Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Brilliant. Well-written with a captivating plot. Looking forward to the next book by this author. Recommended.

I didn't read the first book in this series (although I will now go back to it) however it does read well as a standalone too. Great to see a female spy for a change and with beautiful and idyllic settings on the south coast of France and the Mediterranean Sea, you will become caught up in the world of espionage quite easily. It begins quite slowly however it certainly ramps up towards the end.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC to review.

A romp of a spy story - if Nancy Drew joined MI6. Plucky Emma is protecting her country and defending the memory of her father. Her one weakness seems to be men with blue eyes, particularly if they are dark, deep, icy, narrow, cold and lastly, when she really should have got the hint, “chips of blue ice”.
It is all perfectly harmless and I sped through it, an enjoyable excursion from reality.

Set in the world of MI5 and the neighbours, MI6, Emma goes deep undercover investigating a dangerous Russian Oligarch. How did they find out who she is and put her life in danger? She knows she's been careful so there must be a traitor. Fast, dangerous and downright terrifying, this takes us into a whole new world. #netgalley #TheTraitor

Emma Makepeace makes a welcome return in this second book which sees her, once again, embroiled in a high octane adventure which places her in grave danger. This time she is aboard, The Eden, a luxury super yacht which is owned by a Russian oligarch who may be involved in a deadly crime. Emma’s ability to go undercover is put to good use when she becomes a member of the crew of The Eden and her uncanny ability to get right into the centre of the investigation is what makes these stories so compelling.

The Traitor hits the ground running with an opening chapter which shows just how ruthless are the people who Emma and the rest of the team at The Agency are up against. The plot is fast and furious and I especially enjoyed following in Emma’s footsteps, watching her transformation from secret agent, to crew member, and observing her interactions with the other crew members. Emma’s feisty nature inevitably leads her into danger and it is this danger which gives the story its focus. There’s lots of fast action, some genuinely heart in mouth moments, and a great deal of trepidation as Emma takes on the bad guys using mainly her wits and the strength of investigative skill.

I raced through the book in a day, unwilling to stop for a second in case I missed out on the action. The final third of the book is particularly gripping and the dénouement brings a satisfying conclusion to an exciting and adventurous spy thriller novel. May be read as a standalone story but do bear in mind that this is the second in the series and there are some references to Emma’s past adventure, which the author explains well.

This is book two however it doesn't matter that much as you can get into the story. I enjoyed it however I would want to read it again after I had read the first one 'The chase'

Having enjoyed the first boook I was eager to read the follow up, and what a thrilling and interesting story with more on who Emma is as a person. When a member of the agency is discovered tortured and murdered with suspitions of a mole in their ranks , Emma has to undertake hairy asignments under cover with no backup with only her wits to survive in order to gather evidence. How she survives and escaped death is a compelling story.

Ava Glass is a new author to me and I haven’t read The Chase, the book which first introduced Emma Makepeace to the world. I’m pleased to say I didn’t feel at any disadvantage not having read the first book and that The Traitor can easily be read as a standalone, although there are spoilers for key events in The Chase.

The storyline of The Traitor with its Russian oligarchs and their luxurious properties, extravagant lifestyles, superyachts, trophy girlfriends and links to organised crime feels bang up to the minute.

Although the author gives Emma a very believable motivation for embarking on the dangerous missions she undertakes, at first I didn’t find her a very convincing spy. Some of her actions aboard the superyacht seemed rather naive such as assuming that just because she couldn’t see them there weren’t any hidden cameras. That all changes in the latter part of the book when she becomes the kick-ass ‘female James Bond’ we were promised, the master of the lock pick and someone able to turn just about any implement into a deadly weapon.

The pace picks up too as Emma and her colleagues embark on the hunt for the traitor who compromised the mission, taking the reader into real John le Carré territory. I liked the cast of secondary characters, such as Zach the tech wizard, Martha the expert in disguise and most of all, Emma’s boss, Ripley, the spymaster who heeds his own advice that a spy should always have a deadly weapon close at hand.

I also liked the way the author explored the challenges of being a spy: never being able to reveal your occupation, having to lie to friends, family and lovers, living a double life with a name that is not your own. ‘Everything suffers when you can never tell the truth.’

The Traitor is an entertaining, escapist thriller, ideal for reading on the beach or, dare I say it, the deck of a luxury yacht.

My thanks to Random House UK, Cornerstone Century for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Traitor’’ by Ava Glass.

This is Book 2 in the Alias, Emma series of spy thrillers featuring Emma Makepeace, an agent working for a shadowy British intelligence organisation known as The Agency. Their specialty is identifying and stopping Russian agents working in Britain.

