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Apples Don't Fall
Ellie Austen has spent her life living in a shadow.
As the daughter of Jamie Austen—the most lethal female assassin the CIA has ever known—Ellie enters the Agency with expectations she never asked for and a legacy she can’t escape. Her first assignment is supposed to be simple. Quiet. Routine.
Travel to the Cayman Islands. Identify a suspected CIA mole. Report back.
But routine ends the moment Ellie realizes she’s being watched.
Hunted by terrorists who know far too much, Ellie is forced to kill to survive—and with that single act, the mission shifts from investigation to all-out pursuit. Someone has compromised the operation from inside, and every move Ellie makes confirms the the mole is closer than anyone suspects.
With the clock ticking and enemies closing in, Ellie must prove she’s more than her mother’s daughter. Because if she fails to uncover the traitor in time, the cost won’t just be her career—it will be her life.
In the world of espionage, secrets are inherited, betrayal runs deep, and apples don’t fall far from the tree.
As the daughter of Jamie Austen—the most lethal female assassin the CIA has ever known—Ellie enters the Agency with expectations she never asked for and a legacy she can’t escape. Her first assignment is supposed to be simple. Quiet. Routine.
Travel to the Cayman Islands. Identify a suspected CIA mole. Report back.
But routine ends the moment Ellie realizes she’s being watched.
Hunted by terrorists who know far too much, Ellie is forced to kill to survive—and with that single act, the mission shifts from investigation to all-out pursuit. Someone has compromised the operation from inside, and every move Ellie makes confirms the the mole is closer than anyone suspects.
With the clock ticking and enemies closing in, Ellie must prove she’s more than her mother’s daughter. Because if she fails to uncover the traitor in time, the cost won’t just be her career—it will be her life.
In the world of espionage, secrets are inherited, betrayal runs deep, and apples don’t fall far from the tree.
184 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 26, 2025
168 people are currently reading
73 people want to read
About the author
Terry Toler
105 books94 followersTERRY TOLER is a international #1 best selling and award winning author who has written seventeen non fiction books and thirty novels including the Jamie Austen and Alex Halee spy stories along with The Eden Stories. He is a public speaker, counselor, and retired entrepreneur. Impacting the lives of people worldwide through storytelling has become one of his passions in life. He can be followed at terrytoler.com.
"Terry Toler is well written, and a rising star in literary fiction." Michael DeAngelo (Reviewer)
The Longest Day won the 2020 Best Book Award for Religious Fiction sponsored by American Book Fest. Saving Sara and The Late Great Planet Jupiter were both finalists for the 2021 Best Book Award in the Thriller/Adventure and REligious Fiction categories.
"Terry Toler is well written, and a rising star in literary fiction." Michael DeAngelo (Reviewer)
The Longest Day won the 2020 Best Book Award for Religious Fiction sponsored by American Book Fest. Saving Sara and The Late Great Planet Jupiter were both finalists for the 2021 Best Book Award in the Thriller/Adventure and REligious Fiction categories.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 4, 2026
It's been a long time since I read a novella like this, mostly because I normally weed them out before I buy them. It's not a bad book. It's about as much fun as a middle-of-the-road pop song where you can predict each lyric in advance, you feel like you already know the tune, and you won't be able to remember the melody five minutes later.
The writing is professional and slick, but in a boilerplate way that allowed the prose to pass through my mind without causing a ripple across my imagination. The plot is focused on action, devoid of self-doubt about the ethics of murdering the enemies of the United States, and propped up by a smug pride in just how efficient our whole family is in assassinating people.
The best thing about the book was that the action scenes were very well done. That's what made me download this book when I'd normally have passed it over.
I was unaware of this long-running Jmie Austen series. BookBub offered the book as something I might like and told me that it was free on Amazon. I took a look,
The first paragraph was a good one.
The man at the bar had a gun.
The next paragraph sent mixed signals:
Ellie Austen had one as well. Hers was better hidden. Had to be since she was undercover for the CIA. And also on a date.
I liked the attempt at humour, but starting a sentence with "And" raised a red flag.
The next paragraph was not good:
In sharp contrast, she sat across from a man who might be the most charming stranger she’d ever met. The soft light of the restaurant bathed his face, making his blue eyes sparkle as a warm smile with bookend dimples played on his lips.
My inner pedant hated this paragraph. "In sharp contrast to what or whom? " he asked *The man with the gun thety we've had no physical description of? Not much to contrast with, is there? Going with sparkling blue eyes and bookend dimples sounds like the start of cliché bingo, but please explain to me how exactly dimples play on anyone's lips. Dimples appear in cheeks, not lips."
The next paragraph almost had me rejecting the book even though it was free:
“So, Ellie, what do your parents do?” he asked, his voice low and inviting, almost blending with the rhythmic murmur of the waves off the ocean-front patio. A hint of the aroma of grilled seafood lingered in the air, grounding the moment in a warmth that felt almost too perfect.
My inner pedant roared. "Am I supposed to believe that a man on a first date with a twenty-something woman asks what her parents do AND she thinks it's perfect? THAT’S RIDICULOUS. Also, how does the aroma of grilled seafood - which is mostly burning fat and flesh - ground a moment in warmth? Run from this book right now.".
I should have listened to my inner pedant, but suddenly Ellie was excusing herself and seemed to be about to go after the man with the gun. I wanted to know what happened, so I downloaded the book to continue reading.
