The Helsinki Affair

by Anna Pitoniak

Hardcover, 2023

Call number

MYST PIT

Publication

Simon & Schuster (2023), 368 pages

Description

Fiction. Thriller. HTML:IT'S THE CASE OF AMANDA'S LIFETIME, BUT SOLVING IT WILL REQUIRE HER TO BETRAY ANOTHER SPY�WHO JUST SO HAPPENS TO BE HER FATHER. SPYING IS THE FAMILY BUSINESS. Amanda Cole is a brilliant young CIA officer following in the footsteps of her father, who was a spy during the Cold War. It takes grit to succeed in this male-dominated world�but one hot summer day, when a Russian defector walks into her post, Amanda is given the ultimate chance to prove herself. The defector warns of the imminent assassination of a US senator. Though Amanda takes the warning seriously, her superiors don't. Twenty-four hours later, the senator is dead. And the assassination is just the beginning. Corporate blackmail, covert manipulation, corrupt oligarchs: the Kremlin has found a dangerous new way to wage war. Teaming up with Kath Frost, a fearless older woman and legendary spy, Amanda races from Rome to London, from St. Petersburg to Helsinki, unraveling the international conspiracy. But as she gets closer and closer to the truth, a central question haunts her: Why was her father's name written down in the senator's notes? What does Charlie Cole really know about the Kremlin plot? The Helsinki Affair is a riveting, globe-trotting spy thriller�but this time, with a refreshing female-centric twist. Perfect for fans of John le Carr� and Daniel Silva, this book introduces Pitoniak as a singular new talent in the world of spy fiction.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member susan.h.schofield
Spy novels aren't usually a genre I read but I really liked Anna Pitoniak's last book, Our American Friend, so I decided to give this a try. It was a good book, but I would have liked more character development for Amanda. It was interesting to how it went back and forth between Amanda and her
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father's stories. The ending seemed to suggest there could be a sequel. Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC.
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LibraryThing member Dokfintong
Anna Pitoniak writes a spy thriller about a female spy. The book has gotten lots of attention because of it but as one commenter says about the review in the Washington Post, Why isn't there any discussion of the writing? Well maybe it's because the writing isn't great. (The Washington Post review
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wasn't very great either, getting as it does one of the most important facts wrong) Amanda isn't well written - the bit about her past dependence on alcohol is really weak. Katherine, an older fellow spy, is much more interesting. And Charlie, Amanda's dad, about whom the story revolves, is a shadow. All in all it's an ok book but not one that will push and of the old boys off their perches, much as we might like it to.

I received a review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.com.
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LibraryThing member KallieGrace
I like a good spy novel every now and then. This one is solid, tho it took some concentrating to connect the pieces of the past story line with the present day. There's so much jet setting going on I got second hand exhaustion.

Pages

368

ISBN

1668014742 / 9781668014745
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