When a body is discovered at a West London hotel stuffed into a padlocked suitcase, alarm bells are set off. It is soon established that the victim was a MI6 officer and had died from exposure to an unidentified nerve agent. Yet the Agency knows that such targeted assassinations by Russian operatives are reserved for their own people believed to have betrayed Russia. So why would a British numbers analyst meet this grisly fate?

When it is discovered that the victim had been looking into the activities of two Russian oligarchs suspected of procuring illegal weapons in the U.K., the hunt is on to identify their contacts and uncover their plans.

Emma volunteers to go undercover as a hostess on the Eden, a superyacht owned by one of the oligarchs. It’s a risky assignment as out at sea she will be out of touch with her Agency handlers. In addition, it appears that the oligarchs have contact with a mole high up in the British government. Could they expose Emma’s mission? No further details to avoid spoilers.

‘The Traitor’ proved an exciting read that kept me glued to my seat from start to finish. I found that I preferred its more measured pace to its predecessor, ‘The Chase’, which had been nonstop action throughout. I enjoy Ava Glass’ crisp writing style that highlights her journalistic roots.

After these two positive experiences of the Alias, Emma series, I shall be looking forward to the next in this thrilling spy series.

Hold onto your seats, your in for a fast paced ride on this - The Traitor is a whip snapping ride of Russians, money, designer goods and during all this Emma Makepeace, a spy for MI6 has been brought in, to go under cover as Jessica Marshall on The Eden, an enormous yacht owned by a mega rich Russian - Andrei Volkov. She's there too find out who, along with Volkov he is dealing weapons to, worth millions, but that could saves the lives of millions of people too if she can stop them.

On the yacht Jessica manages to befriend her fellow staff and Volkov's girlfriend, Madison - his wife and family are tucked safely away to protect them. But Volkov isn't stupid and wants to know who Jessica is and who she's working for, he takes her only form of contact to the outside world - her phone and so stops her contacting Ripley - her MI6 team leader - if she's in danger. She on her own, out at sea, with no way of saving herself or anyone else. But Emma isn't stupid and doesn't take risks, not ones she doesn't think she can overcome anyway. So how the heck is she going to do this..... I'm not saying anymore, other than to add that this is a series you do not want to miss.

The Traitor is just brilliant, I was honestly not sure about reading Ava's first book, but was so engrossed in it, and pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it, I jumped at the chance to read her second - The Traitor. My only problem with it is, as soon as I finish, I'm left wanting more!

We were introduced to Emma Makepeace in the excellent “The Chase” where, as a new recruit into the Intelligence Service, she was being chased across London while protecting an asset and not knowing who to trust.
Emma is now more established and with a bit of a reputation due to her previous adventure. Far less new recruit and far more confident agent now. She offers to go undercover to help identify if a Russian oligarch is funding dodgy stuff, but it also becomes apparent that in the background someone is feeding information to the bad guys. And now Emma is in danger with no close back up.
The Chase was all about Emma and her determination and ingenuity, this is far more of a standard thriller where someone goes undercover and has to think on their feet. So less unique than the previous book, but Makepeace is a great character, and this is still an entertaining thriller.

Full of sensory imagery, this high-impact spy thriller draws readers into a dark and dangerous world where people will do anything for money. Emma, not her real name, works for a secret government intelligence organisation. Undercover on a super-yacht, she has to find the incriminating evidence she seeks to protect the innocent. Still, she has little backup and is under threat, making this both intense and suspenseful reading. Finding the traitor from within becomes her obsession, putting her life in danger. I worked out the traitor; the clues were there but well hidden, but this increased my enjoyment. I like the female protagonist, the intelligence team dynamic and the glimpse into the glamorous but deadly world.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

A very enjoyable political thriller featuring an interesting heroine and a very glamorous setting.
It kept me reading and I thoroughly enjoyed the plot
It can be read as a stand alone
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This second book in the series finds Emma sent undercover to work as a crew member on board a super yacht owned by Oligarch Andrei Volkov. Young, keen, fluent in Russian and above all darn good at her job, Emma seems the perfect agent for the task, but on board with no quick exit, it’s a dangerous assignment.

Once on board Emma quickly needs to fit in. Deciding which’ chatty’ crew member to befriend and which to watch out for. Living and working so close to those she has been assigned to watch is very risky, and as a last minute addition to the yacht’s work force, they are caution of her and immediate take the only form of contact she has…her phone.

As Emma gets to know the layout of her luxurious surroundings and the comings and goings of it’s owner and his girlfriend, this wonderfully claustrophobic and tense thriller sucked me into it’s story and I was hooked.

The decadence of yacht and the glamorous locations it visits running parallel to the dark and ruthless nature of Volkov and those that work for him make a wonderful cocktail for a fast moving, action packed espionage thriller. As Emma digs deeper finding possible evidence of illegal weapon deals while also with the knowledge that there could well be a traitor within the British Government, the risk increases and the tension mounts.

