How to Read Ava Glass: The Best Starting Point
Ava Glass has quickly become a standout voice in the modern espionage genre, delivering tight, fast-paced thrillers that focus on realistic tradecraft rather than theatrical gadgets. If you are new to her writing, the absolute best place to start is with the first book in her main series, Alias Emma (published in the UK as The Chase). This novel introduces her signature protagonist, MI6 agent Emma Makepeace, and establishes the high-stakes, tech-savvy tone of the universe.
However, if you prefer a self-contained story without the commitment of an ongoing series, you can start with her standalone thriller, The Hiding Season. Set in the isolated, snowy peaks of Montana, it offers a distinct shift in tone from international espionage to survival suspense, showing off the author's versatility.
The Emma Makepeace (Alias Emma) Series in Detail
The Emma Makepeace series is the cornerstone of Ava Glass's work. Inspired by real-life female intelligence officers, Emma is a highly capable but deeply human protagonist who relies on her wits, physical conditioning, and deep understanding of surveillance networks to survive.
Because the character's personal life, career progression, and relationships develop across the books, you should read this series in strict publication order. Note that the series has different titles depending on whether you are reading the US/North American editions or the UK/international editions, which we have clarified below to prevent you from accidentally buying the same book twice.
1. Alias Emma / The Chase (2022)
The debut novel introduces Emma Makepeace as a junior operative in a highly secretive, off-the-books department of MI6. Her assignment is seemingly straightforward but physically grueling: she has just twelve hours to escort the son of Russian defectors, a doctor named Michael Primalov, across London to safety. The catch? Russian intelligence has hacked London's massive network of CCTV cameras, turning the entire city into a digital trap. Emma must navigate the streets, tunnels, and alleys completely blind to electronic surveillance while avoiding mercenaries who are authorized to kill. (Published as Alias Emma in the US and The Chase in the UK).
2. The Traitor / Game of Spies (2023)
In the second installment, the stakes shift from the streets of London to the glittering, high-society playgrounds of the Mediterranean. When an MI6 operative is found dead under bizarre circumstances inside a locked suitcase, Emma is sent undercover on a luxury superyacht owned by a Russian oligarch suspected of dealing chemical weapons. Posing as a crew member, Emma must identify a mole inside British intelligence while navigating a dangerous web of billionaires, security detail, and international conspiracies. (Published as The Traitor in the US/North America and Game of Spies in the UK/Century editions).
3. The Trap (2024)
Set against the backdrop of an upcoming G7 Summit in Edinburgh, the third novel sees Emma acting as bait. Intelligence reports suggest a highly elusive Russian assassin is planning a strike on British soil. Lacking concrete leads, Emma's department creates a false identity for her, casting her as a rogue agent to lure the killer out of hiding. As she operates without a safety net in Scotland, Emma must stay one step ahead of a predator who knows exactly who she is. (Published under the title The Trap in both the US and UK markets).
Ava Glass Standalone Thrillers
In addition to her spy franchise, Ava Glass has branched out into standalone suspense novels that isolate characters far from the support networks of international intelligence agencies.
The Hiding Season (2026)
Published in early 2026, this standalone marks a shift to psychological suspense. Following a painful and financially ruinous divorce, Maya Landry seeks solitude and a fresh start by taking a job as the summer caretaker for a cluster of exclusive, billionaire-owned ski lodges in the remote Rocky Mountains of Montana. Her peaceful isolation turns into a nightmare when she discovers a dead body in one of the cabins. By the time she secures a cell signal and brings the authorities, the body has vanished without a trace. With the police doubting her sanity, a mysterious stranger warns Maya that the killers know she saw them. Cut off from help, Maya must survive a deadly game of cat-and-mouse in the wilderness.
The Ava Glass Reading Orders
To help you organize your reading, here are the two main ways to approach the books written under the Ava Glass name:
The Recommended Chronological & Publication Order
Since the Emma Makepeace books follow a continuous timeline, the publication order matches the internal chronology. If you want the full experience of Emma's character arc, use this order:
- Alias Emma (UK Title: The Chase) (2022)
- The Traitor (UK Title: Game of Spies) (2023)
- The Trap (2024)
- The Hiding Season (2026 - Standalone)
The Standalone-First Order
If you want to test Ava Glass's writing style before committing to a series, start with her standalone work first, then jump into the espionage novels:
- The Hiding Season (2026)
- Alias Emma (UK Title: The Chase) (2022)
- The Traitor (UK Title: Game of Spies) (2023)
- The Trap (2024)
What to Know Before You Start
Ava Glass is the pen name of bestselling author Christi Daugherty (who also writes young adult mystery novels under the name C.J. Daugherty, including the popular Night School series). While her young adult novels focus on boarding school conspiracies, her Ava Glass thrillers are aimed squarely at adult audiences with darker themes, high-stakes violence, and complex geopolitical scenarios.
What sets the Ava Glass thrillers apart is their authenticity. Before writing fiction, Daugherty was a crime reporter in New Orleans, covering homicides at a young age. Later, she moved to the UK and worked in communications for the Home Office in the post-9/11 era, directly witnessing counterterrorism efforts and interacting with real-world intelligence operatives. This background heavily influences the Emma Makepeace series, grounding the counter-surveillance tactics, police protocols, and spycraft in real-world feasibility. Her novels have received critical acclaim and have been shortlisted for prestigious genre awards, including the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award.