Grilling Martinis: A Dirty Spy Thriller

Grilling Martinis is a dirty spy thriller with action galore.

Attorney Hank Hart takes a short vacation to visit her father at their family lake cabin in Northern Wisconsin. Hank’s getaway is suddenly upended when she’s plunged into an explosive assassination attempt. Turns out, her father isn’t who she thought he was, and they’re both surprised to discover that Hank’s got survivor skills in spades when being hunted by a drone.

Hank is rattled from the encounter, so her father convinces her to undergo some self-defense training at a top-secret training camp—the French Farm—which means putting her legal career and budding romance with a judge on hold. While learning the ropes about weapons, hand-to-hand combat, and undercover work, Hank is recruited for a deadly mission in the French Alps that stretches her emotionally. As Hank gets her bearings in a duplicitous world, she discovers an inner strength and affinity for danger that she didn’t know she possessed.

In a surprising twist, one of Hank’s covert team members sets her sights on Hank, using the most lethal weapon of all—the striptease. With a lover’s encouragement, Hank rearranges her personal and professional goals.

★★★★★ “This thriller burns as hot in the field as it does between the sheets. Highly recommended for readers who enjoy the intrigue and action of a thriller combined with high-octane sex scenes. The action sequences crackle with cinematic detail, from icy lake escapes to mountain adventure to shuttle hijackings, while quieter moments—like Hank and Bob paging through photo albums of her late mother—add emotional ballast. Layered atop the adrenaline is Hank’s burgeoning romance with Crystal Dimon, an Air Force pilot who is transitioning to the CIA. As usual, Venice demonstrates her flair for crafting eye-popping erotic scenes.” Best Thrillers 2025

★★★★★ “Alexi Venice’s Grilling Martinis is a spy thriller that offers more than just danger and intrigue. By balancing action with intimacy, grounding spectacle in emotion, and crafting a heroine whose evolution is as compelling as the plot itself, Venice demonstrates that the genre can be as emotionally resonant as it is pulse-pounding. With each twist and turn, readers are pulled into a world where danger and desire blur together, making Grilling Martinis a captivating cocktail of espionage and erotica—shaken, stirred, and set ablaze.” Women Using Words 2025