Quick Synopsis

It’s the case of Amanda’s lifetime, but solving it will require her to betray another spy—who just so happens to be her father.

Publisher’s Synopsis

Spying is the family business. Amanda Cole is a brilliant young CIA officer following in the footsteps of her father, who was a spy during the Cold War. It takes grit to succeed in this male-dominated world—but one hot summer day, when a Russian defector walks into her post, Amanda is given the ultimate chance to prove herself.

The defector warns of the imminent assassination of a US senator. Though Amanda takes the warning seriously, her superiors don’t. Twenty-four hours later, the senator is dead. And the assassination is just the beginning.

Corporate blackmail, covert manipulation, corrupt oligarchs: the Kremlin has found a dangerous new way to wage war. Teaming up with Kath Frost, a fearless older woman and legendary spy, Amanda races from Rome to London, from St. Petersburg to Helsinki, unraveling the international conspiracy. But as she gets closer and closer to the truth, a central question haunts her: Why was her father’s name written down in the senator’s notes? What does Charlie Cole really know about the Kremlin plot?

The Helsinki Affair is a riveting, globe-trotting spy thriller—but this time, with a refreshing female-centric twist. Perfect for fans of John le Carré and Daniel Silva, this book introduces Pitoniak as a singular new talent in the world of spy fiction.

Book Review

The Helsinki Affair is Anna Pitoniak’s take on the classic spy thriller but with the twist of a young-ish female spy as the protagonist. Amanda Cole is a third-generation CIA agent who is currently stationed at the U.S. Embassy in Rome. On an unremarkable summer day, a Russian citizen walks up to the embassy’s gates and states they have life-or-death information. And so, Amanda Cole stumbles into the biggest case of her career, complete with a political assassination, stock market manipulation, and a past scandal turned state secret (which happens to involve her father).

The Helsinki Affair is a fast-paced, globe-trotting story that takes place in two timelines: Amanda’s current operation and her father’s time as a spy in 1980s Helsinki. Both timelines were equally enthralling and kept me at the edge of my seat. However, there could have been better delineation when the story switched between them. This is more of a formatting thing and did not take away from the book.

Despite finding this The Helsinki Affair both entertaining and fun, I also think there were quite a few plot holes or details that did not make sense if you looked hard enough. I do not have an issue turning a blind eye to plot inconsistencies or incorrect details, but it does bother me after the fact. So, you should know that you will have to suspend some belief to find the story completely plausible. For example, why is the station chief of an embassy doing all the fieldwork herself, not only in Italy, but also the UK and Russia? Perhaps the CIA in the book’s universe is experiencing some staffing issues? My other big issue is that the station chiefs make huge decisions by themselves without running it up the chain of command. And if I know anything from working in the federal government, it is that things are always escalated up the ladder before decisions are made.

The one area that I wish was stronger in The Helsinki Affair is character development. I loved reading a spy novel with a strong female lead. It is also refreshing to read a novel with a heroine that is human and makes mistakes. While readers are privy to Amanda’s thoughts, I still did not feel like I knew who she is as a person; I wanted more. I also loved the character Kath but wanted more time with her and more stories from her past. I thought Pitoniak’s exploration of guilt was well-done and intriguing. However, I feel it could have been stronger if there was a more detailed or nuanced relationship between Amanda and her father.

Overall, I enjoyed The Helsinki Affair and if this book turns into a series, I will likely read it. It was a fast-paced, fun read. I recommend it if you have no qualms about accepting the book at face value and overlooking issues of plausibility.

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