I’m in the minority here, but this was not very suspenseful for me. I was bored. & I felt so lost. This was more of an action spy book for me. I didn’t care for the writing or the plot of the book. I’m sorry!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance copy of The Traitor by Ava Glass in exchange for my honest review and opinion. When I requested this, I didn't realize this was book two in a series however I was able to read it as a stand alone. I will go back and read book one just to get caught up and be able to read book three. I enjoyed this book and found her writing style to be quite enjoyable. I look foward to reading more by Ava Glass in the future.

I found this to be a solid book that hooked me and held my attention. It had some fascinating elements and I really enjoyed how everything came together in the end.

When an MI6 operative is found dead inside his locked apartment, Emma Makepeace is directed by her boss, Ripley, to find out why and how. When it becomes clear that the operative has a file on two Russian oligarchs that he has been investigating, the choice to send Emma undercover becomes increasingly necessary. Assuming a new persona, will Emma find out the truth or be in danger herself?

I am a huge fan of spy thrillers, especially when they are well balanced between intrigue and good character development. Having read the first book in the series, I am pleased that Emma Makepeace is back. The character has charm, determination, and a steel spine, though this book shows she is capable of much more. The book has a great international feel and is well paced. Overall, I definitely recommend the series to other readers and I look forward to reading more Emma Makepeace novels.

Disclaimer: I was given an Advanced Reader's Copy by NetGalley and the publisher. The decision to read and review this book was entirely my own.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley. This is the 2nd book in the Alias Emma Series.

Emma Makepeace is a British spy that is looking into the death of one of an MI6 operative. The death is suspicious and when it is found out that a poison was used to kill him, they know who is behind it. Emma needs to go undercover as a worker on a yacht off the coast of France. The Russian oligarch that owns it could be part of the killing of that MI6 operative, so she is needed to help find evidence.

However, as she spends more time on there, she starts to wonder if someone on the inside of her own organization is selling her out.

This series is so good - I hope it continues!

The Traitor is an enormous contrast to Ava Glass’s first Emma Makepeace thriller, Alias Emma, where British spy Emma Makepeace’s prime directive was to “Stay dark.” She was to stay away from London’s omnipresent CCTV cameras whilst shepherding Michael Primalov, the son of high value foreign agents, to safety at the SIS building (aka “the headquarters of the Secret Intelligence Service, the United Kingdom’s foreign intelligence agency”). Emma’s boss Ripley laid it out.

Avoid all cameras, they’re not ours right now. Be careful with M. No calls. No tech. Move fast. Stay dark.



Translation—Ripley is not available to help Emma, he’s gone dark. M (Ed Masterson, his second-in-command) is not to be trusted. The neighbors are M16, which means Emma must get Michael to their headquarters across the river at Vauxhall Cross—while avoiding all CCTV cameras—thus they can’t use buses, cars, the Tube, ATMs, cellphones, or credit cards.

There is still tension between the enigmatic and purposefully anonymous Mr. Ripley and Ed Masterson, his second-in-command. Emma suspects Ed of coveting Ripley’s job and trying to push him out—Masterson doesn’t have much use for Emma either. Emma has a new job, working within “a small intelligence unit so secret it didn’t have a name.”

The reason for the secrecy was obvious, once you understood that the Agency’s work focused on identifying and stopping Russian spies working inside Britain.



Lately, that work had been constant. Tensions between London and Moscow were the worst anyone could remember. Everything felt dangerous—as if the world had become flammable and each nation clutched a lit match.

A brilliant young analyst/operative, Stephen Garrick, is discovered dead, his body “locked in a suitcase inside his own apartment,” making it clear that he’s been murdered. It’s a closed room mystery: M16 professionals can’t find fingerprints during their exhaustive clean-up operation. Who is responsible? Stephen had been working on Russian money-laundering and influence peddling; he had become “obsessed” with his brief. Andrew Field explains to Ripley and Emma what that entailed.

“He believed there were actually three people in this organization. Andrei Volkov, Oleg Federov, and someone else—someone he couldn’t identify. Someone British, with connections. Possibly inside this government. But he could never find proof. And then the operation was shut down. He took it very badly.”

Was his assassination meant to send a message to M16? Should they cease investigating Russian oligarchs? Obviously, that’s not an option but how does they gain access to the oligarchs’ inner sanctums?

In the end, it was Emma who came up with the idea. It was the day after Stephen Garrick’s body had been discovered, and she’d been rereading Andrei Volkov’s file, searching for a crack in his life she could step into. Finally, she’d thrown the document down, and said, “It seems to me he lives on his yacht more than in any of his houses.”



There was a long pause as her words sank through the smoke that filled Ripley’s oak-panelled office.



Ripley glanced at Field. “Could be an option.”



