This was spectacular!
From the setting of a quaint, coastal Maine town to the characters, an endearing bunch of retirees, this book was a delight from start to finish. Don't get me wrong, this is no cosy mystery, there's violence, bad language and sex involved and many twists and turns as the reader delves into the backstory of Maggie, one of the members of the 'Martini Club', a group of retired CIA operatives who have settled into the charming enclave of Purity, Maine.
Maggie's past catches up with her in spectacular fashion and whilst this elderly group may be settling into their golden years, they still possess a formidable skill set to end the ambush on one of their own.

Wow. Maggie Bird and her quiet, unassuming life in Maine.
Loved this story. A bit different from other Gerritsen books, but a great read. Had me hooked and had to keep reading. No lag in the story qt all, and it held mt attention the whole way. Maggie is the next retired 007.
Can’t wait for another Maggie Bird installment

Well over a decade ago, after a mission went disastrously wrong, ex-CIA operative Maggie Bird was forced to go into early retirement. Opting to become a chicken farmer (!) in the small town of Purity in Maine, she left the danger and excitement of a globe-trotting past well behind her, settling into her bucolic surroundings.

Or she thought. Until a most unwelcome reminder arrived dead in her driveway, making Maggie realise that whatever her aspirations for a peaceful existence, her enemies had certainly not forgotten her!

So Maggie turns to her 'book club' aka her fellow 60-something retired spies' network for assistance. Meanwhile, police investigator Jo Thibodeau wonders what on earth is going on, when she is repeatedly beaten to the punch by this den of silver-haired snoops...

Moving on from her police investigation stories, Gerritsen has done an excellent job of providing us with a whole new cast of characters to enjoy. I read it in one sitting.
The first book in the series begins things with a bang. And with plenty of action, an eventful storyline, and her trademark humour, the author has given us lots to look forward to from Maggie and her gang of formidable pensioners.

I really liked this book. The characters are well developed and interesting. Now I can't wait for the next book. Thank you to netgalley for the ARC.

I really enjoyed this story of spies in their golden years as their pasts come back up to haunt them. This illusion of a peaceful life now broken, the story takes readers around the world, in flashbacks to the exciting pasts of these spies. This was a quick read, perfect to get though in a weekend.

I would recommend this book for fans of Killers of a Certain Age for their similar stories of retired spies that take readers to far-off locales.

Enjoyable and quick read! I really loved the premise behind this group of retired spies. I’m just shy of 30 so I don’t typically read stories with older heroines and heroes and this was actually refreshing to have a sixty year old female protagonist. I’m young myself but some old running injuries had me relating to Maggie when she said that cold weather makes one of her bad joints ache. I love how the author handles aging for her characters, how in their minds, they don’t feel much different than before but then their reflections remind them of the reality. I think it’s cute that they’re kind of being a menace to the local town chief of police, so I’ll be reading future installments of the Martini Club to see what they’re up to next.

Best book I’ve read in a long time! I have read most of Gerritsen’s novels, and this is a unique story. This story has it all - spies, murder, exotic locations, interesting characters, and a rural coastal Maine town in the dead of winter. Gerritsen is such a good writer and an immediate go-to for me. I loved the inspiration for this book in the Author’s Note, and it also makes me wonder about my own neighbors!
Recommended for her fans, and those who will become fans.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced ecopy of The Spy Coast.

This was an entertaining and fast-paced read about a retired CIA agent and what happens when the past comes back to haunt her. Featured really great characters with a great plot. I've never read any Tess Gerritsen before, but I can see from this why she continunes to be a popular author. If you like books featuring spies, especially ones featuring older protagonists, this is a great read.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Maggie is enjoying her quiet life. When someone is found murdered, Maggie is guessing that it has something to do with her previous job. She will use all her contacts at her disposal. This book kept me guessing.

