I didn't read the first book in the series, but this was a solid read. I do feel as though it went on a little too long, but it was still enjoyable.

An MI6 numbers analyst is found dead in a black suitcase in a posh, bus sparsely decorated flat. A murder that requires hazard suits in order to be near the body. A banned substance, VX, is discovered as what killed him. The clock is ticking though, because the man is related to highly political influenced, Lord Garrick and the press is about to have a field day. Therefore, multilingual spy, Emma Makepeace, is brought in to find out who is behind it and what the murdered analyst had known before his brutal death.

As Emma enters the world of Russian oligarchs to piece together what it was that the younger Garrick was about to reveal, she finds that beneath the surface, something isn’t right. She knew going into the mission that she was on her own and being on a yacht in the middle of the Mediterranean won’t keep her any safer than the enemies of rich, powerful men. When she eavesdrops on a conversation with the two Russians and an unknown third man, she recognizes that she has heard the person before, but can’t put a face to the name. What ensues is a maze of twists and turns that make you feel a need to pace while you keep reading to see what happens and who the traitor is. Emma is a strong female character who has a small support system she can trust, but is one of those people going to betray her? ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (This is the second book in a series with Emma as the lead character.)

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the advanced copy. Opinions expressed are my own. This book is set for publication on September 19, 2023.

#netgalley #arc #bookstagram #thetraitor #avaglass #randomhousepublishinggroup

Emma Makepeace is at it again. She is a member of an anti-terrorist group that is so secretive that it has no name. This time the son of a Lord who was working on an investigation for British Intelligence is murdered. Emma is brought in to infiltrate the yacht of a a Russian oligarch who has made his millions criminally. He and his partners in crime are up to something and it’s up to Emma to figure out what. They also suspect that there may be a mole in the Intelligence community informing the Russians of what is going on. It is solid, quick reading and won’t disappoint. Thanks to Net Galley and Bantam Books for an ARC for an honest review.

I picked this book up not knowing that it is the second in the Alias Emma series. The good thing is, it doesn't matter in the slightest if you read the first book or not - you will have everything explained to you multiple times if it's necessary knowledge for you to have.

I got through this book very quickly because it is easy to read and has a fast enough pace that makes you want to get through it. That being said, it was SUPER predictable. Did I guess what would happen from the first couple chapters? Yes. Were there too many pieces that felt unnecessary at times? Yes. Is it still a good book to read to get you out of a reading slump? It was for me, and for that reason it gets 3 stars even if it wasn't really that good of a book.

Give this one a try if you like spy stories that are super predictable and a bit cringey.

The Traitor by Ava Glass turned out to be a great surprise for me! I don’t typically enjoy detective/police procedural style novels but Emma Makepeace has made me a fan!

Emma is a spy on a dangerous mission in some of the most beautiful cities across the globe which makes for an easy read. She is the perfect strong female lead. Too often female leads are written in a way that they’re careless, emotional, infuriating, questionable decision makers but Emma is none of those things. She’s real and passionate without all of the cliches and that’s refreshing!

I see this is considered book 2 in a series but I never read the 1st book and I had no problems at all with jumping in at book 2.

A big thank you to NetGalley and RandomHouse/Ballantine/Bantam for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Ok, I need to read Alias Emma. Because I loved reading the second book in this series.

The Traitor by Ava Glass is a fast-paced read.
A well written spy thriller that held my attention and kept me engaged throughout.
This is a highly entertaining, immensely engaging, action-packed thriller.
The characters are perfectly drawn, well-developed and believable.
I look forward to reading the first story.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank You NetGalley and Random House, Ballantine & Bantam for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

When Russian oligarchs are suspected of selling arms to nations hostile to the West, a British spy risks her life to bring them down.

Emma Makepeace is the daughter of a Russian who spied for Great Britain, was ultimately discovered and killed. She grew up in England where she and her mother had fled to avoid a similar fate, and now works for a small and relatively unknown division of British intelligence. The work she does in uncovering Russian spies and other bad actors is her way of avenging her father’s death. When a member of MI6, a numbers analyst, is found dead in his own flat, killed by a nasty poison and stuffed into a suitcase, Emma’s group is tasked with finding out why he was killed, and by who, .His father has friends in high places, and he wants answers. It seems that the deceased was working on a case that had been officially closed, one concerning two Russian oligarchs who are suspected of selling arms to Syria, Iran, and other nations not friendly to England and the West Proof of their actions has never been uncovered, but maybe the dead analyst was closer to obtaining that proof than his bosses thought. Emma is tasked with going undercover on board a luxury yacht owned by one of the oligarchs as a worker, to look for evidence of the oligarchs’ criminal activities as well as to discover if there is a third member in that alliance as is suspected. From Nice to St Tropez to Barcelona, Emma is immersed in exotic locations, the excessive lifestyle of the super rich, and the heightened paranoia of the oligarch and his sinister bodyguard. Like Fleming’s James Bond, she has to rely on her training, her instincts, and nerves of steel to gain access to the information she and her country need to prevent future bloodshed. When time after time her actions come under suspicion and successful attempts are thwarted at the last minute, she begins to suspect that not only is there a third member to the criminal enterprise, that third person is someone from within the British government. Can she get to the truth and make her way to safety when she doesn't know whom she can trust?

