The 10 best spy stories reviewed here

8 min readApr 25, 2019

Over the past ten years, I’ve read and reviewed more than 100 espionage novels (not counting a great many more I decided not to read or never finished). My 10 favorites are listed immediately below. Though my preliminary list included multiple titles by several of the authors included here, I’ve arbitrarily limited myself to a single title from every writer. And I gave every one of these 10 titles a score of @@@@@ (5 out of 5) on its review. I’ve listed them in alphabetical order by the authors’ last names.

Below the list of my 10 favorites, you’ll find reviews of the full list of top espionage novels I’ve reviewed with ratings of at least @@@@ (4 out of 5). Those titles, too, are listed in alphabetical order by the authors’ last names. There, you’ll find multiple titles by a number of the authors featured here: Alex Berenson, Charles Cumming, Alan Furst, Mick Herron, Joseph Kanon, Jason Matthews, Stella Rimington, Ross Thomas, and Edward Wilson.

As you’ll see below, a great many of the books listed here are in series. And for the most part you’ll find all the novels in each series listed below. There are some exceptions for titles I read before I began reviewing books, others for those I rated below @@@@, and still others that I simply haven’t read yet.

10 top espionage novels

A Coffin for Dimitrios by Eric Ambler — Still a lively read among classic spy novels

The Trinity Six by Charles Cumming — A stellar new spy story by Charles Cumming

The Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett — The 40th anniversary edition of Ken Follett’s classic WWII spy novel

Kingdom of Shadows (Night Soldiers #6) by Alan Furst — One of the best spy novels of recent years

The Eagle Has Landed by Jack Higgins — A classic espionage thriller that’s well worth rereading

Siro by David Ignatius — The most intelligent spy novel I’ve read in many years

Leaving Berlin by Joseph Kanon — One of the best of today’s spy novels

Red Sparrow (Red Sparrow Trilogy #1) by Jason Matthews — Authentic espionage tradecraft in this gripping novel by a CIA veteran

The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen — The Vietnam War through Vietnamese eyes

The Cold War Swap by Ross Thomas — Making the Cold War seem like fun

All the top espionage novels I’ve reviewed

A Coffin for Dimitrios — Still a lively read among classic spy novels

Transcription by Kate Atkinson — A beautifully written spy story

Alex Berenson’s John Wells series

The Faithful Spy (John Wells #1) — Al Qaeda from the inside out: a thriller filled with suspense
The Ghost War (John Wells #2) — North Korea, Afghanistan, China, Iran, all in one superb spy novel
The Silent Man (John Wells #3) — An able spy story about terrorism, nuclear weapons, and Russia
The Midnight House (John Wells #4) — The Pentagon and the CIA take a lot of punishment for rendition
The Secret Soldier (John Wells #5) — Jihadis, the Saudi royal family, and an American soldier-spy
The Shadow Patrol (John Wells #6) — A suspense-filled thriller about the war in Afghanistan
The Night Ranger (John Wells #7) — An outstanding thriller set amid the refugee crisis in Kenya and Somalia
The Counterfeit Agent (John Wells #8) — John Wells takes on a rogue ex-CIA agent
Twelve Days (John Wells #9) — In a nail-biting thriller, John Wells must stop a US war with Iran
The Prisoner (John Wells #11) — Going undercover for the CIA in ISIS
The Deceivers (John Wells #12) — Russia takes the next step in the latest John Wells spy novel

A Single Spy by William Christie — A Soviet spy in Nazi Germany

Charles Cumming’s suspenseful spy thrillers

A Spy by Nature — A worthy spy story that foretells more good reading to come
The Trinity Six by Charles Cumming — A stellar new spy story by Charles Cumming
Typhoon — A right-wing Washington cabal seeks to destabilize China
The Hidden Man — A worthy novel of espionage from a latter-day master of the craft
A Foreign Country (Thomas Kell #1) — Spies in conflict in contemporary Europe
A Colder War (Thomas Kell #2) — Spycraft takes center stage in this novel of espionage
A Divided Spy (Thomas Kell #3) — The latest from a latter-day John le Carre
The Moroccan Girl — A spy novelist turns to espionage in Charles Cumming’s excellent new novel

