Welcome to today’s stop on the blog tour for The Trap by Ava Glass which was published in paperback by Penguin UK on 1st August 2024. My thanks to Amanda at Moonflower Books for inviting me to take part in the tour and for my digital review copy via NetGalley. If you get the chance, do check out the reviews by my tour buddies for today.
About the Book
How far would you go to catch a killer?
This is the question UK agent Emma Makepeace must ask herself when she is sent to Edinburgh for the upcoming global G7 Summit.
The Russians are in town and Emma and her team know a high-profile assassination is being planned. But who is their target?
There is only one way to find out. Emma must set a trap using herself as bait.
As the most powerful leaders in the world arrive and the city becomes gridlocked, Emma knows the clock is ticking.
Format: Paperback (416 pages) Publisher: Penguin
Publication date: 1st August 2024 Genre: Thriller
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My Review
The Trap is the third book in the series featuring intelligence agent Emma Makepeace. It can definitely be read as a standalone thanks to references for new readers to events in the previous two books – The Chase and The Traitor – and to Emma’s own quite complicated personal history. (These would be spoilers if you were intending to go back and read the first two books). Of course, the main thing you need to know about Emma is that it is not her real name, just her cover name. Her real name is known only to a select few and she’s quite used to adopting other identities, all of which have been carefully created by the Agency, the outfit for which she works.
The plot involving a possible assassination attempt on a leading politician, an important summit at which decisions will be made about sanctions against Russia and the leaking of sensitive information to the press makes it feel bang up-to-date. As does the impressive digital technology at the Agency’s disposal. However there’s also space for some ‘old school’ techniques, including one which wouldn’t be out of place in an Agatha Christie novel.
Emma’s become used to working along. In fact, she prefers it that way having been badly let down in the past by someone she believed she could trust. I liked the fact that on this occasion she is required to pair up with someone else and, that contrary to her instincts, there’s a lot of value to be gained from the partnership. Cue perhaps a more permanent arrangement in the next book?
The Trap has everything you’d expect in a good spy thriller: some really bad guys to go up against, exotic locations, a race against time and a final showdown. I enjoyed being reunited with some of the team from previous books, including Ripley, Emma’s enigmatic boss, Martha, creator of a thousand disguises and Zach, the tech wizard.
And through the character of Emma we see the challenges of being a spy: never being able to reveal your occupation to others; having to lie to friends, family and lovers; living a double life with a name that is not your own; being constantly on your watch.
The Trap is another accomplished, nail-biting thriller from the author who has been dubbed ‘The new queen of spy fiction’.
In three words: Exciting, pacy, dramatic
Try something similar: Dead Line by Stella Rimington
About the Author
Ava Glass is a former crime reporter and civil servant. Her time working for the government introduced her to the world of spies, and she’s been fascinated by them ever since.
She lives in the south of England.
Connect with Ava
Website | X | Instagram
What Cathy Read Next... 
I really enjoyed the first two books in this series (also one by the author using a different pseudonym) so am glad to know a new book is forthcoming! I’ll keep an eye out for a US pub date.
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