the expense of character development, but it didn’t really bother me. If you like this topic, this book is awesome. Thanks to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for my ARC!

I was excited to read this based on the synopsis but ultimately was less than I expected for a few reasons. First, I wouldn't call this a spy thriller. Thriller it was not. But my main issues came with the time jumping. It happens so often and so fast, right within chapters and it was very difficult to follow. I am not even sure how many times I had to stop and reread paragraphs to figure out what was going on because I couldn't always follow the jumping. It is very abrupt. It's a good premise and had good potential but was just ok for me. Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an advance e-copy in exchange for my honest opinion. The Helsinki Affair will be available on 11/14/23.