spy novel recommendations
July 18, 2022 2:08 PM
Spy thrillers are grabbing me these days. Recommend me some!
I find spy thrillers really easy to read right now. I'd like to stock my "to read" list with some more.
If there were a book equivalent of The Americans, I'd be very happy. My favorites are A Spy in the Struggle and American Spy. I enjoyed The Expats and have read all of the author's work.
I'll take any recommendations, but here are some preferences:
I find spy thrillers really easy to read right now. I'd like to stock my "to read" list with some more.
If there were a book equivalent of The Americans, I'd be very happy. My favorites are A Spy in the Struggle and American Spy. I enjoyed The Expats and have read all of the author's work.
I'll take any recommendations, but here are some preferences:
- Protagonist who is not a white American man
- Set after the Cold War
- Doesn't parallel right-wing talking points, but...I know what spy novels are like
- Minimal graphic descriptions of violence (I'm fine to flip past scenes, but absolutely no to sexual violence or ongoing, prolonged sequences)
Books by an ex-CNN reporter, Daniel Silva, about an Israeli fine art restorer that's a master spy. I think that checks off all your boxes. I've read the first few and all have been enthralling with twists marvously unexpected with lots of geopolitical ambiguity. Worth the effort to read in order, the first, "The Kill Artist":
Once a key operative in secret Israeli-intelligence missions, Gabriel Allon is on the run from his past, assuming a quiet life as a meticulous restorer of priceless works of art. But now he is being called back into the game. The agent with whom he is teamed hides behind her own beautiful mask-as a French fashion model. Their target: a cunning terrorist on one last killing spree, a Palestinian zealot named Tariq who played a dark part in Gabriel’s past.
posted by sammyo at 2:59 PM on July 18, 2022
Once a key operative in secret Israeli-intelligence missions, Gabriel Allon is on the run from his past, assuming a quiet life as a meticulous restorer of priceless works of art. But now he is being called back into the game. The agent with whom he is teamed hides behind her own beautiful mask-as a French fashion model. Their target: a cunning terrorist on one last killing spree, a Palestinian zealot named Tariq who played a dark part in Gabriel’s past.
posted by sammyo at 2:59 PM on July 18, 2022
The Mrs. Pollifax series was published in the 70s and 80s, so technically still during the Cold War, but there is little to no Russian involvement. I haven't read the last 3 yet, and one had some time in Bulgaria. Emily is a widow from New Jersey who feels like her life has become tedious, so she volunteers for the CIA. An older woman is a perfect disguise for a spy. Violence is minimal, though there is peril and excitement.
posted by soelo at 3:00 PM on July 18, 2022
posted by soelo at 3:00 PM on July 18, 2022
John le Carré is a long-time favorite for lots and lots of reasons. "Agent Running in the Field" features a protagonist who's exactly counter to any right-wing talking points you can name.
posted by adekllny at 3:09 PM on July 18, 2022
posted by adekllny at 3:09 PM on July 18, 2022
It's WWII but I couldn't put The Rose Code down. It's about female codebreakers at Bletchley Park
posted by radioamy at 3:11 PM on July 18, 2022
posted by radioamy at 3:11 PM on July 18, 2022
Mick Herron's Slow Horses series is really fun (and I've enjoyed his other books as well).
posted by pjenks at 4:00 PM on July 18, 2022
posted by pjenks at 4:00 PM on July 18, 2022
A Memory Called Empire meets all these criteria, but it might be more science-fictional than you are looking for.
posted by Phssthpok at 4:29 PM on July 18, 2022
posted by Phssthpok at 4:29 PM on July 18, 2022
+1 to le Carre and Slow Horses. Not fiction, but I recently enjoyed The Spy and The Traitor, which is non-fiction but reads like a le Carre story.
posted by Mid at 6:30 PM on July 18, 2022
posted by Mid at 6:30 PM on July 18, 2022
Adjacent to your request, The Woman Who Smashed Codes is a biography of Elizabeth Freidman, the largely invisible founder of the modern American espionage establishment. She was the subject of a PBS "American Experience" episode of the same name.
Seconding Slow Horses, both the book and the Apple TV+ series.
posted by lhauser at 7:08 PM on July 18, 2022
Seconding Slow Horses, both the book and the Apple TV+ series.
posted by lhauser at 7:08 PM on July 18, 2022
Eric Ambler. Hapless amateurs pitched headlong into international intrigue. Flawed heroes, believable villains. Dry humor. The ones written before 1939 feature a cheerful and helpful brother and sister KGB duo, simpler times.
posted by garbanzilla at 12:40 PM on July 19, 2022
posted by garbanzilla at 12:40 PM on July 19, 2022
Eric Ambler
Yes! He and Victor Serge are the forerunners of the spy fiction I love. Topkapi is a great movie based on The Light of Day.
posted by kingless at 1:38 PM on July 19, 2022
Yes! He and Victor Serge are the forerunners of the spy fiction I love. Topkapi is a great movie based on The Light of Day.
posted by kingless at 1:38 PM on July 19, 2022
I thought I saw someone here already recommend Chris Pavone. Anyway, Chris Pavone. Start with The Expats.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 4:58 AM on July 20, 2022
posted by TWinbrook8 at 4:58 AM on July 20, 2022
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by eponym at 2:21 PM on July 18, 2022