I thought I’d made a friend – then I found out she was a spy. Here’s what I learned about real-world espionage

by

Ava Glass wasn’t supposed to be counting dead children. Her job was to oversee the response to a dangerous situation: a toxic cloud from a burning factory heading towards a village, and escaped terrorists. Fortunately, the ‘children’ – actually spies and soldiers – were part of a counterterrorism training exercise. They had started the drill wearing yellow vests labeled ‘Child’, but now, marked with ‘Dead’ vests, they were waiting for further instructions.

Cameras recorded all the events. The leaders watched the footage from the control room. As no progress was made, the media reported growing anxiety. When people were killed, the coverage focused on the tragic details.

Glass recalls receiving occasional calls where the caller would introduce themselves with a placeholder – something like ‘[Insert name of famous cabinet minister]’. He says sometimes the caller actually was that person, and other times they weren’t. Glass was working in counterterrorism communications at the time.

Occasionally, individuals claiming to be from MI6 would contact me, posing as cabinet ministers. They’d ask me to write strongly worded articles – even aggressively so – with the goal of provoking a reaction from certain people. They’d tell me my coverage wasn’t critical enough. I often ended up writing harshly, sometimes even about my own superiors, because the intention was to apply significant pressure. This was meant to simulate the intense pressure that existed in reality.

I’ve been a fan of this author for years, and it’s amazing how many different names she’s written under! I first discovered her as CJ Daugherty with the Night School books, then enjoyed the Harper McClain thrillers as Christi Daugherty, and even dove into the Alias Emma series as Ava Glass. Now, she’s back with a new thriller, The Hiding Season, this time as AC Glass. Apparently, her publisher suggested the initial change, believing a male name would attract more readers to the thriller genre – a notion she doesn’t quite agree with, and honestly, neither do I!

Since leaving her job in counterterrorism communications, she’s found success as a novelist. Her spy fiction books are selling very well – she even jokes it’s a genre usually dominated by men – and her Alias Emma series is being developed into a TV show. Now, producers are interested in her novel The Hiding Season, which examines the harm spies can inflict on those around them and the consequences of living a life built on lies.

Glass says his lifelong ambition was simply to write, contribute something positive to the world, and earn a living doing it – those were his main career aspirations.

I first heard about her story growing up in Texas, where she worked so hard to put herself through college by writing. Then she really hit the ground running as a crime reporter, first in Savannah, Georgia, and then New Orleans. She described those years as tough – lots of long days walking in all kinds of weather and really pushing people for information. Eventually, she landed in England right as the amazing London media scene of the nineties was starting to fade. She always jokes that was the period of her life with the most hangovers! But of course, that exciting time didn’t last forever.

She loved living in London and considered it home, but the magazine and newspaper industry was declining. Then, unexpectedly, a woman she’d met only once called – apparently, she had her number. This woman had just started a government job and needed a writer who could tackle the sensitive topic of terrorism without being intimidated, and she immediately thought of her.

The first few weeks were all about getting settled. Then, Glass accidentally bumped into a new employee in the cafeteria. Soon after, they ran into each other at a coffee shop, and then again on the bus. They quickly became friends and started spending time together.

I was completely new and didn’t know anyone. A woman at work became my only friend for a few weeks, and we’d talk. She was very curious about my life – where I came from, how I ended up in England, things like that. I didn’t realize how much we were connecting until one day she was just gone.

After several months, Ava discovered that the check-up had been the last one they’d run on her. She realized this person wasn’t a friend at all, but a spy, and their connection hadn’t been chance. It all clicked then: she understood who these people were, who she was dealing with. They would pretend to be anyone, do anything, to get what they wanted from her.

I dedicated the book ‘Alias Emma’ to her because she was my inspiration. Meeting her completely changed my writing – I doubt I would have written any of those books without her. I was captivated by her, especially learning she was a spy at just 25 years old. It challenged my preconceived notions; we rarely see young women portrayed as spies, and she made me realize spies are nothing like the characters we usually see in stories.

