The Shadow Friends: A Thriller (The Martini Club Book 3)

From New York Times bestselling author Tess Gerritsen comes a harrowing and emotional thriller where ghosts of the Cold War return with a vengeance—and cannot be outrun.

When a renowned disease expert and Russian defector dies mysteriously during a global affairs conference in Purity, Maine, the tight-knit band of former spies in the Martini Club once again sees their quiet coastal retirement interrupted by international intrigue. And when a waitress at the conference hotel is found murdered, Ingrid Slocum sees chilling links to a disastrous mission that nearly killed her three decades ago.

Desperate to uncover the truth, Ingrid’s drawn back into the game by a magnetic ex-CIA colleague—and former lover—who was with her on the long-ago doomed mission. He convinces her to join him, and together they head to Amsterdam to track down her would-be killer.

Ingrid’s frantic husband Lloyd and Maggie Bird are close behind, but a clandestine network of assassins is intent on stopping them. Forced to question every allegiance, the Martini Club must rely on the skills they tried to leave behind. Because in this game of revenge and deception, the past never dies—it just hides in the shadows.

Internationally bestselling author Tess Gerritsen took an unusual route to a writing career. A graduate of Stanford University, Tess went on to medical school at the University of California, San Francisco, where she was awarded her M.D.

While on maternity leave from her work as a physician, she began to write fiction and in 1987, her first novel, Call After Midnight, was published. It was just the first of 32 suspense novels that she’s written over a 36-year writing career. She also wrote a screenplay, "Adrift," which aired as a 1993 CBS Movie of the Week starring Kate Jackson.

Tess's 1996 medical thriller, Harvest, marked her debut on the New York Times bestseller list and her novels have hit bestseller lists around the world ever since. Among her titles are Gravity, The Surgeon, Vanish, Listen to Me, and her upcoming spy thriller, The Spy Coast, which has just been optioned by Amazon Studios for a television series. Her books have been translated into 40 languages, and more than 40 million copies have been sold around the world.

Her series of novels featuring homicide detective Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles inspired the hit TNT television series "Rizzoli & Isles," starring Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander.

She lives in Maine.

For more information on Tess Gerritsen and her novels, visit her website: www.tessgerritsen.com or

www.tessgerritsen.co.uk.

“I love these spies who come out of retirement when an assassin strikes in their small town of Purity, Maine. Could spies be any more fun? Travel, tension, and twists—great entertainment!” —Shari Lapena, New York Times bestselling author

Praise for The Martini Club Series

“Powerful, resonant, absorbing, freighted with menace and suspense…Gerritsen is a born storyteller, and this new series showcases her talents more than ever. Irresistible and highly recommended!” —Lee Child, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“I love this new series!” —Shari Lapena, New York Times bestselling author

“Expertly blends family drama with spy-thriller suspense, sending readers racing through the pages to find out what happens next.” —The Washington Post

“As in the first book, Gerritsen paints Maggie and her crew with a fine brush, and strikes a satisfying tone that’s neither too dour nor too twee. These sexagenarian spies are hitting their stride.” —Publishers Weekly

“Fun and fascinating to watch Maggie and friends pivot from drinking martinis at their monthly book club to full-on use of their survival and investigative skills.” —Booklist

“Filled with suspense, intrigue, and sharp storytelling, this tale follows former spy Maggie Bird, who is living a quiet life in Maine…until enemies from her past resurface.” —Woman’s World Book Club

“Gerritsen has hit pop culture gold with this series that’s anything but cozy…the perfect read for any season, as relentlessly entertaining as it is superbly structured.” —Jon Land, BookTrib