Welcome back, Aidan Snow! Roman Magidov, a Ukrainian lawyer from Donetsk, arrives at the offices of the DGSE Headquarters in Paris with information that one of France’s most wanted criminals, Sasha Vasilev, is currently in Donetsk. Jean Baptiste Moreau, one of the most senior members of DGSE, interviews him and decides that the information he has is legitimate. Baptiste takes what he has learnt to his Deputy Director, Maurice Jacob, and they decide to send in their best agent, Sophie Racine, to annihilate him. It’s not going to be easy, as Russia and Ukraine are at war with each other. Aidan Snow works for SIS (Secret Intelligence Service) his boss, Jack Patchem, summons him when he returns from a meeting with Maurice Jacob. The Ukrainian lawyer had informed DGSE that a United Kingdom medical student, Mohammed Iqbal, was being held in Donetsk by Vasilev. Racine and Snow are on two separate missions, however, because of the connection both missions centre on Vasilev, their paths cross and they join forces against the might of the Russian invaders in Ukraine. Sophie Racine is an interesting character. She’s happy to use her feminine charms if they help her gain the trust of her enemy. Her father trained her from a very young age to an extraordinary standard of fitness, both mentally and physically, and the DGSE has honed her skills in fighting. Aidan Snow, who we’ve met in previous books, is a far nicer, more grounded character, with a sense of humour and the training of a SAS paratrooper to ensure that he’s always aware and able to take on whatever problem comes at him. Alex Shaw’s used an interesting tactic in this book – combining the skills of both these highly trained agents to rescue Iqbal and annihilate Vasilev. The action never stops until the final page. I hope that we’ll see more of the two standing shoulder to shoulder in the future. Rony Elite Reviewing Group received a copy of the book for review.

This review was based on a free review .pdf from the publisher via NetGalley.co.uk This novel is set in places and involves the sort of (Ukrainian) people and politics which the author knows about and this makes it a palpable improvement on his earlier works. Those tended to be set mainly in American settings, perhaps to appeal to an American readership, and also featured highly-technological super-weapons, which are a trap for an author who does not fully comprehend the fruits of his own research. The author, wisely, approached this novel with the premise that a grenade in a modest apartment is dramatic enough. Although this is an action thriller and the pace rarely slackens, there are layers and twists to the plot and it is a battle of minds as well as muscle. The international politics are more convincing than before (especially as this review was written the day after what the press are already calling “the Black Sea Incident”) and Russian intelligence officers are portrayed as sufficiently intelligent to hatch plots which pay off even if the heroine does her best to thwart them. And that brings us to Sophie Racine, the best thing about this book. The late, great Leslie Thomas once introduced one of his female characters with the line “you should have seen her throw a grenade” and the ability to use a grenade wisely is what sets a truly charismatic female action heroine apart from the AR-toting also-rans. The supporting cast is mainly a British SIS officer and former SAS trooper who supplies the heroine, not with muscle (which would be superfluous) but restraint and the occasional less-violent solution, such as asking nicely. This, too, represents an improvement on the author’s previous work. At the time of the Yugoslav Civil War, when Western peacekeepers went in, it was pointed out that the hallmark of the SAS was actually subtlety and if what you wanted was an enemy base utterly pulverised, you sent in any line infantry regiment of the British Army.

Set chiefly in the Eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk also known as the Donetsk People's Republic and Paris, France. We find the DGSE's female agent Racine (known as Sophie to her friends and she has few of them) pitched against a former DGSE operative who she is tasked with assassinating (The General Directorate for External Security is France's foreign intelligence agency) . We get a taste of her mettle in the opening chapters when she is sent on a mission to Tunisia. MI6 gets a hint from the DGSE that a British national is being held in a facility in Donetsk and it isn't long before British agent Aidan Snow and Racine hook up in the Donetsk People's Republic, the former to liberate the national, the latter to assassinate her disgraced DGSE target . This is a full throttle, action packed thriller which was my pleasure to read. There was sufficient unfinished business in my view (and hope) for a sequel and I cannot wait! This is a five star review from me and worth every one. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A traitor who caused the deaths of many people is found and Sophie Rancine is sent to the Ukraine to eliminate him. Action from the beginning and lots of twists and turns. Will Rancine complete her mission and Will her past be resolved? Missions cross over so lots of action. Really enjoyed.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for this ARC. I’ve really enjoyed the Jack Tate books by Alex Shaw and was pleased to read his latest book featuring a new character Sophie Racine. Wow, this was a cracker of a read, one I thoroughly enjoyed and it definitely hit the mark with me. Racine is sent to Ukraine to assassinate a Russian operative who betrayed her country. She crosses paths with a MI6 officer who is on a different mission and they combine forces and work together. I thought this book was a thrilling read, it is very fast paced and full of great action scenes. It moves from past to present so easily, it is brilliantly written and grabbed my attention right away and continued to hold it right to the end. I loved the plot twists in the story and the last quarter of the book was full of them, most I did not expect and some which literally took my breath away and really wowed me. The book raced to a very satisfying conclusion with a hint of more to come and I would definitely read another book featuring Racine as the main character. She is a very likeable, believable and determined character who I couldn’t help but root for. I think this is a fab start to a new series and eagerly await the next book from this author.