November 2023

In May, I had the pleasure of hearing Tess Gerritsen talk about THE SPY COAST, which had me excited about it. When I read the book, it really lived up to her description and enthusiasm for it. The idea for the characters came from some people in her Maine town who “had worked in government in Washington, DC.” And they said not much more. She realized along the way that they were retired CIA agents.

From that kernel of an idea, Tess developed her characters for the book, who now are retired, living in Purity, Maine, and members of the Martini Club, which is what they call their book club. But their quiet existence is shattered when one of them, Maggie Bird, who is now running a chicken farm, learns that there is a body at the end of her driveway. It’s a woman who brought her a message earlier in the day that one of her former foes is still looking for her.

The “club” teams up to work with Maggie, but their efforts are complicated by the acting police chief, Jo Thibodeau, who is thinking of this as a homicide instead of something with international implications. We get to span the globe with Maggie around the world and learn about her past. She has spent a lot of her life questioning who is telling the truth and who really has her back. She revisits old haunts and reminisces about others. Along the way, we travel with her to Bangkok, Instanbul, London and Malta.

I think this is Tess’ best book --- and that is saying something! I talked to her recently, so if you want to hear more from her about the book, be sure to watch or listen to the interview.