The Spy Coast by Tess Gerritsen

Maggie Bird is retired and living a quiet life in Purity, Maine with a few chickens and a small group of friends nearby when she gets an unexpected and unwelcome visitor. A woman who calls herself Bianca wants Maggie’s help finding a colleague from her CIA past, last seen in Bangkok. 

Maggie hasn’t seen Diana for 16 years and does not welcome the disruption to her hard-earned peace; she asks her visitor to leave. The next day, Bianca is found murdered in Maggie’s driveway, bringing unwelcome attention from the town’s chief of Police, Jo Thibodeau.

Maggie has no intention of discussing her past with the police but she moved to Purity because she had friends there, other retirees from espionage, and they are eager to use their combined acumen to help Maggie figure out why she has been targeted. They manage to come up with information while Chief Thibodeau is being sidelined by the state police, but Maggie realizes she needs to revisit her biggest clandestine operation – the one that ended her career – to identify her enemies before they kill her or her friends.

I started The Spy Coast on audio but was so captivated by Maggie and her Maine buddies that I couldn’t wait for the next car ride and checked out the book from the library as the branch near my office was trying to turn off its lights. Tess Gerritsen’s medical thrillers never interested me but this group of Maine retirees who meet regularly for their book group and a few martinis are as appealing as the popular Thursday Murder Club series (but not intended to be amusing, as they are). Maggie is a very likable character, having grown a hard shell as a coping mechanism but capable of real friendship with granddaughter of her closest neighbor; she would rather leave Purity forever than put them in danger. I also appreciated the determined police chief who knows Maggie isn’t being candid with her and refuses to stop investigating. She is exasperated by the lack of candor from Maggie and her friends, which is a more realistic response than collaborating with them.

UK edition

Maggie’s CIA past is revealed in flashbacks – the reader senses things ended badly because of the timing of her retirement but Gerritsen maintains the suspense and throws in several surprises along the way. Recommended, although Thomas & Mercer is an Amazon imprint and I am reluctant to support Jeff Bezos in any way – still, you can look for it at your library.

The Author’s Note reveals that Gerritsen was inspired by learning several of her Maine neighbors were retired CIA. I assume it is because Maine is relatively affordable and its residents are known for being fiercely independent, which seems a good fit for former spies who don’t want a lot of questions about their previous lives. This is my fifth mystery of the year for Carol’s Cloak and Dagger Reading Challenge.

Title: The Spy Coast
Author: Tess Gerritsen
Publication: Thomas & Mercer, hardcover, 2023
Genre: Suspense
Source: Library