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Glass’s study of spy stories revealed why we have certain ideas about who spies are. She found that depictions of female spies are scarce in fiction, especially in books, leading to the assumption that they simply don’t exist.

Television and movies often portray these worlds more effectively. Writer Libby Glass points to shows like Killing Eve and Alias as examples of series that center on strong female characters. She also suggests that the glamorous depiction of espionage isn’t always far from the truth. Having seen believable portrayals of deception, she finds shows like The Night Manager realistic. While visually polished and set in luxurious locations, she explains that spies infiltrating the world of the wealthy would need to blend in – and the show accurately reflects that.

Spy novels often portray women falling into espionage by chance. However, real female spies are different. They’re intensely driven and dedicated to the work, something they actively pursue. It’s not a role they stumble into; they work hard to join the profession and have often wanted it for a long time.

I’ve always been struck by what Jonathan Glass shared about the personal toll of espionage. He told me about a friend, a real spy, who deeply loved his partner but had to maintain a constant deception – his partner believed he worked for the Department for Transport! I was amazed and asked him how he could live with that lie every day. It was rare to get such honesty from someone in that world, and he simply said, ‘I hate it.’ It really highlighted the sacrifices these people make, even in their personal lives.

Keeping secrets feels limiting for her – she says there’s a lot she can’t share with others. Instead, she expresses the feelings behind true stories through her fiction. While she often uses different names and identities, she believes being a writer wouldn’t suit a spy, as spies need to blend in and avoid notice. Each of her assumed identities reflects a different period of her life.

I wrote a story about a crime reporter in Savannah, and while her life was completely different from mine, I poured all my love for the city – and my own enthusiasm – into her character. I relied on my imagination to fill in the details. Similarly, I’ve never worked as a spy, but after meeting people in that world, I felt inspired to explore the topic in my writing.

The author began her spy novel with a clear vision: a young George Smiley, before the hardships of his later life. In the novels by le Carré, Smiley is depicted as a disillusioned and weary man in his fifties. She wanted to portray Smiley as a hopeful and optimistic twenty-five-year-old, just beginning his career. The novel’s main character, Emma Makepeace, is inspired by the author’s first encounter with a spy and offers a similar world to le Carré, but without the pervasive cynicism.

Glass now works as a full-time writer, but she still feels a connection to her past life as a spy. When she meets people from that world, they subtly signal their shared history. They never directly admit to being a spy; instead, they’ll ask if she knew a highly classified individual – mentioning a name – from a specific time and place. It’s a coded way of recognizing each other. As Glass explains, this allows them to finally have an honest conversation. She finds these encounters amusing and enjoys reconnecting with people from her former world.

Writers can find inspiration in everyday conversations. For example, my novel, The Hiding Season, began with a story from a friend who worked at a private resort in Montana—similar to the Yellowstone Club. She described how deserted it was for most of the year, and I jokingly said it would be the perfect place to hide a crime, with plenty of space and no chance of being seen. That ‘what if?’ moment sparked the whole idea for the book.

After accidentally seeing what looked like a murder, Maya Landry is forced to create a new life for herself. Unlike Emma, Maya didn’t intentionally get involved in lies, but now she must keep the truth hidden to protect herself. This deception is painful, as it creates distance between her and the people she’s starting to care for.

Glass is still unsure if her initial spy partner reciprocated her feelings. She admits she liked this person and was genuinely honest, but felt foolish when she realized the other woman might not have felt the same way. She wonders if the spy thought she was naive for not noticing, and ultimately, she has no idea what the other woman was thinking or feeling. She questions if constantly maintaining a facade would eventually lead anyone to develop genuine emotions.

The Hiding Season by Ava Glass is available in hardback and as an audiobook from 26 March.

Authors

Tim Hardy

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2026-03-20 11:19