The rest of the book was like the start. Prose that moved from the bland to the ridiculous. Shallow characterisation and clichèd decripions, followed by action scenes that were just interesting enough to keep me reading to the end of 184 pages of the novella, in much the same way that I might eat a whole tube of Pringles even though I’ve stopped tasting them. ,
When I finished, I vowed to listen to my inner pedant in the future. This kind of fast food novella is all sizzle and no steak.
The writing is professional and slick, but in a boilerplate way that allowed the prose to pass through my mind without causing a ripple across my imagination. The plot is focused on action, devoid of self-doubt about the ethics of murdering the enemies of the United States, and propped up by a smug pride in just how efficient our whole family is in assassinating people.
The best thing about the book was that the action scenes were very well done. That's what made me download this book when I'd normally have passed it over.
I was unaware of this long-running Jmie Austen series. BookBub offered the book as something I might like and told me that it was free on Amazon. I took a look,
The first paragraph was a good one.
The man at the bar had a gun.
The next paragraph sent mixed signals:
Ellie Austen had one as well. Hers was better hidden. Had to be since she was undercover for the CIA. And also on a date.
I liked the attempt at humour, but starting a sentence with "And" raised a red flag.
The next paragraph was not good:
In sharp contrast, she sat across from a man who might be the most charming stranger she’d ever met. The soft light of the restaurant bathed his face, making his blue eyes sparkle as a warm smile with bookend dimples played on his lips.
My inner pedant hated this paragraph. "In sharp contrast to what or whom? " he asked *The man with the gun thety we've had no physical description of? Not much to contrast with, is there? Going with sparkling blue eyes and bookend dimples sounds like the start of cliché bingo, but please explain to me how exactly dimples play on anyone's lips. Dimples appear in cheeks, not lips."
The next paragraph almost had me rejecting the book even though it was free:
“So, Ellie, what do your parents do?” he asked, his voice low and inviting, almost blending with the rhythmic murmur of the waves off the ocean-front patio. A hint of the aroma of grilled seafood lingered in the air, grounding the moment in a warmth that felt almost too perfect.
My inner pedant roared. "Am I supposed to believe that a man on a first date with a twenty-something woman asks what her parents do AND she thinks it's perfect? THAT’S RIDICULOUS. Also, how does the aroma of grilled seafood - which is mostly burning fat and flesh - ground a moment in warmth? Run from this book right now.".
I should have listened to my inner pedant, but suddenly Ellie was excusing herself and seemed to be about to go after the man with the gun. I wanted to know what happened, so I downloaded the book to continue reading.
The rest of the book was like the start. Prose that moved from the bland to the ridiculous. Shallow characterisation and clichèd decripions, followed by action scenes that were just interesting enough to keep me reading to the end of 184 pages of the novella, in much the same way that I might eat a whole tube of Pringles even though I’ve stopped tasting them. ,
When I finished, I vowed to listen to my inner pedant in the future. This kind of fast food novella is all sizzle and no steak.
January 31, 2026
like mother, like daughter
Keeping secretive missions to themselves, the team of Family CIA operatives set off a series through the introduction of the daughter Ellen Austen. Parents Alex Haley and Jamie Austen have carefully taught their daughter to follow on their footsteps as a special CIA undercover agent. This first book on a promising series has
Ellie sent to the Cayman Islands to find a mole who seems to be working there.
Though she has been carefully prepared, she is on her first mission. The mole in the meantime betrays her to an official in Iran who wants both her parents and Ellie killed.
While Ellie searches for the hidden mole who may be either at Cayman or Langley, the Iranians set out to find her and kill her. Her parents both trust her but also fear for her safety. This book is as much about them as about their daughter.
I often wonder if real operatives are as fearless and skilled as this fictionalized family. Father Alex is the best computer hacker in the world which makes me wonder upon which real character this man is modeled upon. And do these genius hackers work for us or against us? Can we ever know?
Light touch novel with a surprising family touch. More like politicians whose families seem joined at the hip too. Recommend if you like special missions.
Keeping secretive missions to themselves, the team of Family CIA operatives set off a series through the introduction of the daughter Ellen Austen. Parents Alex Haley and Jamie Austen have carefully taught their daughter to follow on their footsteps as a special CIA undercover agent. This first book on a promising series has
Ellie sent to the Cayman Islands to find a mole who seems to be working there.
Though she has been carefully prepared, she is on her first mission. The mole in the meantime betrays her to an official in Iran who wants both her parents and Ellie killed.
While Ellie searches for the hidden mole who may be either at Cayman or Langley, the Iranians set out to find her and kill her. Her parents both trust her but also fear for her safety. This book is as much about them as about their daughter.
I often wonder if real operatives are as fearless and skilled as this fictionalized family. Father Alex is the best computer hacker in the world which makes me wonder upon which real character this man is modeled upon. And do these genius hackers work for us or against us? Can we ever know?
Light touch novel with a surprising family touch. More like politicians whose families seem joined at the hip too. Recommend if you like special missions.
February 2, 2026
I thought that this was an okay read. This was a fast light undemanding read.
February 5, 2026
A little too predictable but still worth reading.
February 5, 2026
Apples for apples
Mother father and daughter what a trio of CIA agents very enjoyable read looking forward to the next book in the series
Mother father and daughter what a trio of CIA agents very enjoyable read looking forward to the next book in the series
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February 7, 2026Nerves of Steel
This book was entertaining until the end, thus the four stars. Some CIA agents know how to fight and get the job done.
This book was entertaining until the end, thus the four stars. Some CIA agents know how to fight and get the job done.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews