Reviewed: 20 January 2024

The Spy Coast

by: Tess Gerritsen

The Martini Club - Book 1

Rating: (5/5)

A little grayer, a little achier, a lot more invisible, and still capable of doing what needs to be done.

Love, Love, Love! Did I tell you how much I LOVE this story. Ok, The Martini Club is a group of former spies that have bookclub/dinner parties together. They also, take care of their own when then become threatened. They are all 60+ years of age and move a little slower than they once did, but old habits die hard. They move more purposeful and with much more thought behind it.

They have come together in retirement to Maine and cannot help but feel a familiar jolt when an obviously murdered body is left in Maggie’s driveway. Drawing on each of their past talents they “save the day”.

They didn’t do any magnanimous stunts or anything but used their wit and experience, adjusting for the body/person they are now.

Local acting police chief Jo Thibodeau digs until she finds out who they are, well as much as she can and grudgingly accepts their help. Most of the time she has no choice.

The story jumps back and forth in time as well as narrator. Often that can be a challenge to keep up but it felt perfectly paced to provide background to the next current action without feeling jerky. It served to give backstory, motivation and closure so the characters can move forward.

I had an inkling about who would be behind things but I was not sure because all that was going on keeping me on my toes.

I am looking forward to what comes next for The Martini Club as they enjoy book club with tumblers of aged Scotch.

Happy Reading!

Release Date: 1-November-2023

Mystery, Female-Led

Plot Summary

A retired CIA operative in small-town Maine tackles the ghosts of her past in this fresh take on the spy thriller from New York Times bestselling author Tess Gerritsen.

Former spy Maggie Bird came to the seaside village of Purity, Maine, eager to put the past behind her after a mission went tragically wrong. These days, she’s living quietly on her chicken farm, still wary of blowback from the events that forced her early retirement.

But when a body turns up in Maggie’s driveway, she knows it’s a message from former foes who haven’t forgotten her. Maggie turns to her local circle of old friends—all retirees from the CIA—to help uncover the truth about who is trying to kill her, and why. This “Martini Club” of former spies may be retired, but they still have a few useful skills that they’re eager to use again, if only to spice up their rather sedate new lives.

Complicating their efforts is Purity’s acting police chief, Jo Thibodeau. More accustomed to dealing with rowdy tourists than homicide, Jo is puzzled by Maggie’s reluctance to share information—and by her odd circle of friends, who seem to be a step ahead of her at every turn.

As Jo’s investigation collides with the Martini Club’s maneuvers, Maggie’s hunt for answers will force her to revisit a clandestine career that spanned the globe, from Bangkok to Istanbul, from London to Malta. The ghosts of her past have returned, but with the help of her friends—and the reluctant Jo Thibodeau—Maggie might just be able to save the life she’s built.