Name of Book: The Spy Coast
Series: The Martini Club #1
Author: Tess Gerritsen
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Pub Date: November 1, 2023
My Rating: 3.4 stars
Pages: 341

Maggie Bird is now sixty and has retired to Purity, Maine, and a small seaside town. (Hmmm perhaps somewhat like Cabot Cove, Maine from “Murder She Wrote” fame.
Although we Californian’s know it was filmed in Mendocino, CA!
Sorry I had to mention that as we do we do have some great seaside villages!)
Okay back to story~ Several other retired CIA officers have already retired there and are busy doing retirement things- gardening, raising chickens, and reading books for their’ Martini Club’ –book club gathering
(My book club - ‘Reading Between the Wines’ preferred wine.-However we never got into dealing with ‘real’ mysteries as the “Martini Club”’)
This group doesn’t tell anyone they're ex-Agency - once a secret agent, always a secret agent
Sure enough someone dumps a dead body on Maggie's driveway.

The body is Bianca Miskova, who just happened to visit Maggie recently. Bianca said she was a CIA agent and asked about Diana Ward, who is now an ex-CIA; but had worked with Maggie ages ago. Maggie hasn’t had any recent contact. - Maggie explains “Diana "turned me into a traitor."

Purity’s acting police chief; Jo Thibodeau is tough but more accustomed to rowdy tourists than murder investigations is somewhat puzzled by Maggie’s reluctance to share information—also by her circle of friends, who seem to be a step ahead of her.

Sure enough Acting Police Chief Jo’s investigation collides with the Martini Club’s maneuvers,

Yikes! I had high hopes for the story. I was expecting more from the “Martini Club – you know like the “Thursday Murder Club”? Okay that’s been done but it is successful and why not something similar but with the great Gerritsen touch?

Yes! I was expecting more out of this.
These characters were only okay. I hope since this is first in the series that it will go in another direction in Book #2!
I will read next in this series as I love Tess Gerritsen!!

I have read all the stories in the ‘Rizzoli & Isles’ series.
This is my twenty-sixth Tess Gerritsen novel.

I love her stories and call myself a fan!😊
However – this is the very first time the story didn't live up to my expectation. 😥

Want to thank NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for November 1, 2023.

This was a fun and action packed spy thriller. I greatly enjoyed the group of retired spies and their adventures. Looking forward to the next book in the series

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/131068071

A great start to a new series. This book started off with a bang and didn't let up all the way through. I loved the setti g and all the twists the story gave me. Looking forward to the next in the series. My thanks to netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

I am pretty sure I've read every Tess Gerritsen book there is, so I was delighted to have the opportunity to read this one. I think that it is my favorite of all she's written and I hope that it will be a series!
What happens to old spies? What do they do after they retire? Gerritsen accidentally (in real life!) gets a look at a few of them and if you're of retirement age, you'll appreciate the way she addresses retirement as she skillfully puts together a great spy story. I loved the setting and the characters. I just want more and more of Maggie and her Martini Club!

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. It's an absolute winner!

Incredible spy mystery thriller. I absolutely loved it.

I'd love to jump in and live in Maine all year round and have the Martini club as my neighbors. The characters are just too perfect, elderly retired CIA agents just trying to retire, yet they could teach us all some lessons. Of course they still enjoy dabbling in any crime they hear about it's just in their nature to be curious and protective.

Age is just a number, we're still the same inside with a bit of aches, pains etc. Captivating writing and very enjoyable read.

"The Spy Coast" by Tess Gerritsen is a gripping thriller that unfolds in the picturesque seaside village of Purity, Maine. The story revolves around Maggie Bird, a retired CIA operative seeking solace and anonymity after a mission gone wrong. Living on her chicken farm, Maggie hopes to leave the shadows of her past behind.

However, the tranquility of Purity is shattered when a body is discovered in Maggie's driveway, serving as a grim message from her past adversaries. Faced with the threat of danger, Maggie turns to her local network of friends, all retired CIA operatives like herself, forming a group known as the "Martini Club." Despite their retirement, these former spies bring a wealth of skills to the table, determined to uncover the truth behind the attempts on Maggie's life.

