The Helsinki Affair by Anna Pitoniak

The Helsinki Affair

Author: Anna Pitoniak

Genre: Fiction, Spy

Format: Digital ARC

Publish Date: November 2023

Read: September 2023

Favorite Quote: If you expected the present to be a continuation of the past, you weren't actually looking at the present through clear eyes.

Story Synopsis: Amanda Cole, the daughter of Charlie Cole - a Cold War CIA operative- finds herself as one of the youngest station chiefs in the history of the CIA at age forty. Logical, direct, and authentic, Cole takes a tip from a Russian about plans to assassinate a well-respected Senator. When the tip comes to fruition and the Senator dies, Amanda is thrust into unraveling the complicated web of lies, conspiracies, and secrets. Through her investigation in the present day, Amanda is also forced to confront her father’s work in Helsinki in the late 1980s and double, triple, and rogue agents of the Cold War that have resurfaced.

Why does this book beguile? I initially wanted to read this because I love Finland and Helsinki (and got to visit in 2015). Also, having traveled to St. Petersburg and Moscow (same trip as Finland), I was excited to read about places I’ve visited. That alone made me enjoy the book, but it was a fabulous story! I don’t often read spy novels because they are so male-dominated, so I was delighted to receive The Helsinki Affair as an ARC. The women in this novel are well-written, complex, and very relatable. I enjoyed the tension Pitoniak created through the dual timelines of Charlie Cole and Amanda Cole leading up to the convergence of both timelines. Really fun and exciting read!

Rating: 5/5

Link*: The Helsinki Affair by Anna Pitoniak

If you like this, read*: A Woman of No Importance by Sonia Purnell