The Spy Coast, Tess Gerritsen

The Spy Coast by Tess Gerritsen is not a classic thriller, although it successfully maintains tension through most of the novel. The action is consistently engaging in both timelines — the present-day investigation and the events unfolding in the past.

Predictable in many ways, yet charming in its own style, this first installment in the Martini Club series feels like a strong beginning to a franchise I’m genuinely looking forward to continuing.

The opening is explosive: a woman named Diana is attacked by two hired killers inside her luxurious home. She is a former CIA operative and has no idea who ordered the hit.

Thousands of miles away, in the small coastal town of Purity, Maine, Maggie Bird discovers the body of a woman who had questioned her only hours earlier about Diana’s whereabouts.

But how could the peaceful life of an elderly woman raising chickens possibly be connected to murder and espionage?

That question fascinates not only the readers, but also Jo Thibodeau, the local police chief investigating the case.

What makes the premise work so well is that Maggie and her four close friends are actually retired intelligence operatives hiding in Purity from their dangerous pasts. Maggie becomes convinced that a covert mission in Malta sixteen years earlier — one led by Diana herself — lies at the heart of the current mystery.

Past and present gradually intertwine, leading Maggie and the others through memories and operations connected to Bangkok, Istanbul, London, Malta, and Italy.

The novel only partially resembles The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman. Perhaps because of Maggie’s spy background, I kept imagining her as Helen Mirren, while Declan looked suspiciously like Pierce Brosnan in my head.

But beyond the “retirees solving crimes” concept, the two books are very different.

Osman’s characters investigate for entertainment and curiosity.

The Martini Club investigates because they are professionals.

BOOKLOVERS Rating: 4/5

There were a few inconsistencies — for example, one invitation supposedly already existed before mysteriously appearing pages later — but these are relatively minor details.

Some of the emotional speeches and reflective passages also felt unnecessary, even if their purpose was clearly to deepen the characters and create empathy.

And perhaps the weakest element was the rather transparent attempt to mislead the reader about the identity of the main antagonist during the final third of the novel.

Still, taken as a whole, The Spy Coast was absolutely worth reading.

It is not a flawless thriller, but it offers something surprisingly rare: a spy story driven not by youthful action heroes, but by experience, memory, and professional instinct.

The novel works best as the beginning of a larger series and leaves enough intrigue surrounding the Martini Club to make readers eager for the next mission.

One especially interesting detail: Gerritsen — also known for the beloved Rizzoli & Isles series — has shared that the inspiration for the novel came directly from her own life in a small town in Maine, where several former CIA operatives had quietly settled after retirement.

Which honestly raises a fair question:

What exactly is it about Maine that keeps attracting retired spies?