The Traitor

Intrepid spy Emma Makepeace hits the high seas in this gripping sequel to 2022’s Alias Emma from Glass (a pseudonym for YA author Christi Daugherty). At 28, Emma’s star is rising in the Agency, an elite, ultra-secret British intelligence collective. Emma learned the tricks of the trade from her grieving mother after her Russian father was killed for spying on behalf of the British. When an MI6 operative who’d been pursuing two Russian oligarchs trading in dangerous biological weapons is found dead in his apartment, the Agency decides to take over the investigation. Emma, who’s on a lifelong quest to avenge her father’s death, gladly accepts the dicey undercover job of joining the staff of a yacht owned by one of the Russians as it sails from the Cote d’Azur to Monaco. Operating without backup, Emma must prove the oligarchs guilty of arms dealing and unmask their third partner, whom she comes to suspect may be an MI6 mole. Enriching the narrative with meticulous spycraft, sound character development, and exquisitely realized settings, Glass has delivered an un-put-downable winner. Here’s hoping this series has a long life. Agent: Madeleine Milburn, Madeleine Milburn Literary. (Sept.)