THE TRAITOR by Ava Glass is the next espionage thriller in the series which began with the very exciting Alias Emma. Emma Makepeace, a British spy, is back and posing as a staff member on the yacht of a wealthy (and criminal) Russian oligarch. That setting is impressive and isolating. Emma (posing as Jessica) is intent on learning about possible chemical weapons trades so she comes across some very ruthless adversaries. The subsequent deaths and numerous close calls add tension, but unfortunately, the "traitor" of the title is fairly obvious from the start. That means a good deal of the suspense centers on how long Emma will be betrayed and the extent to which she is likely to be deceived by her handlers. Emma is a very likeable character and her conscience is increasingly coming into conflict with espionage practices – I am looking forward to more in this series.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Random House Ballantine Bantam for gifting me a digital ARC of the second in this wonderful spy series by Ava Glass - 5 stars!

Emma Makepeace has a new assignment - evidence that a Russian oligarch is selling chemical weapons that murdered an MI6 officer. This officer had been investigating two oligarchs, while a third man's identify is unknown, and is of the utmost importance in the case. Emma goes undercover as Jessica, working on one of the oligarch's yachts. But the danger may be closer than she could know.

I love this series and adore Emma - a very bad ass female James Bond character. She has her reasons for her drive and sole work focus, but she shows her heart as well. If you didn't read the first in this series, Alias Emma, this book works perfectly as a stand-alone read, but definitely read it because it fills in lots of the back story and is just so good! These books are tense, thrilling, and never a dull moment reading, so clear your calendar! Anxiously awaiting more Emma!

I don’t usually gravitate towards spy books, but this series could change me, y’all. They were so quickly paced and kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I read both in a couple of sittings each because once I started, I couldn’t put it down. Also, I LOOOOVE when a book one is great and book two in a series is even better 🙌📚

Alias Emma is a single day journey of Emma trying to ditch the enemy while completing a mission. Think 24 but with a bad ass woman spy. 🔎

The Traitor follows Emma through a tense and wildly dangerous undercover operation on a boat. Think Below Deck but with bad guys. 🛳️

Overall, these are a ✨ 10/10 YES ✨ for me and books I’d definitely recommend!

4 Take Names Stars

I am enjoying this character of Emma Makepeace. This is her second book, and she is a take-charge, no fear allowed British spy with a Russian past!

Emma is part of a secret group called “The Agency,” and they are investigating Russians who are a danger to the world. This time, as the title implies, there’s a traitor who needs to be identified.

The book opens with a chilling murder of a British intelligence operative with virtually no clues. It does send a message, though, and Emma starts investigating. As she digs deeper, the team decides to send Emma undercover on a yacht to find evidence against the Russian oligarchs who are dealing in arms and other crimes.

Alone at sea, Emma must keep up the ruse and hope that her real identity isn’t discovered until she finds proof.

This one had great pacing and kept me interested until the end. I figured out a few things, but I enjoyed Emma’s strong character and would want her on my side in a fight. The author did a good job reminding me of things that we learned about Emma in the first book.

Overall, it was an enjoyable read, and I’ll definitely be reading future books with this character!

Emma Makepeace is a spy, but not an ordinary, everyday spy. She works for MI6 identifing Russian spies. When an MI6 spy is found murdered and stuffed into a suitcase, Emma will assume an undercover identity as a vactioner ona yacht they suspect of belonging to the killers. This is not a Bond book, it'smuch better. Emma is a smart, dedicated woman who will solve this crime, or else. The story flows very well, keeping the suspense and tension building until you hear the music that plays during a movie just before something blows. An excellent second book in this series, but easily stands alone as a great read.

Action packed and filled with suspense. An absolute pageturner. Emma is a force to be reckoned with.
Many thanks to Random House and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

British spy Emma Makepeace is back for another thrilling assignment in The Traitor by Ava Glass. Reader's were introduced to Emma in Glass's Alias Emma and this new novel does not disappoint. Emma goes undercover as a deck hand on a magnificent yacht. The yacht belongs to a Russian oligarch who definitely is guilty of many crimes and may be responsible for the murder of a M16 operative. The novel is filled with interesting characters and fast paced action. The plot intensifies when Emma suspects her identity has been revealed to the oligarch by someone from her own "firm". She finds herself in a desperate situation because of this horrible betrayal. The Traitor is exciting and entertaining. A definite must read.

