The Nursery - Asia Mackay

Description

ASSASSIN. MOTHER. WIFE. MEET THE NEW HEROINE FOR OUR TIMES.

Lex Tyler is trying to have it all, but being a working mother is so much more difficult when you're a secret agent for an underground branch of the security services. Platform Eight have been tasked with tracking down and eliminating the traitor in MI6 who has been selling information to the highest bidder through a headhunting website for the criminal underworld that connects intelligence operatives with all manner of bad people with a simple right swipe.

Deals get made. Secrets get sold. Missions fail. Agents die. Lex's own home life is not much easier. With a husband who rings her in the middle of a gunfight to complain she's yet again forgotten to pick up his dry-cleaning, and a two-year-old daughter who has a newfound love of biting, surviving both the Terrible Twos and a traitor might just be too much for one exhausted mother to handle.

Killing Eve meets Mick Herron in this gripping and witty page-turner about having it all, keeping it all and surviving it all.

Review

This is the second book by this author that I have read. The first, Killing It, was the prequel to this book, but you can easily read this as a standalone book; but why would you? I enjoyed this book even more than the first one, but by reading Killing It you get twice the enjoyment. You can find my review of the first book "Killing It" here.

We meet Lex again in this book, it's two years later on and her daughter Gigi is now a toddler. Lex is still an undercover operative for Platform Eight whilst juggling Motherhood, picking up her husbands dry cleaning and ensuring her daughter behaves herself at nursery.

Lex really does step up the action in this book, but true to form there are still those who under estimate her, and I loved it when she held her own. There's also Mrs Moulage, she was the first ever female agent and another strong female character who I loved. Lex is using her real life knowledge in her role - such as giving suspects names from Peppa Pig, after all who is going to think it's odd. So many laugh out loud moments in this book too, whilst at the same time being a very credible thriller.

If you think James Bond/Jason Bourne etc is a little unrealistic, then you need to read these books.  I can see whilst this is fiction it could actually be so true. Especially the use of social media and those public announcements we hear.

Also in this book Gigi has a voice now and she knows how to use it! - I hope she becomes a little mini me in the future.

I'm giving this book 5 out of 5 stars and await book three........... My thanks to Netgalley and Bonnier Books UK for the ARC to review.