A review by bookishwendy
The Expats by Chris Pavone

2.0

I went into this book expecting something more LeCarre, but this veered more into pulp spy plot, but instead of chase scenes and shootouts we get...international moms drinking coffee in Luxembourg. Surprisingly, the coffee-drinking, shopping Luxembourg sections ("our house has no closets! To Ikea!") were my favorite parts. The European jet-setting (ok, more like expat family road-trip than private jet) to museums, ski resorts and iconic cities are captured very well. The spy story--just okay. But protagonist Kate Moore flummoxed me most. She is an ex-CIA agent-turned-stay-at-home-mom who has apparently not retained many of her spy skills, because she veers from Nancy drew impulsive office break-ins (without gloves or contingency plans) to bad-ass strip-for-the-illegal-weapons-dealer to get a good deal on a black market gun (oh wait, a guy wrote this? I so couldn't telllll.....). We're told she's super smart--except she claims to not know where Luxembourg is--isn't it a city in Germany? If only she'd been a mere State Department desk-jockey who'd always yearned to be A Really Awesome Spy I might have bought her behavior as an enthusiastic amateur. As a (we're told) grizzled veteran, she comes off as reckless and stupid. But then she has some great moments bonding with the other expat ladies over coffee. I'm so confused about what she is supposed to be. This was kind of a fun read in places, but more frustrating than enjoyable overall.