Alias Emma by Ava Glass
Had so much potential to be a great thriller - but left me lacking.
Summary:
Nothing about Emma Makepeace is real. Not even her name.
A newly minted secret agent, Emma's barely graduated from basic training when she gets the call for her first major assignment. Eager to serve her country and prove her worth, she dives in headfirst.
Emma must covertly travel across one of the world’s most watched cities to bring the reluctant—and handsome—son of Russian dissidents into protective custody, so long as the assassins from the Motherland don’t find him first. With London’s famous Ring of Steel hacked by the Russian government, the two must cross the city without being seen by the hundreds of thousands of CCTV cameras that document every inch of the city’s streets, alleys, and gutters.
Buses, subways, cars, and trains are out of the question. Traveling on foot, and operating without phones or bank cards that could reveal their location or identity, they have twelve hours to make it to safety. This will take all of Emma’s skills of disguise and subterfuge. But when Emma’s handler goes dark, there’s no one left to trust. And just one wrong move will get them both killed.
From <https://www.amazon.com/Alias-Emma-Novel-Ava-Glass/dp/0593496795>
Book Review (Includes Spoilers) 2/5 stars
I had such high hopes for this book, I really did. I found this book on one of my library hauls. I went in browsing just to see what books I could find that seemed interesting and based on the summary this one intrigued me. Modern day cold war spy thriller, set in London. What could be better? Unfortunately for me, a lot. I was left wanting more from the characters and the overall plot to be honest. There wasn't a ton of depth or background information given which left me with more questions than answers. Even the flashback scenes that I think were meant to provide context just left me with more questions. Honestly, I probably did this to myself. I desperately wanted this to have a dramatic twist or some sort of shift from the standard point A to point B rescue mission, so when it didn't, I was disappointed.
The book follows Emma a British spy with Russian roots. She starts undercover in an activist circle but is quickly brought into a more high-pressured situation when she is tasked with getting a man being followed by Russians to a safe house. Once she makes contact with the target, Michael, things really start to pick up. She spots Russian agents; grabs Michael and they are on the move. Of course, it's not as simple as taking him to the agency for safe keeping, there is an apparent coup that takes place while Emma is securing Michael which creates some challenges for the duo. They then trek throughout the city to get across the river to MI6 which has been deemed safe by the powers at play.
When we find out about the coup I assumed there would be some sort of twist towards the end of the story that would explain the reason Emma gets iced out. Perhaps she was unknowingly working for a Russian agency, or some non-British organization that was found out. So when we discover the coup is a result of a corporate climber I was extremely let down. I really thought it was going to be an Alias (TV show) type of organization. Where the main character thinks she's working for the CIA but finds out it's a terrorist organization. Honestly, that would have explained a lot and made the book one thousand times better. Alas.
There were also a lot of other questionable plot items. I don't want to say plot holes, but I definitely wanted to pick. For example… why were there so many Russians looking for just this one guy who was the son of a scientist that was providing the west with information during the Cold War. First of all, this is the child of the spy so what are we doing going after him? And two the Cold War happened over 30 years ago… there are probably more current targets you could and should be seeking out. I think I'd maybe be OK if it was one man's vendetta against the scientist but he had a whole slew of Russian agents helping. Made no sense. They also made a big deal about going dark and not using any tech and then at one point she gets a burner phone that is apparently a smart phone… took me out of the plot immediately. And don't even get me started on the cab scene. Half the book they can't take cabs because of the security cameras, then they somehow find one that is old enough to not have it so they take it to coordinates they cryptically got from her boss. The coordinates were for an underground tunnel system that ended up not helping in any way shape or form. If the end goal is MI6, why not just go there?!
Eventually she gets her target to safety, and we find out about the coup and the work politics at play. They take Michael to safety, they find the main instigator of the madness, Gregor, and then they end at a pub. Such a letdown. Long story short, I would not recommend to anyone however, as I was reading this, I thought it would make for a far better movie or TV show. The pacing didn't make sense in a book format, but I think would be exciting visually.
With that being said… It’s time to cast this book!
Emma - Synnove Karlsen
Michael -Jacob Fortune-Lloyd
Theo Riley - Dominic West
Gregor - Mikhail Baryshnikov
