Alias Emma is the first book in a relatively new spy fiction series. Emma Makepeace has always wanted to be a spy. Her father who died before she was born was a spy, and she idolizes him. She gets her wish when she enters the military and catches the attention of the leader of a department in the Secret Service. After some training exercises, Emma is given an important assignment to bring Michael Primalova, the son of Russian dissidents, across London to a safehouse, so that he and his parents can be put in protective custody.
Michael is a doctor, a pediatric oncologist, and initially he is reluctant to go with her and leave his patients behind. But he soon sees how much danger he is in from assassins who want to kill him. The biggest problem they face is that the Russians have hacked the CCTV cameras in London and any actions that Emma and Michael take will be known to them.
My thoughts...
The story alternates between the action (getting Michael to the safehouse) and flashbacks to Emma's life before spying, her training, and how she became a spy. This isn't good or bad, but it does mean that — in a book of 269 pages — the actual spying part is thin. The background information is not padding, it is useful and necessary to give us more information about the characters. It will be interesting to see if the next book in the series is structured in a similar way.
Emma is a strong female protagonist, very serious about her job and learning her way as she goes. Some reviews or blurbs compare Emma to James Bond; I don't consider this a compliment. It isn't that I don't like the James Bond books by Ian Fleming; I have read most of the books, some in my youth and several since I started blogging. The original Bond series is really a mixed bag; some of the books are serious, others seem like comedies.
This is a fine beginning to an espionage series, and two more books have already been published. I was entertained the whole time, and the pacing is very good. My only real quibble was that there was too much of a romantic vibe. The story doesn't go overboard in that direction, but even the hint of it did not add anything to the story in my opinion.
This book was recommended to me by Constance at Staircase Wit. See her review for more details, especially about the author.
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Publisher: Bantam Books, New York, 2023 (orig. publ. 2022)
Length: 269 pages
Format: Trade Paper
Series: Alias Emma #1
Setting: UK
Genre: Espionage Thriller
Source: Purchased in November 2023.
19 comments:
It's funny, Tracy: in general, I'm with you about romance in this sort of novel. It usually doesn't improve the story. That said, though, the premise is interesting, and it sounds as though the characters are solidly developed, which I like. And like you, I do like stories where the female characters are strong. Glad you enjoyed this.
Hi Tracy, it sounds like a good first novel in a series and normally I don't read spy fiction because I have this feeling which may be wrong that too much if spy fiction is interested in the gadgets and very complex plots and that the characters and a straightforward story get lost. But maybe I am thinking too much of James Bond. Alias Emma Eva Glass in comparison sounds very accessible.
Margot, I am interested in where the next book takes the characters. And it is different to have a young, inexperienced spy in the main role.
Kathy, that is an interesting point about the gadgets. I cannot think of any spy fiction I have read that depends much on gadgets. More current spy novels can have better computer technology available, unlike say the John le Carre novels or my two favorite spy authors writing in the 70s and 80s, Anthony Price and Victor Canning. And lots of types of surveillance that make you wonder how anyone could have secrets.
Even the James Bond novels written by Ian Fleming did not have the fancy gadgets. That was all in the movie adaptations. (I haven't read any of the James Bond continuation novels.)
This seems to be the new 'thing'... female spies and how they got there. Funny how book fashions come and go and we're both old enough to have seen a fair few. I don't think this is for me but it's great that your interest in spy fiction is being so well supplied!
Interesting I hadn't seen this one so I'm glad you reviewed it. So it seems Emma & Michael fall for one another? It would be hard to get to a safehouse if they can see you on the cameras, yikes. I look forward to hearing more, if you continue with this series.
I wonder if a male spy would be given a romance so quickly. Probably not in a serious series. Not much in SLOW HORSES, is there?
I picked up a used copy of this book at my library's book sale because my sister said she liked it, but I haven't read it yet. It sounds like a fun one. I like that it's not as long or as complicated as some spy novels are because I need easier reads right now.
Patti, I have read some spy series with love stories but they don't usually work out very well. The Slow Horses series is much more realistic (I would guess); there are some attachments within some of the books, but they don't last long.
Espionage isn't really my thing, but I really like the cover on that book! That alone would make me pick it up for a closer look.
Cath, I do enjoy spy fiction with female leads and like seeing more of those around now. This author does not rank up there with my favorite authors of spy fiction, but it was a good read.
Susan, Emma and Michael do seem perfectly matched, but she will not get far as a spy if she get entangled at this point. Spy fiction is probably the least reality-based type of thriller but if the pace is good, the reader doesn't usually notice.
Lark, I am glad you have this book to try out, I think you will like it. I did like that it was a brief book; some spy fiction goes on and on.
Kelly, I like the cover of this book too. I don't know where I got my love of spy fiction, but I still love it after all these years.
I really enjoyed this, particularly Emma's having to think on the fly. Her backstory is important but I didn't think it overpowered the story - her being Russian by blood is relevant. I have read all three books in the series and the first and third were the strongest, in my opinion. I don't object to romance in my espionage but I do get exasperated by authors who let it delay the action when characters are being pursued. That just doesn't make sense!
Thanks for including my review!
Constance, I remember that you did not like book 2 in the series as well as book 3. But I will read both so as to not miss anything.
I did leave out the fact that a lot of the important characters in this story were Russian, which was an interesting aspect of the story. I am glad you introduced me to this series.
Don’t miss The Chase, Ava Glass’s fast and furious fictional spy novel which you will never put down if you liked Bill Fairclough's fact based spy thriller Beyond Enkription in The Burlington Files series. Both thrillers have a lot of similarities save that Beyond Enkription is an unadulterated noir fact based novel. Ava Glass is a tad more John le Carré.
Nevertheless, both are so real you may have nightmares anguishing over being a spy on the run. The trouble is, as in Beyond Enkription, if you were a spook being chased by the TonTon Macoute in the seventies you were usually cornered and ... well best leave it to your imagination or simply read Beyond Enkription. We consider both books compulsory reading for espionage aficionados.
Interestingly Fairclough was one of Pemberton’s People in MI6 (see a brief intriguing News Article dated 3 May 2024 in TheBurlingtonFiles website). Meanwhile do read Ava Glass’s The Chase - you won’t be disappointed and unlike Fairclough’s sort of biographical work, if you like John le Carré’s delicate diction and sophisticated syntax, you may be rewarded.
I have this one on my Kindle, but haven't read it as yet. Nice to hear your thoughts on it. I do like a good spy thriller at times. Will say that I never read the James Bond books, just watched the movies - ha!
Kay, this was a fun read. I tend to critique spy fiction too much, it is better just to enjoy the story.
The James Bond books by Ian Fleming are a unique experience, just like reading Golden Age mysteries take you back to earlier times. Earlier attitudes. Some are better than others, and which are which probably depends on the individual reader.
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