The story gains complexity with the involvement of Jo Thibodeau, the acting police chief of Purity, who finds herself entangled in Maggie's mysterious past. As Jo investigates, she encounters the Martini Club's clandestine maneuvers, creating a dynamic interplay between the retired spies and the local authorities.

The narrative weaves together present-day intrigue with Maggie's past life as a globetrotting operative. From Bangkok to Istanbul, London to Malta, Maggie's journey takes readers on a thrilling ride through the world of espionage.

Tess Gerritsen skillfully combines suspense, mystery, and elements of espionage, creating a narrative that keeps readers on the edge of their seats. "The Spy Coast" promises an engaging exploration of Maggie's complex history and the challenges she faces in protecting the life she has built. With its blend of action, suspense, and a touch of local charm, this novel is likely to captivate fans of the thriller genre.

I've enjoyed other books by Gerritsen, but this one is a bit different. I haven't read a lot of spy stories, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I did like the characters and setting. However, I never really felt a connection to the characters. Things felt a bit too chaotic, so plot point connections weren't as clear as I'd have liked. A tighter edit may have helped with this. I'd expected a bit more mystery. I'm not sure if I'll check out future books in this series.

If you, like me, were instantly reminded of the Thursday Murder Club when reading the blurb and now want to know if these books are similar. They aren't. The only thing these books have in common is that the main cast is a bunch of old people.

We follow Maggie and her group of friends, all retired CIA agents now living in the same small town in Maine. One day a body get's dumped in Maggie's driveway and it seems like her CIA past is catching up with her. She and her group of friends set out to figure out what is going on.

Except half the book takes place in the past, and in the present they mostly talk at the kitchen table.

This book isn't very mysterious or thrilling, but if you really like spy stories I would still recommend this to you.

If less of the book had taken place in the past if would have enjoyed this a whole lot more. I will be keeping an eye out for the reviews on the next book, if they have similar complaints I will not be continuing. I did enjoy Jo's character and I would have enjoyed even more if she had a bigger role.

The Spy Coast is a complex spy story about a group of retired spies in Maine, a cop, and an operation that is coming back to haunt them 16 years later. Maggie is living a quiet life in Maine when suddenly a dead body appears in her drive way. She gets together with her colleagues and they try to piece together what happened and how it relates to their spy days.

I want to start off by saying that this is not a bad book but I am not the biggest fan of spy stories. I think people who like spy stories will like this one. I liked the characters and the story was interesting. I liked how the setting was all over the world. I liked the friendships between the characters, this story reminded me of Killers of a Certain Age and The Thursday Murder Club. However, I did not like it as much as those because I didn’t feel connected to the characters.

I feel like I had a hard time connecting with the characters and there was a lot going on. Everything felt a bit jumbled and it was hard to see the connections between everything. I think maybe it could have been a bit shorter and a bit less complicated.

This book was a good spy book but not my favorite. I think people who are looking for this kind of book will love it. Thanks so much to netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for the arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I was given this book by NetGalley for an honest review-
I have loved every Tess Gerritsen book so was so excited to get to read this one. Once again she writes a winner!
They said someone was following her Diana chops her hair, grabs hair dye and glasses and runs.
Maggie, CIA retired in Maine on her chicken farm. Life is good until she finds a dead body in her driveway. Is this because of her last mission? Maggie must jump back into her role to find the answers. And all she wants is to get back to her life. And what a dangerous mission she begins!

The Spy Coast introduces an intriguing set of retired spies and the tenacious police chief who must deal with them when the past comes calling. Maggie Bird retired from the CIA and moved to Purity, Maine to raise chickens. A mysterious woman shows up wanting to know where someone from Maggie's old life is. The same woman’s body is tossed from a dark SUV into Maggie’s driveway. While the police investigate, Maggie and her fellow CIA retirees delve into Maggie’s last big mission as the past seems to return like a bad penny. Told in alternating timelines, Maggie will have to uncover the truth about what really happened to have any hope of returning to her peaceful life of retirement. Interesting characters drive this strong mystery full of plot twists and intrigue that is hopefully part of a larger series. My voluntary, unbiased review is based upon a review copy from NetGalley.