I loved this story - a flashback to my favorite spy novels only females in the lead! Excellent characters and fast-paced. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of The Helsinki Affair by Anna Pitoniak!

oh i plowed through this one. incredibly compelling. there really is a hole in the market for like. really practical not overly melodramatic female led espionage stories. really enjoyed it

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read The Helsinki Affair. I love the story of a female spy. Amanda is a strong & capable agent who is thrust into a dangerous game after an assassination. The dynamics between Amanda & Charlie as agents and daughter and father are interesting. Ms. Pitoniak has another hit on her hands with this one!

Betrayal or loyal, love and country. When Amanda faces to choices, which will she choose? The truth will surprise you

The Helsinki Affaair by Anna Pitoniak is a superb read and well worth the time spent! Great plot and characters.

Russian and American agents trying to get the upper hand during this game of cat and mice. Amanda Cole a newly appointed deputy chief in Rome is thrust into the spotlight when an US senator has died heart failure or was it. Not long before his death a Russian man came to Amanda to tell her that Senator Vogel will die and it will be seen as heart failure. What happens after that is a true spy story that not only pushes Amanda into the CIA spotlight, but someone she knows and loves is also pushed into the spotlight but not in a shinning light.

Amanda Cole is trying to get everyone to believe that Senator Vogel was murdered, but what proof does she have. Only the word of a Russian man who said he knows this information. He must be careful or he will be killed. Amanda's investigation leads them to many dangerous people. Who does she trust, how can she protect her father? Should she protect him at all.

The Helsinki Affair was written in the past and present time. The past deals with her father Charlie and the many misdeeds he created in his 50 years with the CIA. Misdeeds that do not help Amanda during this investigation into the senator's death. Ms Pitoniak wrote a very interesting novel which I could not put down. Amanda's character was full of purpose. She had a vision and was not letting anyone stand in her way of doing her job.
She is strong and yet she showed her soft side. She needed guidance and that's where Kath an older agent came in to guide her. It took a while for the truth to come out but it was worth it. The dynamic between the two was great to read.

I am truly not a political person, but as I kept reading this book it opened my eyes as to how in an instant things can change for people, sometimes without them knowing its happening. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. Think you Ms. Pitoniak for such an eye opening novel

Wonderful book! Very entertaining and I am hopeful that this will be part of a series. So much can be written involving these characters and the story line.

I wanted to read The Helsinki Affair because it is a modern spy novel written by a woman! I love the espionage sub-genre of thrillers — I absolutely devour Daniel Silva and Charles Cumming, as I have John le Carré. And yet, I have found that espionage novels are almost exclusively the realm of men and male authors, leaving a missing piece of storytelling behind. The Female-centric espionage story.

The book’s heroine, Amanda Cole, is a young CIA officer following in the footsteps of her father, who was a spy during the Cold War. Unable to prove herself in the male dominated spy business, Amanda is lucky to be on duty one hot day in Rome, while the others are on vacation, when a Russian defector walks into the Embassy. Strangely, Amanda’s father is at the heart of the unfolding story she discovers. Bringing even more female energy into the story, Amanda’s partner is an older, seasoned female spy.

Amanda travels from Rome to London, and then from St. Petersburg to Helsinki where the story comes to fruition. I enjoyed the female point of view as the novel unfolded, though I would have preferred to have felt more of the various settings as we traveled with Pitoniak. Setting was essential in this story, and yet it took third place to character and plot. Both character and plot excel, however.

Pitoniak has written several other novels, though The Helsinki Affair is her first espionage novel. Let’s hope she sticks with the sub-genre of spy thrillers, and we see more of Amanda Cole.

My rating 4 of 5.

This ARC title was provided by Netgalley.com at no cost, and I am providing an unbiased review. The Helsinki Affair will be published on November 14, 2023.

Good
This was a good spy novel, but it dragged a little in some areas. Amanda is a CIA operative in Rome. When a Russian man gives her some intel about an upcoming assassination, her station head drags his feet. Amanda acts on her own instincts. She winds up taking over the Rome office. When information about the assassination includes Amanda's father's name, she doesn't know what to do. Report her CIA father as a possible Russian spy? Her father was a spy in Helsinki for several years, then abruptly resigned that position and transferred to a clerical position in the US, What happened in Helsinki and is he a good or bad guy?

This is a good set-up for a series of books. Amanda calls in a very independent and sharp agent named Kath. Both characters are interesting. Somewhat flawed, but in believable ways.