Field, who’d been slumped in a chair, red-eyed with exhaustion, straightened. “Not could be. Is. I know someone who could make it happen. But we’d need the right person. Young. Good-looking.”



In tandem, he and Ripley turned to Emma and studied her speculatively.

Bang. You’re it, Emma. It’s fascinating to watch “disguise specialist Martha Davies” work with Emma—nothing phases her. She tells Emma, “Ripley says you’re going on a superyacht, you jammy bastard. I’ve got about a thousand things you could wear, but you’ll only need a few,” plus a glam-up. Emma is going undercover as posh girl Jessica Marshall, an avid Instagrammer who’s looking for excitement.

In The Traitor, everything’s in the open: Emma hides her identity and mission in plain sight. Her immediate task is to get hired on as a crew member on Volkov’s yacht Eden, “scheduled to set sail from the Côte d’Azur to Monaco.” Annabel, another in a long line of “Englishwomen with an innate ability to appear formidable while barely saying anything,” takes Emma through yachting 101. Emma recognizes Eden from a photograph.

“This is the Eden. Over ninety meters long. Volkov had her custom made in Sweden, as a cost of eighty million dollars. She’s high-tech and surprisingly fast. She has two swimming pools, a helipad, a spa with a sauna, and a glass elevator. Basically, she’s an oligarch’s wet dream.”

Annabel shows Emma pictures of attractive young people, all wearing “navy blue pullovers bearing the words “THE EDEN” in white. She says the vessel has only eight crew members: “it’s a skeleton crew.”

“Why so few?” Emma asked.



Jon answered, “Because Andrei Volkov is paranoid and cheap. He doesn’t want anyone on his boat at all, but he also wants to be waited on constantly. A small crew is the compromise.”

Paranoid and cheap—what could go wrong? Even if Emma looks the part and has a mythically pristine background, something might still screw up and she’d be naïve to believe that her snooping will go undetected. But she has her marching orders. Annabel lays it out succinctly.

“I think it’s fair to say,” Annabel interjected, “we don’t really know enough about Volkov. He’s always flown under the radar. And we would very much like to know more. That’s where you come in.”

Come on board Eden. Your heart will be in your throat as you watch Emma serve drinks, get friendly with the crew, and explain her way out of a few too many being in the wrong place at the wrong time incidents. What if something goes wrong: is there a way to call for help and to get rescued? It seems like a suicide mission. Volkov is unpredictable, his model girlfriend is volatile and needy, and the crew is either ignorant or complicit.

The Traitor is a nail-biter follow-up to a blazingly good debut thriller. Last year Glass shared that “the TV pilot and an outline of the Alias Emma series are still in the planning stage but she’s hopeful the project will move forward.” I can’t wait to see what’s next in store for Emma Makepeace.

The Traitor is the second book in the Alias Emma series, although it can be read as a standalone. Emma Makepeace works as a spy for "the agency," a British government entity largely focused on stopping Russian interference. When a fellow agent is found dead in their apartment, Emma is tasked with going undercover on a Russian oligarch's yacht... alone, in the middle of the ocean.

Having thoroughly enjoyed Ava Glass's fast-paced debut, I knew I wanted to keep reading this series. I largely found that The Traitor did not disappoint. Tense and gripping, this sophomore entry into the Alias Emma series was gripping and at times claustrophobic as Emma tries to keep her cover on a boat full of very suspicious and paranoid people.

What I wanted from this novel that I did not get enough of in Alias Emma was character development. As thrillers often do, The Traitor skipped over developing a protagonist that readers could connect with. Despite having now read two novels about Emma Makepeace, I cannot tell you much about her outside of her profession and one family connection. While I love a fast-paced, intense novel, I also want someone I can cheer for and not solely "bad guys" to cheer against.

Overall, The Traitor is a quick spy thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat. But if you desire a protagonist with a strong personality to anchor a novel, you will not find it here.

Enjoyed this one very much, another great suspense thriller from author Ava Glass. Never disappoints, highly recommend!

I loved this book and I really like the main character, Emma. She works for a secret agency in MI6 that investigates Russian spies. When an MI6 agent is found dead, Emma is sent on an assignment on a Russian oligarch's yacht. The pace of the story is fast, the danger seems real, and the setting felt very claustrophobic.

I'll pick up every book I can about Emma Makepeace!

Thank you to Random House and Netgalley for a advanced copy of Ava Glass' second novel in the Alias: Emma series, The Traitor. I will admit, I had this before the book was published, and somehow did not get it read at the time. Last week I read her newest book, The Trap, and absolutely loved it, and in the last four days went back and read The Traitor. While I think one should ideally read the books in order, I don't feel like anything was spoiled by reading out of order. Another great read. Fast paced, and engaging. These are simply fun books. I will admit I figured out who the "traitor" was pretty quickly, due to one clue I found. These are great books and I highly recommend them. But don't be like me, start with the first book (which I am now reading) and work your way forward!!