I really like this series. The plots are tightly paced. They are an exciting read. Emma is a great character. This one involves finding a mole within the British intelligence.

"British spy Emma Makepeace goes undercover on a Russian oligarch’s superyacht, where she’s one wrong move away from a watery grave, in this electrifying thriller from the author of Alias Emma .

An MI6 operative is found dead, locked in a suitcase inside his own apartment. Despite an exhaustive search, no fingerprints are found at the scene. Emma Makepeace and her handler, Ripley, know an assassination when they see one, and such an obvious murder can mean only one thing. Someone is sending a message.

As she digs into his past, Emma discovers that the unfortunate spy had been investigating two Russian oligarchs based in London. He’d become obsessed with the idea that the two were spies, aided by a third man—whose identity he had yet to uncover. When he shared his findings within MI6 in the weeks before he died, the response came back fast and Drop the investigation and move on. Had he uncovered a secret that cost him his life?

To pick up where he left off without ending up in a suitcase of her own, Emma goes undercover on one of the oligarch’s million-dollar yachts, scheduled to set sail from the Côte d’Azur to Monaco. Under other circumstances, this would be a dream vacation. But if Emma’s real identity gets discovered, it’s a death sentence.

As Emma’s work reveals secrets she’d be safer not knowing, the danger ratchets up. The killer may be closer to home than any of them imagined, and Emma won’t be safe until he—or she—is caught."

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House/Ballantine/Bantam for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed herein are my own.

Great Author, Great Story, Loved it more than her others. A great book for a lazy weekend afternoon for an escape. Thanks

THE TRAITOR by Ava Glass is a smart, taut, beautiful thriller that stunned me with its elegance and quick turns of phrase that stopped me in my tracks and also hurtled me further into an entrancing story. I enjoyed the characters, the settings, the plot twists and revelations, the all of a truly wonderful tale. I received a copy of this book and these thoughts are my own, unbiased opinions.

I recently read Ava Glass's first novel Alias Emma and thoroughly enjoyed it. When I realized that there was a second book in the series, I was very excited to read it. The first book kept my interest with every turn of the page. The Traitor keeps that speed as well. I will say that I enjoyed Alias Emma much more than The Traitor but this book was a delight. Kept my interest and I read it really fast. Worth a purchase!

I absolutely loved the first book in this series. It was fast paced and smart. This one was a little less of both. I still like Emma. She just didn’t seem to be making decisions with the wit and grit of the first book. I found parts dragged a little. Still, the plot picked up at the end and in a few parts in the late half. The ending left a lot of doors open for future books.

I’m a sucker for spy thrillers, and I'm an even bigger fan when there’s a strong female lead. So, it’s no surprise that I’m loving British spy Emma Makepeace. Alias Emma was one of my top books last year, and The Traitor is an instant favorite as well.

This fast-paced thriller is hard to put down. Emma is in danger from ruthless villains almost the entire time. Focused on the good guys, bad guys, and the one playing both sides, the story is action-packed and intense. It was great to see the wonderful secondary characters from Alias Emma helping Emma where they could.

The Traitor is a must read. Spy thriller fans will enjoy how this story blends a survival story with the mystery of who is the traitor.

I liked "Alias Emma" for its nonstop action. This book is mostly confined to a yacht and it doesn't have the same feel at all. This is a much more conventional story and frankly kind of boring. I am not a wiz at figuring out the villain, but this one is pretty obvious from early on. Sadly I can't really recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced digital copy of this book.

I stumbled on the first Emma Makepeace novel Alias Emma, and when I got the opportunity to read this one, I jumped on it! And it did NOT disappoint.

Emma is quite a character. The daughter of a vanished and murdered Russian spy, she and her mother successfully fled to England, where her mother still hates all spies and anyone connected to Russia. How ironic, then, that Emma has been recruited into MI6 and is one of their best assets against Russia.

