I enjoyed The Decoy and wanted to see if A Valuable Asset was a worthy second chapter... it is!
First off, it starts with a Russian attempt to kidnap a Russian citizen in Florida and I couldn't help thinking about last June's newspaper story about a recent Russian plot to assassinate a Russian defector in Florida!
The story then goes on about money disappearing within the Russian government while the Ukraine war rages on, sound familiar, I love thrillers anchored in reality and this one does not disappoint! just a great read!

A Russian spy thriller set in Montreal with Nina (and many aliases) as the main character. She is so determined to protect her father, whom she has recently discovered that she finds herself in all kinds of danger. There are lies, spies, love, danger, death, double agents and more. A brilliantly written book with so many hair raising events to keep you on your toes. You will enjoy it. 2nd in a series but stands on its own.

Excellent spy thriller! Nina is a wonderful character who shows many sides of her unusual life—good, bad, frustrating and resigned. Chloe Archambault writes such visual imagery that you could go to Montreal and follow the characters around the city. I would read more about these characters and will look for more by this author. Thank you to #netgalley and the author for this book to read and review.

I really wanted to like this book. I found it confusing…too many characters without a lot of information on who they were. It was too easy to figure out who the”bad” guy was. There are so many good thriller books, but this did not quite make the mark. My biggest gripe was the Americanization of Russian words. Being a Russian myself, I found it very annoying. Trying to figure out the Russian pronunciation was so unnecessary to the book. Just leave it out.

well, that was certainly fast-paced.

although this can be read as a stand-alone, i really wish i'd read the 1st book in the series, as many of the supporting characters have backstories that would inform who they are in this book.

the writing is capable if not memorable but with such a propulsive story, a spare style works to not bog down the pacing.

A Valuable Asset by Chloe Archambault is a thriller based on the story of a Russian agent-in-training, Nina, well, that is one of her names, is now working with the US to meet a probable defector known as Oleg Balakin. They are in a restaurant in Palm Beach, but he either changes his mind or is scared off. Nina returns to California and her natural father, one she has only come to know recently. She had been taken from her parents when she was small and sent to an orphanage in Russia, only to be rescued years later by a kind man and woman, who took her to Canada. There, again, years later, she discovered they were Russian spies and she was being groomed. It was only later that she discovered her natural father. Now, it appears he has been poisoned by the same substance that had been used in London several years earlier. He is in intensive care. And that is only the beginning.

I looked at other reviews and people seemed to like this book. I did not. For one, it was too complicated; for another, no one knew who the good guys were and the bad guys, not Nina, not the reader, and not many of the agents. It was like the Keystone Cops, running around, from whom no one was sure. I love a good thriller, but this was not. It had its moments but not enough of them to save the novel. Sorry.

I was invited to read a free e-ARC of A Valuable Asset by The Book Whisperer, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #TheBookWhisperer #ChloeArchambault #AValuableAsset

A Valuable Asset by Chloe Archambault is the second book with Russian born and trained now FBI consultant Nina. Another fast paced thriller until the very end. A mission gone awry, her father getting poisoned, a mole at the FBI, a mole in the SVU, a chase through California that ends in Montreal. I highly recommend! Thanks to NetGallery for letting me review this book in exchange for an honest review.

I read this thinking it was the start of a series. Quickly realized it wasn't, but continued to read because the author built in some background.

Interesting storyline, interesting main character, that would be probably more engaging if I had read the first. I do plan on reading the first one shortly.

This book starts with a bang and the pace is fairly constant as the plot progresses. Despite the strong focus on action, the author takes the time to build the characters and relationships in such a way as to maximise engagement and immersion. A thriller in its true sense.

Decoy series book#2

Staring with book #2 is not a problem we have enough background information to blend right in and enjoy this heart-pumping action international intrigue. Now that I read “A Valuable Asset” I may take a step back and read “The Decoy”, book#1.

The story in a few words mixed with my thoughts:

When a mission to exfiltrate a Russian hacker goes awry, Nina's cover is blown, and her father becomes the target of a Novichok attack. With her father poisoned, Nina must uncover who is after her family and why. The stakes are high and while she sets of on a mission she must navigate in a dangerous web of spies, love and assassins. Along the way we are on the edge of our seat until the very end.

No doubt, I was hooked from the opening words after all most of this thriller is set in my home town of Montréal and following Nina through the streets was a cakewalk. We find a lot of French Canadian and “Franglais” (a mixture of French and English in the same sentence) in the narration and dialogue giving us a pervading tone and mood to experience, the author does this with grace. The story flows well, easy to follow and is very fast paced with many twist and turns along the way. If you like spy thriller, with double agent, Russian spies, lots of entertaining action, some assassins and a dash of romance to soften everything you will find all of this in the riveting plot penned by Ms. Archambault.

Well said, well done.

What a fantabulous and totally engrossing spy thriller. I was hooked on to the story from start to finish. This book has everything that one looks for in a spy thriller - double agents, a dash of oomph and romance, action, guns akimbo, and of course assassins. In brief, this is an edge of your seat spy thriller.

I loved every bit of this book - the storytelling is simply marvelous; characters are likable; the plot to story development is impressive. A must-read spy thriller! The plot reminded me of The Blacklist while Nina reminded me of Villanelle from Killing Eve.

If you love spy thrillers, do add this book to your TBR.

4.5/5

This was a great mystery and I enjoyed it. It was fast paced and gripping. A great book to get lost in.
I just reviewed A Valuable Asset by Chloé Archambault. #AValuableAsset #NetGalley
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A fast paced action drama.

The book hooks the reader from the opening murder scene.

Where the book falls down is the climax, which feels rushed and a let down. While it ties the loose ends of the story up, it feels more of a wrapping up rather than a climax.

Otherwise, the story flows well, with gradual building of the tension.

A modern spy novel, with little action and a lot of foreign languages, it can be a little confusing with characters and organizations. But still, it's a well written and entertaining book if you don't ask yourself why the main character takes the risks she does.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from “A Valuable Asset” by Chloe Archambault. I knew it was an action thriller - and on that it delivered. Technically is the second book in the “Decoy” series, but I read it as a stand-alone and it was fine. This book is very fast paced and the book flows well. There were number of twists and turns. I did rather early on figure out “the bad person,” but that didn’t deter from my enjoyment of the overall story. I did have some issues with people’s last names being repeated seemingly randomly through the book. If you like action adventure with Russian spies, murder, mystery, and the like - this could be a book you enjoy.

This book was a little different to me?! It had the usual, it had suspense, intrigue, action, Russian spies, murder, mystery, and a few crazy twists and turns! The storyline was interesting and flowed nicely! I would recommend reading this book as its worth reading, but it wasn't one of my top favorites! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!