While posted in Rome, Amanda Cole is visited by a Russian who has information about an assassination planned on a US senator. Amanda is convinced but her boss isn't and when the senator dies, Amanda finds herself promoted. However, in his papers are some mysterious clues to a global business conspiracy which also include the name of Amanda's father, still working for the CIA. As Amanda unravels the manipulation of stocks using social media, her father is left to confront the errors of his past.
This is a very complex thriller but one with is satisfying to read. The plot switches between the modern day and the 1980s in Helsinki, both strands are enjoyable. Some characters are well-developed, especially Amanda, Charlie and Kath, the narrative is concise and the denouement is not so tidy as to be annoying.

Anna Pitoniak is an absolute master at this brand of historical suspense - her characters are perfectly drawn but she also never lets up on the plot and drama. Five stars from me!

DNF @ 16%

There were so many positive things I could say about this book! The storyline was intriguing from the get go, the writing was amazing! The only negative thing I have to say is I just did not like how many parts there were. There were seven parts in the book, with generally two to three chapters in each, but I prefer having at most five parts with several chapters in each. This was not the reason I DNFed the book, I just lacked the motivation to read in general and this book just happened to be my current read.

This seemed to be a spy thriller of the sort that I normally enjoy with a strong female protagonist.
Amanda Cole is a spy and the daughter of a CIA agent although her father Charlie, now does a desk job and is approaching retirement.
When a Russian defector comes to her and warns that an American senator is about to be assassinated, she takes this information seriously but fails to convince her immediate boss. When the information proves to be correct Amanda is promoted and her boss forced into retirement. However the senator’s assistant gives her some intelligence about a Russian plot being investigated and Amanda’s own father is implicated as a traitor and possible double agent.
Amanda sets out to investigate and find out what happened to her father many years previously in Helsinki after which he no longer worked in the field.
Although the premise was good and the characters interesting, I found the plot unnecessarily complicated- I couldn’t quite work out what was going on with the present day story and I’m an avid spy thriller fan!
There was a lot of information which required immense concentration which is not necessarily a bad thing but it meant that it was a book that required a lot of attention.
I liked Amanda and her relationship with Kath, the 73 year old intelligence analyst who actually managed to work out what was going on.
The ending of the book seemed to rather abrupt- I couldn’t decide whether it was setting the reader up for a sequel or whether it all ended on the last page!
I would definitely like to see more of Amanda and Kath should the author decide to continue with a further book.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my advance copy.

A man walks into the American embassy in Rome warning Amanda Cole, Deputy Station Chief, that a US senator is  about to be killed whilst on a trip to Egypt The senator dies leaving enigmatic notes behind including the name of a current FBI employee, that of Amanda's own father Charlie. Mixing Amanda's contemporary investigation with Charlie's  life in 1980s Finland. Anna Pitoniak is interested in exploring the changing role and compromises of women comparing Amanda's attitudes and experiences with those of her mother and that of her older colleague Kath.
This is a classic spy thriller well written and gripping. Obviously not all the scenarios are plausible but these are to be expected in this genre and overall I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it as a superior example to fans of spy fiction.
Thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy

A classic spy story, well told.

"The Helsinki Affair" opens in Rome, where CIA officer Amanda Cole is languishing in what she sees a backwater assignment. When a man presents himself at the US Embassy, saying he has details of a Russia-backed assignation attempt on a US ambassador, she jumps at the chance to make her mark. Although Amanda takes the warning seriously, her superiors don’t, but when, twenty-four hours later, the senator is dead, events move in another direction. At the same time, her father, also a CIA agent is approached by the senator's Chief of Staff, who suspects he was attempting to uncover a Russian plot to destabilise western democracy.

And so the reader is drawn into a complex and hazy story of a conspiracy dating back tens of years. Amanda crosses Europe in an attempt to unravel the puzzle, and how it relates to her and her father. Along the way, she encounters 73-year-old ex-CIA agent, Kath Frost, who “has sniffed out more double agents than anyone in agency history” and whose presence really lifts this story to another level. The developing relationship between Amanda and Kath forms the best parts of the book. As the story unfolds, we learn about the "Helsinki" element, and this too slots nicely into the tale.

This is a classic spy tale, calling on many of the tried-and-tested elements that make a good story. That's not to say it's formulaic or contrived - the spy stuff combines nicely with family / relationship / sins-of-the-father stuff to create a well rounded adventure. There are some arguably convenient happenstances, but these are overshadowed by some excellent character development as Amanda grows into a confident and driven agent. The author also provides some incisive reflections on the history of espionage and how it has shaped the world we see today. The final chapter is particularly poignant.

This book has already been available in the US for a while - but UK readers are in for a new and exciting treat. Definitely recommended for fans of David McCloskey and IS Berry.

A Russian defector turns up at the US embassy in Italy to report an imminent assassination of a US senator. He speaks to Amanda Cole who wants to escalate the message but her boss doesn't take it seriously and the senator is murdered. The senator has secretly been working with a Russian oligarch and there are rumours of a CIA double agent. Amanda is the daughter of Charlie, also a CIA agent, now doing a desk job in America.
After this fiasco, Amanda becomes the CIA station chief and is assisted by the fantastic and formidable Kath Frost, a 73-year old agent, to try and unravel the work of the senator.
This is a really exciting spy thriller with lots of twists and action.
Recommended