When a low-level MI6 agent is brutally murdered and left to be found as a warning to others not to interfere, Emma is recruited to infiltrate the group nicknamed Gold Dust. They know who two of the three men are, but the third seems to be a British mole, and they don't know who he is.

So Emma goes undercover as a stewardess on the mega yacht owned by one of the three to befriend his girlfriend and hopefully get information. But soon, she is unmasked as a spy and her life is in danger. With a lot of luck and the help of colleagues, she is able to reach safety. But she still wants to find out who the British traitor is...............

Part of a series, reads fine as a stand alone for those like me who had not read book one.

Emma Makepeace is part of the agency that is so secret it isn’t even on any government list and it’s her job to discover why one of their agents was murdered with chemical weapons in his home.

Fast read! Excellent spy novel that kept me wanting to read and enough character development that you could relate to characters. Very easy to follow and not wordy or lengthy with descriptions. Can’t wait to see where the series goes next!

Thanks to Netgalley and Random house publishing for my electronic advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

This review was originally posted on Books of My Heart


Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The Traitor was fun to read even though it felt a bit unrealistic. Those aspects didn't make it less enjoyable though. It was easy to read as I knew the characters and some of the situations from the previous book. The story is still mainly told by Emma.

Emma is healed from her last outing physically. Mentally, I suspect things like being shot stay with you. However, she is eager enough to go undercover in a very dangerous situation to gain more information. The Russian oligarchs are hard to penetrate in their circles but she takes a role as a server on the yacht. She hopes to also learn more about the suspected British traitor. She befriends the oligarch's mistress and feels sorry for her.

Emma really doesn't learn very much on the boat, although she does take pictures of some documents. Her big break comes when she follows them to a meeting in town but it also gets her caught. She is in dire straits. She fights her way out but she is burned and can't go back to the boat.

Emma is determined to unmask the traitor. So she offers to go undercover again with the other oligarch's mistress at the gym. This oligarch hasn't seen her and her appearance has been changed. The mistress really likes her and invites her to a party. Emma is fearless to the point of too stupid to live, pushing into a meeting of the villains.

Somehow Emma manages to not die, gather information or people as needed, and her team comes in to arrest or clean up bodies. I just don't find it probable she could do some things or fight large men as well as she manages. The Alias Emma series is a lot of fun to read though.

I was fortunate enough to read an advance copy of Ava Glass' first book "Alias Emma" and then scored again by receiving a copy of "The Traitor." I thoroughly enjoyed her latest book and really hope the series continues for as long as the author feels like writing them. They give a very "Jason Bourne" vibe, as most of the spy thriller books do for me, while still being its own un-put-down-able read. There were many moments of "is she going to be found out," "who are the bad people," "what will happen if she is caught?" that kept the story moving. Thank you to #Netgalley and the publisher Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Bantam for the opportunity to read and review #TheTraitor.

This sequel to last year’s Alias Emma is another fun spy thriller. Main character Emma works for a secret spy agency in the UK, kind of like a young female James Bond. In this book, after the murder of an MI6 employee, Emma goes undercover as a new worker on the yacht of a Russian oligarch, trying to figure out if he was responsible for the murder and a chemical weapons ring, and who he’s working with.

This book was such a quick and enjoyable read; I could not put it down and read it over the span of 24 hours. I don’t usually read spy/action thrillers, but maybe I should read more because it’s a nice change of pace. Love Emma’s brave and creative character, loved the action, and enjoyed the underlying mystery. Hope Ava Glass will write more books featuring her, and/or that they’ll make this series into a movie or tv show.

I really enjoyed this second spy thriller about Emma. It's a great story and kept me turning the pages. If you like series, you'll enjoy reconnecting with Emma & Ripley. I have a mental image of Ripley as an "M" type of character. Emma is a brave, gutsy, risk taker who goes undercover on a Russian oligarch's yacht and is trying to find a mole. Hats off to the author for creating these fabulous characters and fresh take on the spy thriller. I will recommend this to my High Octane Book Club.