The Decoy

The Decoy by Chloe Archambault tells the story of Nina who was orphaned then groomed at age 11 to become a Russian operative. What a great read! I read this in a day! The story kept a good pace but didn't have you dashing from place to place. I felt all of Nina's emotions and fought along side of her and Theo. I loved Ibrahim!! What great character! There was no closure with Markus and Jacques. Nina did meet up with Stacey but not them. I was disappointed in that. I'm still not sure about the title. I understand why it's The Decoy but I'm thinking it could be more descriptive..The Orphan Spy?? I will recommend this book! Thank you for letting me review!

This is a very unique book it is the story of Nina ostensibly a student in Montreal but in reality, a deep cover Russian agent. With the alleged Russian involvement in elections in the US and in the UK, it is very timely indeed.
Nina was an orphan who has been carefully groomed by her Russian handlers she lives with two agents and to all the world they are a happy family.
Nina does tasks consisting mainly of photographing documents at the college. She plays the part of a student well and seems like any other college student.
Then comes the big assignment the president of the United States is coming to Canada for a G7 conference and someone in his entourage has been blackmailed into giving over the Russians some very incriminating evidence of the President with an underaged person also similar to a real-life situation. Nina and her alleged boyfriend (also an agent) are to go the conference and get the material from the staffer and bring it back to Montreal.
Things begin to go horribly wrong when there is an explosion at a press conference and all hell breaks loose.
Nina must sneak back into Montreal she arrives exhausted and drained. She goes to seek the comfort of her boyfriend and then home.
At that point everything turns topsy turvy who can she trust? Are any of the people that she knows and has known for years on the up and up or will they all betray her?
It is a spy story but is also rife with humanity and a lot of twists and turns.
She and the reader are in doubt as to whom to trust and who not to trust. The story is excellently written and absolutely compelling. Be prepared to read long into the night. It’s that good.

This book really meets the brief of “thriller” and every page is an important part of the whole - the writer does not waste pages on unnecessary filler. Really engaging characters support a high action plot which is incredible in the best possible way.