THE HANDLER

In McGurk’s thriller sequel, American orphan and secret agent Bree Parrish organizes a covert operation to investigate British Intelligence, the legacy of the Irish Republican Army, and her own identity.

Undercover secret agents continue to be trained in an elite academy for nannies in this second entry in the Norwood Nanny Chronicles. Here, the action alternates between the stories of Bree in the present day and Meg McCarthy in the early 1990s; Meg’s career as a Norwood agent and her family’s involvement with the IRA are key to Bree’s narrative. Several early scenes recap the events of The Agency (2021), after which this novel’s plot accelerates quickly. Bree is a tough, determined hero with several mysteries to unravel as she investigates the deaths of fellow agents Susmita Duncombe and Gul Avci, the kidnapping of the Turkish children who’d been in Bree’s care, and the whereabouts of Judy Roberts,her mysterious patron. Her friends and fellow agents Dashiell Heyward and Ruby Fripp assist her, balancing their classes in spycraft and childcare while also secretly investigating Bree’s lineage, the disastrous mission in Turkey, and multiple new leads. In this fraught environment, Bree can’t trust anyone, and even Dash and Ruby come under suspicion. The main characters spend relatively little time at Norwood College, but McGurk effectively maintains a boarding-school camaraderie and atmosphere; for example, the students have colloquial names for the courses—Gadgets and Weaponry is known to the students as “Bling,” for example, and Introduction to Interrogationis called “Jeopardy!”—and such details lend the story a sense of realism. The pace is often frenetic, but the author balances the action with amusing banter. As the characters navigate a world of divided loyalties, surprising revelations will keep readers guessing.  

A consistently suspenseful espionage tale that deftly handles its multiple timelines.