The Helsinki Affair by Anna Pitoniak tells the story of Amanda Cole who becomes a CIA agent. She is stationed in Rome when a Russian man walks in with knowledge of an assassination attempt of a US Senator. Her boss doesn’t buy it but when it happens, Amanda is involved in a fast paced spy thriller. There’s a dual timeline present time and what happened 40 years ago. This becomes difficult since her father is involved. It’s a good story with good characters. I hope there’s a sequel, some loose ends need to be tied up. Thank you to NetGallery and Simon and Schuster for letting me review this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Net Galley for providing an early copy of The Helsinki Affair by Anna Pitoniak

Agent Amanda Cole has just been named chief of the Rome office of the CIA when her hunch on a knowledgeable Russian proves correct but her boss fails to act. Now that Amanda is running things, she will place even her father's CIA history in jeopardy---did he secretly work for the Russians when he was posted to Helsinki? With her keen eye and a female colleague who doesn't miss a thing, these two women will move the American-Russian-Afghan parlaying to a new and dangerous level.

The story unfolds in two time frames: Charlie Cole's past and Amanda Cole's present. Readers will follow the twists and turns under Pitoniak's skilled head and hand with a conclusion that is not perfect but offers the best possible outcomes for all the major players in this very exciting tale of espionage.

Great storytelling and well-developed characters. I was hooked from the first page. Mystery and intrigue all wrapped up in a gripping tale. Definitely recommend.

The Helsinki Affair is a superb spy mystery that keeps you wondering how covert actions will determine the final outcome of the participants of the international affair. Many times you feel for the decisions that the players are forced to face. Anna has done great penning an exciting tale.

This is a well written, well researched, well imagined story of a woman station chief for the CIA, stationed in Rome that gets info about an upcoming assassination of a US Senator by the Russians. The case leads her to a mystery surrounding her father, also a CIA agent. Is he a double agent. and how the complicated history of the US, Afghanistan and Russia plays into it. There is a lot to unravel in this multiple timelines/ multiple perspectives and lot of ethical issues. . 4.5

Amanda Cole works in the family business. Like her father and grandfather before her Amanda is a CIA agent. Although she’s stationed in Rome, it is a boring unfulfilling assignment. That is, until the day a nervous Russian man that creates bogus passports for Russian operatives comes into her office with information that a U.S. Senator is about to be assassinated. Amanda believes this to be credible information, however, her boss thinks that the information is a sham and refuses to act on it.
As predicted, within twenty four hours Senator Bob Vogel is dead. As she unravels why the Senator has been assassinated, she finds that her father’s past Helsinki assignment collides with the present day mystery. In a world dominated by men, Amanda finds herself deep into the world of espionage, blackmail, corruption and market manipulation. Amanda is brilliant at unraveling the truths long hidden but the truth will test her loyalty to her country and her family. Fast paced storytelling.
This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Amanda Cole, deputy chief of station in Rome, a posting she finds utterly boring, is faced one lazy summer afternoon with a walk-in, a Russian on vacation with his wife in Italy claiming that a New York senator is going to be assassinated. This interesting spy story moves between two timelines - the present day and Helsinki during the Cold War - prescient too on focusing on stock market manipulations through algorithms by the Russians, along with double agents and more, including the relationship between Amanda and her father, also a CIA agent though Charlie Cole has held a desk job in PR at the agency for decades. I enjoyed the machinations, assumed the algorithm/stock market manipulation is probably actually happening, though the ending let me down - unless this is the first in a series and the story of Amanda and Charlie will continue - which I hope it does.

Thanks to Simon & Schuster and Netgalley for an ARC.

After a slew of heavy memoirs and some ponderous literary fiction, this spy thriller was the palate cleanser I needed. Thankfully Pitoniak set out to write the book she wanted to read - a propulsive spy thriller told from the perspective of a female CIA agent. At 40, Amanda Cole is young enough to retain her idealism about her work but old enough to trust her instincts. When a case drops in her lap that could unravel not just Russian-led stock market manipulation, but potentially her own father's career, she must tread carefully and keep her wits about her. This is a clever and action packed spy novel and a welcome addition to the genre. I enjoyed Pitoniak's Our American Friend and her deeper dive into political spy-tinged fiction does not disappoint! Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC.

In Necessary People, Anna Pitoniak took us inside a TV newsroom with a thriller that kept its foot on the gas from the beginning (difficult friendships! grudges!) to the perfectly-rendered ending. This time, she unleashes her considerable skills for plotting and characterization on an espionage thriller — while keeping female characters front and center. I'll be recommending this book in the 17 November episode of my podcast 'The Library of Lost Time.'

Wow 6 degrees separation really is close! This quite the story of family, and secrets. Makes you wonder IF anyone is who ' THEY say they are?

The Helsinki Affair is about a female spy, Amanda Cole, who works for the CIA while stationed in Rome. When a Russian operative shows up claiming that a US senator will be killed, Amanda’s Station Chief insists that the guy is bonkers. However, the Senator soon dies of apparent medical reasons, and Amanda is tasked with the investigation.

This is a great spy story with many interesting tidbits thrown in. I’m ecstatic to finally read a book with a female lead in this sort of role. This is a 4-star read for me and I look forward to more from Anna Pitoniak. Thank you, NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the advanced copy.