Having not read the first book in this series, I wasn't sure how much I was going to like this book. But I was pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to become invested in the main character and her adventure. This particular story was captivating to a point, but the overall plot was pretty predictable - especially given the apt title, so overall it wasn't my favorite read but it did the job for a quick and easy read!

Spy novels are not normally my jam but I took a chance on this one. It read more like a mystery novel like so maybe that’s why I enjoyed it so much. The plot kept a good pace and I found myself reaching for the book when I should’ve been doing other things so clearly, it was enjoyable! If you’re on the fence I say go for it on this one.

Book #2 in the "Alias Emma" series did not disappoint! In fact, it was better than the first - and I loved the first. I am officially an Emma Makepeace fan girl!

This time around, Emma is tasked with finding out why an MI6 operative is found dead in a gruesome way. As she begins to investigate, Emma finds some interesting information that she takes to her boss Ripley. I love Ripley. After a lengthy discussion, it is decided that Emma will go undercover on the super yacht of a Russian Oligarch. This is when this story really takes off.

This one has many twists and turns. I love watching Emma fight her way out of dangerous situations. She is brave, resourceful, clever, and smart. Like the previous entry in this series, you will forget to breathe at times, be tempted to look ahead to see what is coming, and not want to put this book down until the end!

Also, I was very surprised to find out who the traitor was - wow!

This series is also great on audiobook. Sophie Colquhoun narrates this one as well as "Alias Emma" - she does an amazing job!

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, and Bantam Books for the opportunity to read this book! I am hooked on this series and getting ready to dive into the next one! I highly recommend this series if you love mystery, suspense, and spy thrillers!

This was a great follow up to the first book! We got to see the main character continue with her spy adventures and I enjoyed the tension the story brought. It wasn't all happy and the situations were filled with danger. I couldn't put this book down and I think this would continue to be a great series.

This is a second in a series that follow slightly predictable but still fun "secret agent" plots. This one had a good bit of mystery as well since the main character has to uncover the identity of one of the bad guys. I also loooove when spy stories include yachts, so this one was super fun for me!

Emma Makepeace is back! I had this story figured out long before Emma did, and I still got rattled by fear as she searched for the truth while working undercover aboard the Eden. This is the second book in the Alias Emma series. It works as a standalone so you do not have to read the first book, however I do recommend it as it was an action-packed story and introduction to Emma's character. The Traitor is not quite as action packed, however I felt more fear with this story, and I loved the yacht setting as there were few places to escape and the picturesque descriptions of the ocean views and ports of call felt like a mini vacation. Emma is highly intelligent and I like the way her mind processes information at a fast pace, allowing her to stay in her undercover character to further the mission at hand.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for my copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Somehow I overlooked this title in my TBR stack and just finished it long after it was published It is the second of a series about British agent Emma Makepeace, and, although there are a number of references to her first story, you can easily read this, as I did, as a stand-alone. The plot involves Emma going undercover on a yacht belonging to a Russian oligarch with the goal of uncovering a mole from MI6. and stopping the sale and distribution of highly dangerous weapons.
Although the plot is predictable, the character of Emma as a fearless undercover agent gives the story a little extra excitement. This is a good choice for readers who enjoy this formula. For those looking for something original, I would suggest you keep looking.

The second book in the 'Emma' series, this book can stand on its own as well. Following the adventures of Emma and the Agency, we find Emma going solo onto a Russian yacht to save the UK. I love this series and The Traitor keeps the suspense alive. I once again couldn't put the book down and followed Emma's adventures through the Mediterranean. I can't wait for the next book, keep them coming!!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.

I loved Alias Emma, but it’s been awhile since I read it, so I was a little nervous if I was going to be able to dive into this one. Definitely had no trouble since Glass does a great job of refreshing the readers’ memory of who Emma is.

Emma Makepeace is a member of MI-6 and has to go undercover on a yacht to discover who is behind the murder of a fellow spy. The Russian who owns the yacht is a member of a three-man criminal team. However, one member of the team is unknown. Emma has to uncover that person’s identity as well as bring the criminals to justice.

These books are so much fun. They are well-written, Emma is awesome, and the plot moves quickly. I definitely recommend both Alias Emma and this sequel.

I've become a big fan of this series featuring Emma Makepeace, spy with "the Agency". This one, set partially on a yacht, has shades of Below Deck but with extra shady dealings and, of course, a spy, and it makes for a high drama and high intensity story with a shocking ending. This quick read is best read after Alias Emma, but will work as a standalone in a pinch.