A review by lilias
The Spy Coast by Tess Gerritsen

adventurous inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

I grew up hearing the rumor that Camden, Maine, was the place of retirement for a lot of ex-CIA agents. Apparently, author Tess Gerritsen heard the same rumor because her town of Purity is most definitely Camden.

The home base of this book is a snow-laden Purity, Maine. I’ve mentioned before that I love reading books that are set in my home state, and Maine is a nice contrast to the other locations in this book. What this book does best, what it does so well, is immerse the reader in every location in which this story is set. I was especially taken by the scenes in Bangkok and Istanbul because I’ve have been there, and it was evident Tess Gerritsen has been, too. The atmosphere was so right, and Gerritsen includes references to landmarks and characteristics that are not well-known. I love it when an author knows the locations of their book so well. 

I’m not usually a fan of spy novels, but this one was fun and well-written. The one issue I had with the writing was that it was very repetitive. Certdd was in things were mentioned so many times I figure it must have been due to poor editing: We are constantly told about the silver or grey hair of characters. The main character is often feeling lost like she had during a certain part of her life. It got distracting. Otherwise, this was a great read.