“We are all pretending to be something we are not, and some of us are better at it than others.”

Jane and Maura’s friendship has been a constant in my life for well over a decade. I’ve read every Rizzoli & Isles book and watched the series more times than I should probably admit. Starting a brand new Tess Gerritsen series was part ‘I want Jane and Maura!’ and part ‘I can’t wait!’

We’re introduced to Maggie. She’s 60 and has lived in Purity, Maine for two years. Retired sixteen years, this former import analyst is now a small-town chicken farmer. She likes her chickens, she likes her neighbours and she really likes her quiet life.

Maggie’s quiet life is about to become much more dramatic, though, starting with the dead body in her driveway. See, Maggie has a past and it’s rudely intruding on her present.

“Something evil has followed me here from my old life, something that threatens to poison our sanctuary.”

On the case is acting police chief, Jo Thibodeau. Complicating Jo’s life are Maggie’s book club. Like book club in Good Girls didn’t exactly mean book club, there’s more to the Martini Club than they’d have you believe. It turns out that Purity, Maine is home to a group of retired spies.

“Old age confers anonymity, which makes it the most effective disguise of all.”

I love that retirees are the main characters in this series. Western society in particular tends to render people over a certain age invisible. We miss out on so much when we do this, including the wisdom that comes with experience and the opportunity to get to know some pretty amazing human beings who still have plenty to offer, if only we give them the opportunity.

I’m intrigued to see where Tess takes this series. Does Maggie stay in the limelight or do each of the Martini Club members get starring roles in future books? Are skeletons from everyone’s spy days going to come back to haunt them or is this group’s unique skill set going to help the police solve crimes that don’t directly relate to their previous jobs?

I wouldn’t take a bullet for any of the characters yet but it took time for Jane and Maura to become bookish family too. I want to know more about Maggie and Jo but am currently most interested in learning more about Ingrid, the cipher-cracking genius of the bunch.

I’m really looking forward to the next book.

Content warnings are included on my blog.