A thoroughly enjoyable read, which could easily be read as a stand alone novel.

Many thanks to the publisher and author for my review copy and place of the tour.

This is the second book in this series, I hadn't read the first one but this can be totally read as a standalone.
I love a book that keeps my attention from the first page and this one did just that.
MI6 agent Steven Garrick is found id a suitcase, his dead body showed that his murder had been horrifying. Analyst,Steven had been secretly tracking two Russian Oligarchs that he suspected as being involved with chemical weapons.
MI6 agent, Emma Makepeace knew that she was the only agent young enough and attractive enough to secure a job on the yacht of the leading Russian oligarch, even knowing that discovery would be a death penalty Emma wanted this job and although her boss, Ripley, had huge misgivings he reluctantly agreed and a false identity was secured.
Emma knew that being on a yacht in the middle of the Mediterranean sea she was flying solo, no one could rescue her if she was in trouble, she knew the risks that she was taking but she took them anyway.
To add to the tension and the danger, it was known that the third man was probably a mole, maybe from government or even from MI6, whoever he was he had high security clearance, he could know about Emma, who could she trust ?
This story is suspense fille, action packed, Emma, much to the agonised anxiety of her team, pushed herself to the limit and beyond.
Had Ripley been right in putting Emma in so much danger ? Did Ripley suspect who the mole was or had Emma's instincts been right. This book had me gripped from the first to the last page.

4.5⭐
This is my first introduction to author Ava Glass and the world of spy Emma Makepeace and my only thought after finishing this story is why have I not read this author before?!

As The Traitor is a cracking read. That grabbed me from the very first page and never let go.

As Emma is thrown head first into a deep undercover operation. When an MI6 operative is killed using VX. 

And all eyes point to Russia.

But this particular agent shouldn't have been a target and wasn't even working on anything that would've made him one.

However, the more Emma digs into the weeks before his death. The more she realises there was a very good reason to silence him and unfortunately that reason involves a traitor inside the UK Government.

And so Emma finds herself working aboard a Russian oligarchs super yacht, hunting for a chemical weapon and the name of the traitor.

But with no backup and suspicion around every corner, Emma has to use all her considerable skills and nerve to survive.

And with plenty of thrills and action. As Emma faces an enemy that will do anything to keep their secrets. This was a terrific read. That I genuinely found hard to put down. So much so I've been reading it every spare chance I've had, desperate to see if Emma survives and find out who the traitor is!

I'd one hundred percent recommend The Traitor to others and will definitely be reading Alias Emma ASAP!!

Emma works for British intelligence and will definitely go the extra mile to complete her tasks, even if she needs to look death in the eye from time to time. This story, by Ava Glass, is excellent. The fast pace kept me wondering who the traitor was. I guessed correctly, This was without any real evidence and was a lucky guess, rather than learned, based on the facts. I found myself educated on the workings of an exclusive super yacht and how the staff passed the time of day when working and when not. I found that Emma went outside of her remit several times, and it is this what probably makes the story so much better because the reader is kept wondering until the very last page. This was very different for a spy novel, perhaps because the characters were completely believable. I didn't know that there was a first book in this series. It didn't make any difference to the enjoyment of reading this novel, but I will definitely seek it out as soon as I can and hopefully, look forward to the next in the series.

Such a gripping read that I couldn’t put down absolutely loved the plot line to this book I can’t wIt to read another one by Ava Glass

A very enjoyable spy novel. Emma is sent on assignment to investigate the murder of a MI6 agent. Well plotted novel, good pacing, loved Emma the protagonist will be looking out for more of this series with thanks to the publisher for this early copy.

THE TRAITOR is a pacy thriller about routing out a traitor while having no back up.

The primary setting, a yacht, is such a good one for a spy novel. Being on the water automatically means back up can't get to you. It's an effective trap, isolating the agent - with people who are paranoid and have already shown they're willing to kill. it really works to push the tension and stakes high from the beginning, making for a page-turning thriller.

I found the plot set up interesting. It is not primarily a mystery. Yes, there is the mystery of the "third man" (which becomes important later on), but for the first two acts, the book is mostly about surviving long enough to get information to convict known enemies for known (but unprovable) crimes.

It wasn't what I expected from a spy novel, as I'm used to them being mysteries to uncover who the enemy is and what exactly they're doing, but I did very much enjoy it. Instead of focusing on a mystery, the book focuses on the tension and dangers of undercover work.

This is the second book in the series, but as far as I can tell it can be read as a standalone (that's what I did!) because the books are a different case each time but following the same agent. From what I can tell, there are references to the mission of the first book, but it didn't affect my enjoyment not to have read it. (Though I think there's a bit of a spoiler to how that book ends in this one.)