The Helsinki Affair - Anna Pitoniak

 The Helsinki Affair - Anna Pitoniak

Publication Date: November 14, 2023

She read

Forty year old Amanda Cole, CIA agent, has just stumbled onto some information that eventually leads to her being made station chief in Rome.  One of her first assignments implicates her father, a career CIA employee, as a possible Soviet spy.  This sets up an ethical and moral dilemma for her.  Will she pursue the lead or bury it?

Taking place in Rome, London, Russia, Finland, all the intrigue of the cold war is here.  With Finland physically so close to Russia, Helsinki has seen a lot of KGB and CIA action.  I liked the female characters, especially Kath, an older, savvy, top notch spy.  In addition to the Cold War espionage, there is also a very contemporary plot line involving stock manipulation.  

There are two timelines, Amanda’s present day investigation and her father’s past involving an affair in Helsinki.  As the excitement peaks, the action quickly alternates between the two.  The writing is fast paced, engrossing. I did think some of the characters were pretty loose lipped with confidential information.  But, after all, this is a work of fiction.

Spy fiction is not my go to genre and I don’t like the James Bond, hard to believe action stories.  This one had a decent plot, not too much incredulity, and not a lot of violence; what there was was not overly graphic.  It was refreshing to have a female centered spy thriller

The end of the book introduced some continuing story lines, perhaps hinting at a sequel or possible series?  I certainly would read another book by Pitoniak featuring these characters.   

Thanks to #netgalley and @simonbooks for the ARC

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