Great book, interesting characters, just so well done in my opinion, the story flowed so well. This is the first book by this author that I read, and I am definitely a fan now and look forward to reading more.

If you like spy, crime stories, this was excellent. Covering all parts of the world, well developed characters, and exciting action. Unexpected great ending. Highly recommended.

Amazon First readers who enjoy spy novels, murder mysteries, police procedurals, thrillers, and Tess Gerritsen's other novels may well want to select “Spy Coast” as one of their picks for October. It's apparently the first novel in a planned series and has me hoping the series will continue. 60-year-old Maggie Bird and several other retired CIA officers have moved to Purity, Maine, a small but charming seaside town. Of course, they don’t tell anyone they're ex-Agency (and especially not newly appointed Acting Police Chief, Jo Thibodeau), because…well…once a secret agent, always a secret agent. They spend their days quietly engaged in various retirement pursuits: raising chickens, tending gardens, reading, maintaining their libraries, getting together for martini-fueled book club nights, etc. All quite peaceful, all quite prosaic, really, until someone dumps a dead body on Maggie's driveway. The body belongs to Bianca Miskova, who visited Maggie just yesterday purporting to be active-CIA and inquiring as to the whereabouts of Diana Ward, also ex-CIA, whom Maggie used to work with but with whom Maggie hasn't been in contact for decades. Why? Because, as Maggie explains to her colleagues, Diana "turned me into a traitor." Who is Bianca really? CIA? SVR? Why is she searching for Diana? Who killed her and why? What was Operation Cyrano, and why is the agency revisiting it? Why does Maggie think of herself as a traitor? And will Jo Thibodeau be able to crack the case and become permanent chief or will she allow herself to be pushed aside and shunted into irrelevance by the Maine State Police? These are just some of the questions that are keeping me turning the pages. Veteran author Tess Gerritsen writes well. Straightforward, with only the occasional—yet enjoyable—literary flourish, her prose is a pleasure. Her plot is interesting. Her characters are engaging, and we care about what happens to them. Her settings are varied (e.g., London, Paris, Bangkok, Istanbul) and well-described. I especially enjoyed her treatment and descriptions of life in rural Maine in the dead of winter. And she seems to have a good understanding of espionage and the tradecraft involved. At times, this story involving retired agents supporting each other reminded me somewhat of the films “Red” and “Red 2” starring Helen Mirren, Bruce Willis, and John Malkovich (just to name a few). Unlike those films, “Spy Coast” is not a comedy. Nevertheless, those who enjoyed those movies, as well as fans of espionage tales, murder mysteries, and Tess Gerritsen, should find much to entertain them here.

Well written, great storyline and perfect transitions that are easy to follow. Overall great book and very intense! Loved it!

This was a very interesting book and although it was a spy novel it had great characters who were trying to lead a normal life in retirement. The plot is a very personal story of love, family and spies. I usually find that spy novels are more about people who have few friends other than their partner but this group has become very close and try to look out for one another. It is a story about friendship. I found it very enjoyable and would be glad to recommend it to anyone who loves to read

What happens when five retired government spooks living quietly in a small town in Maine realize a mission they thought was closed twenty years ago has come to their neighborhood? Well, let’s just say the game is back on, even if it means sidestepping the local sheriff eager to get to the bottom of this trouble. The characters are engaging, the plot goes international quickly and the reader is treated to action, twists, and a bit of humor. If you’ve seen and enjoyed the Bruce Willis movie “RED” you’ll get a kick out of this book. A great summer read.

“The Spy Coast” is my first Tess Gerritsen read (though we were Rozolli and Isles followers on TNT I never had read the books) a recommended free read and listen with Kindle Unlimited that was leaving soon; after reading the summary and desperately needing something different from usual reading prowess, I downloaded and listened/read in one sitting with “Whisper-Synch”, the coolest product Amazon.com has to offer imo. Well paced, good storyline and storytelling by the narrator who gets five out of five stars from me. Really, if you like crime fiction and suspense, taunt but not gory or hard boiled, this is your next book. What’s not to like; retired CIA blue hairs with varicose veins, false teeth and too much time on their hands, an X- operative suddenly pulled back into the life she so desperately worked so hard to put behind her, a wonderful very successful physician as a husband living in a small unremarkable town under a new alias with no traces from her past life to connect her to her new life and husband. Of course this proves to be reckless delusional thinking considering the agency she worked for, the many enemies she has accrued as the result of her investigations with a relentless absolute unfailing constitution to go 110% 24/7 seven days a week until the job is done, her subjects apprehend and her pockets dripping with evidence- many of whom are extremely powerful people with most powerful friends in epic powerful positions with just unlimited resources. Add the small town sheriff who has a murder in her small Main community that leads back to Maggie, our protagonist, that has five retirees sitting around the kitchen table when the Sheriff calls on her for an interview; well, it’s all the trapping one needs for a entertaining page turner filled with likable characters, suspense, some twists, and a little comic relief though never campy! The humor is subtle, appropriate to the scene and very relatable. I will be reading the follow up to “The Spy Coast” very soon! Well worth the credit, charge or cash. In fact, I purchased the Kindle edition when I returned it back to Kindle Unlimited, if you are not familiar with Kindle Unlimited or Whisper-Synch and do a lot of reading, I highly recommend joining asap! (these books have an expiration date, just like borrowing from a library but without having to go to the library to return late books lol, and you have months before they expire most of the time)