The Traitor is fast paced and full of daring acts. Emma is smart, highly driven to accomplish her mission, and ready to risk it all in the name of a successful conclusion. She is human enough to feel uncomfortable at times at the way she must manipulate and take advantage of people who may be in the orbit of criminals but are not necessarily themselves throughly rotten, but she does what needs doing and deals with her conscience later. The toll that her job takes on her ability to lead a normal life is also demonstrated….can a spy have friends? A romantic partner? Or is she destined to live a life that is all work and no joy? The intelligence game is not for the faint of heart nor those who seek a regular life, and Emma is up to the task. The Traitor is the second in the Emma Makepeace series, a sequel to Alias Emma, and is a great read for those looking for a new espionage thriller. Fans of Alias Emma will be happy to see what Emma is up to next. Readers who enjoy the works of Gayle Lynds, Chris Pavone, and Stella Rimington (and Ian Fleming, of course) should also pick up a copy of Ava Glass’s novels. My thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine/Bantam/Random House Publishing for allowing me access to an advanced reader’s copy of The Traitor, I look forward to more of Emma’s exploits.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. This is the second book in the series, but I can honestly say that it still makes sense without reading the first. Even though I suspected who the Traitor might be I still wanted to finish it to find out if I was right and I like the author's style of writing. Definitely recommend reading this book.

At this point you'd think I'd read more about the books I request from NetGalley than I do. So yet again, I've requested and read book 2 in a series and only realized it when I was a few chapters in. Thankfully, while I did miss some backstory from book 1, I was able to still keep up with this installment. There was a fair enough review when events of book 1 were referenced. Not to say I'm not going to go back and correct this...I've quite enjoyed this character!
After opening with a body found in a suitcase with no clues as to who did it and how they got in, Emma is on the case. Trained an the elite MI6, she's placed to infiltrate the inner circle of some Russian players thought to be trafficking chemical weapons into her country. But with a traitor in her midst, she doesn't know who she can or should trust.

This was an edge of your seat thriller that I found myself unable to put down. For the most part, I found the story pretty believable. Except. Yes there's an except. I figured out the spy early on and with as intelligent a spy I found Emma to be I was quite surprised she hasn't figured it out. She seems quite adept at her job and incredibly motivated as her father lost his life as a spy when she was young. That made it the only unbelievable part of the book that for someone who already had such a lack of trust in others was blindsided by this person.

Even though I haven't yet read book 1, I can confidently say this is a strong sequel in this series ans I look forward to reading more of Emma's adventures being a top spy in this small, elite group.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book. I enjoyed the first book in the series, and appreciated that this one had a wildly different pace and setting. I don't read a ton of spy fiction, primarily because I like to avoid toxic masculinity in my narrators, so I love that the protagonist of this series is female and both tough and fallible. An easy & engaging read!

The Traitor by Ava Glass kept me breathless with the daring dangerous intensity of England’s MI6 going after foreign bad guys and traitors of their country. With the main spotlight on one the MI6’s youngest female agents Emma, who charges into dangerous situations and keeps me afraid she won’t make it out time after time.
I enjoyed The Traitor immensely, plus I have found another author to eagerly await her next book.
#TheTraitor
#AvaGlass
#NetGalley

Book Two in the Emma Makepeace Series is here!

Emma is a modern-day Bond. Working for a department in the MI6 that technically doesn’t even exist is so secret. The goal? Stop Russian criminals. Emma is very good at her job and the bad guys are really bad!

Going undercover on a Russian criminal’s yacht is the assignment. Alone. No phone, no contacts. Her only handler is Jon and he is very tightlipped about things.

As Emma finds herself looking down the barrel of a gun meant to kill her, she needs backup fast! But someone has ratted her out. But who? One of the good guys? As the action picks up Emma may not be getting out of this jam!

Such a smart series with such clever characters!

NetGalley/ RHPG/BANTAM September 19, 2023

First book I have read by this author. I really enjoyed this book and now will go back and read the first Alias Emma book. This book kept you guessing and even though it was a thriller about Russian illegal arms and drug dealers, it wasn’t slow and always held my interest. Hope there will be more books to come. I received an advance reader copy of this book for an honest review and can guarantee that fact had no influence on my review at all. Highly recommend this book.

3.5/5 A fun follow-up to Agent Emma. In this second book in the series, we follow Emma as she poses as crew on a fancy yacht. Emma's character is smart, gutsy, and sometimes a little reckless, but we know that in the end, she will take town the bad guys and come out on top. Overall, a fast and fun series to read.

I have not read anything else by Glass before. This was a good book but not my favorite ever. The story and characters were good too. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. Three stars.

An interesting geo-political thriller, however the lead character, Emma Makepeace, is lacking in enough gravitas to sustain interest and credibility. I received an ARC from NetGalley and the opinion expressed is my own.

Thank you for the opportunity to preview The Traitor.
This is a spy novel with a females protagonist.
Lots of action and suspense.
3 stars

I loved the Traitor and was so happy to reunite with Emma again! This time, Emma goes abroad on another spy journey. I appreciated the return of many of the other characters, too

Emma Makepeace, an M16 operative, loves her work with British Intelligence. She doesn't hesitate when asked to go undercover as a worker on a Russian oligarch's million dollar yacht and gain evidence to stop a drug and money laundering operation.
The story is very fast paced and the characters and locations jump right off the pages with the very detailed descriptions that Glass employs so well.
Fascinating storyline and intriguing look into an intelligence operative's finesse at evidence gathering and the decadent, totally without substance life of an oligarch.
Both contemporary and relevant to a lot of life today.
Will be on the lookout for the next Glass offering👍

I enjoy this series. Emma Makepeace is a solid protagonist, and I enjoy following along on her adventures. While there is some character growth across books, I rather enjoy the fact that each reads like a standalone story that happens to have a continuing cast of characters. It would be nice to see some play development on the long-standing issue of her father though.... While I saw the big reveal coming, it didn't detract from my enjoyment of the story. It was a fun and engaging read.