The Spy Coast is Tess Gerritsen’s first foray into the spy thriller genre. The spy thriller genre has its roots in action and adventure fiction, but early examples of the espionage novels that evolved into the modern spy thriller include The Spy (1821) and The Bravo (1831), by James Fenimore Cooper, author of The Last of the Mohicans and The Pioneers. In the 20th century, novels about espionage gained popularity after World War I and moved into a new phase of growth post-World War II with Ian Fleming’s James Bond series, beginning in 1952 with Casino Royale and ending with two posthumously published works in 1964. John le Carré’s work also appeared during this time. His series featuring George Smiley, a British intelligence officer, gained prominence with the third novel in the series, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. Graham Greene (The Quiet American, Our Man in Havana) is another prominent spy novelist of the mid-20th century and actually served as a British intelligence officer during World War II. Current prominent spy novelists include Daniel Silva (