LONDON STATION

The useful part

London and help "rebalance things with the Brits." She accepts the assignment reluctantly, as she's dismissive of the British in general and London in particular. The Brits are pickpockets, she claims, who often do good work but will usually rob Americans blind. Against the Brits' explicit request not to do so, Procter surprises Gao on a London street and cold pitches him to betray his country.

How it works

• Read about a "suddenly bald woman with an armpit sprouting breasts" following a collision with an e-bike while she's wearing a disguise and you might reasonably expect goofiness throughout.
• At its core, the story is about an old married couple that hasn't suffered a serious tiff since 1812, and the occasional tensions work themselves out.
• The result is a scene that highlights Procter's lunacy but not her competence.
• Mostly, though, it's a standard thriller with its share of murders and one spectacular death.
• Mimir, an intelligence gathering firm, sells intel to various rivals, and the good guys chase a bad guy to nigh-on the Earth's end—and the novel's.

What to take from it

Told that the city is lovely, she replies that's the problem. Procter, who's had stints in Moscow (Moscow X, 2023) and Afghanistan, maintains a mental "violence jar" to which she contributes every time she resists beating the crap out of an annoying colleague.

Details worth keeping

Anyway, she prefers to run ops and "likes to get her hands dirty out in the field" and is "a lunatic…[w]ith a stellar reputation." The first challenge is that the allies have lost four Chinese assets, and now China's Ministry of State Security Officer Gao Shiyan is in town as part of a trade delegation. Even her back displays her dedication when she's not covered up.