Serpents in the City

I want to thank Ms. H.N. Wake for the honor of being asked to beta read Serpents in the City. Despite this connection with the author, it will be easy to provide an honest and unbiased review.

In my opinion, H.N. Wake is one of the most underrated/underread authors out there. She is the definition of a “hidden gem.” I initially passed on her books, as I am not a fan of spy novels. Fortunately, the subject matter of her first book, A Spy Came Home, eventually led me to give it a go, and now I am hooked on Ms. Wake’s writings.

Serpents in the City is a smart, ripped from the headlines, realistic stunner of a read. Ms. Wake is writing under a pseudonym, because she has hands on experience with the inner workings of the government, including, I suspect, the CIA. This enables her to give us an inside look of what could very well be going on behind the scenes in our country (and in some of her writings, Asia). Scary stuff. Stuff that makes me angry, but in a good way; in a way that makes me want to do something about what she is telling us.

Serpents takes on the cable news industry. The author sets before us a complex (though easy to follow) tale of deception, blackmail, and abusive power. How the big guys get bigger and the little guys get stomped on. Our protagonist is Mac Ambrose, a 40-something CIA operative who has had enough and is trying to walk away from “the Agency.” Mac is richly drawn. She is as complex as the plot itself. She is badass but vulnerable; SO vulnerable and so human. She is courageous and driven to do the right thing, which often clashes with what she has been asked to do by the government. Off the grid and on her own in this story, she has taken on a blackmail scheme involving a U.S. Senator and a political cable news corporation; nothing is as it seems. Complicating matters is the fact that she has just reunited with her love after a fifteen-year absence. Suddenly her risk taking has to be recalculated as she must now consider Joe. Don’t let this arc turn you away. This is NOT romantic suspense—it is far from that. The Mac-Joe storyline is handled with grace, subtlety and spiritual intimacy. It is unlike any man-woman relationship I have encountered in my thriller/crime fiction/spy novel reading. The history of their relationship is presented in several short but powerful vignettes scattered throughout the novel. So very well done.

Along the way, Mac picks up some help from Issac Messenger, IT nerdus profundus, and his girlfriend Joyce, a former CIA employee working in intel and current assistant to the junior senator from Wisconsin. These two are brilliantly written. Their rapport is a sight to see and their scenes are energizing, smile-producing, and just plain fabulous. Joyce in particular has won a spot in my heart with her what-you-see-is-what-you-get personality, her boundless energy and enthusiasm, and her smarts. I hope Ms. Wake continues to keep Isaac and Joyce around in subsequent novels.

Though there are a number of storylines going on simultaneously, there is great flow and the arcs all converge seamlessly at the end. The chapters are short and crisp. Ms. Wake has a knack of pulling the reader into the settings without long descriptive passages—she sneaks her descriptions into the action. I would call the tale more deeply intriguing than relentlessly suspenseful, though there are definitely moments of suspense and the final chapters are totally unputdownable. Also notable are a number of nifty twists and a couple of terrific holy s**t shockers. Again the characterization is top-notch as is the plot and dialogue writing.

Having read all of Ms. Wake’s works (3 novels and a great novella), I can see her authorship skills growing by leaps and bounds. That said, her first novel, A Spy Came Home, landed a spot on my top ten books list in 2015 and won a B.R.A.G. medallion award for indie writers. Serpents in the City chronologically follows A Spy Came Home. Though the plots are unrelated and either could easily be read as a standalone, I would recommend the reader pick up Spy first in order to fully savor Mac’s character development.

Serpents in the City is in my top 3 reads of this year, which is saying a lot considering the quality of the novels I’ve chosen to read. I’m always talking about my shrine of 5 favorite all-time authors. Looks like a sixth has just moved in. Ms. Wake, you are da bomb!

My bottom line to fellow readers: Give this author a shot. Trust me, she is the real thing.

Serpent: a sly or treacherous person, especially one who exploits a position of trust in order to betray it. HN Wake’s third Mac Ambrose spy thriller, Serpents in the City, touts “A Senator. A blackmail plot. The dark side of a media empire.”

When it comes to writing fiction about real issues, HN Wake writes with credibility, passion, and chutzpah. Mac Ambrose in some ways mirrors Wake’s own experience; she has recently returned to the United States after more than two decades in Southeast Asia. What she finds in the good ole US-of-A disturbs and appalls her. Mac is hoping to settle in to private life with Joe, her newly rediscovered forever guy, the only man she has ever loved. The bubble is burst when her ultra-rich childhood friend Laura comes calling with a sensitive problem: a US Senator needs a politically damaging video retrieved. Why should Mac be the one to do it? Why indeed? What she finds endangers all she holds dear: her safety, her freedom, and her relationship.

Serpents in the City is fast-paced with many simultaneous plots slithering through the streets of New Orleans, a New York apartment, the studios and offices of Patriot News, and elsewhere, and then eventually intertwine. Yet, Ms. Wake skillfully draws out each event, making the reader feel part of the scene. (I had great fun Googling New York City eateries and hotels mentioned in the book – HN, can I come visit?) Her characters are a pleasure to meet. Some we have met before – brainy Isaac and his vivacious girlfriend Joyce, loyal agent Herbie, sweet Joe…These guys are all terrific, and after reading this book, they felt totally human to me – funny, vulnerable, genuine, and trustworthy. The ever-odious snake, Agency boss Frank Odom, makes an appearance, of course. Newcomer FBI agent Ernest Couillard is a wonderful addition, and I hope he returns in future books.

Mac is a complex character. She has seen and done things that she is not able to share yet. After years as a solo agent, she’s still learning about teamwork. Luckily, she’s a quick study. I love her intelligence, her integrity, her strength, and her vulnerability. And I’m so glad she has Joe. Understanding, patient Joe. Happily, we get to see more of Joe in this book, and he's her rock.

I also have to briefly mention the characters from the cable news station and Senator Gillis. Without these vipers, there would be no story. A caveat to those with a conservative political leaning – you may not like this book. But Ms. Wake makes no secret where her heart is, and having lived and worked abroad for so long, she has a perspective on American politics and lifestyle, I believe, that many of us have not experienced. It wouldn’t be a Mac Ambrose novel without at least one social issue thrown in for good measure.

As a beta reader for HN Wake, I was privileged to be part of the process of bringing Serpents in the City to life. For this, I am incredibly grateful. I have seen the amazing journey this story has taken to become a fabulous, cohesive saga of blackmail and deception. Kudos to your editor, HN, for her tough love and to you for rolling up your sleeves and making it all happen. As I read your second draft, I grinned all the way through! Thanks to you and to NetGalley, I had the opportunity to read it in finished form in exchange for my honest, unbiased review. Having loved the first two novels and the short story, I am pleased to see the characters continue to grow and the writing develop by leaps and bounds with each new endeavor. I can’t help it – I love this author!

Now – when does the next Mac Ambrose book come out?

5 Shiny Gold Stars