A Prisoner in Malta (Christopher Marlowe #1) by Phillip DePoy — A delightful historical mystery novel starring Christopher Marlowe

Exposure by Helen Dunmore — Gay life in Britain in a suspenseful thriller

Espionage thrillers from Joseph Finder

High Crimes — A taut thriller about Special Forces running amok in El Salvador in 1983
Extraordinary Powers — A standout among espionage thrillers
Paranoia — A devilishly clever tale

The Eye of the Needle — The 40th anniversary edition of Ken Follett’s classic WWII spy novel

The Fox by Frederick Forsyth — A great new spy novel from the author of “The Day of the Jackal”

The historical Night Soldiers series by Alan Furst

Red Gold (Night Soldiers #5) — A brilliant novel of the French Resistance
Kingdom of Shadows (Night Soldiers #6) — One of the best spy novels of recent years
Blood of Victory (Night Soldiers #7) — Spies at work in WWII Istanbul and Rumania
The Foreign Correspondent (Night Soldiers #9) — A superb historical espionage novel
Spies of the Balkans (Night Soldiers #11) — Alan Furst’s superb novel, “Spies of the Balkans”
Mission to Paris (Night Soldiers #12) — At the dawn of World War II, a Hollywood film star in an espionage novel
Midnight in Europe (Night Soldiers #13) — Arms merchants and spies in a thriller set during the Spanish Civil War
A Hero of France (Night Soldiers #16) — Vive la Resistance!

Alex Gerlis’s outstanding wartime spy novels

The Best of Our Spies (Spies #1) by Alex Gerlis — An extraordinary World War II spy story grounded in historical fact
The Swiss Spy (Spies #2) — World War II spies in Switzerland
Vienna Spies (Spies #3) — A stirring tale of spies in wartime Vienna
The Berlin Spies (Spies #4) — The best spy novelist you’ve never read

The Ways of the World (James Maxted #1) by Robert Goddard — A superb novel of espionage set in 1919 Paris

An Officer and a Spy by Robert Harris — The Dreyfus Affair, reenacted in a suspenseful spy novel

Intelligence: A Tale of Terror and Uncivil Service by Susan Hasler — A satirical take on the dysfunctional CIA under George W Bush

Mick Herron’s clever Slough House novels

Slow Horses (Slough House #1) — British satire about misfit spies in MI5
Dead Lions (Slough House #2) — Russian sleeper agents and the misfits of MI5
The List (Slough House #3) — Bumbling spies again in Mick Herron’s Slough House series
Real Tigers (Slough House #4) — Slough House spooks are on the loose again
Spook Street (Slough House #5) — MI5’s Slough House spies uncover a decades-old conspiracy
London Rules (Slough House #6) — MI5’s misfit spies outdo themselves in this very funny novel
The Marylebone Drop (Slough House #7) — Mick Herron scores with another entry in the Slough House series

Classic espionage novels by Jack Higgins

The Eagle Has Landed — A classic espionage thriller that’s well worth rereading
Eye of the Storm (Sean Dillon #1) — Reimagining Saddam Hussein’s role in history
Thunder Point (Sean Dillon #2) — One of Jack Higgins’ best thrillers
Touch the Devil (Liam Devlin #2) — The IRA, the KGB, MI5, and the Corsican mob all conflict

The Increment by David Ignatius — A gripping novel about Iran and the CIA

Siro — The most intelligent spy novel I’ve read in many years

A Map of Betrayal by Ha Jin — Betrayal is in the eye of the beholder

Joseph Kanon’s superb spy stories

Leaving Berlin — One of the best of today’s spy novels
The Prodigal Spy — An espionage novelist to rival John Le Carre
Defectors — A superb new novel about defectors in Moscow

Who Is Vera Kelly? by Rosalie Knecht — A puzzling spy story set in Argentina in the time of the generals

A Legacy of Spies by John le Carré — The Cold War reexamined in John le Carré’s terrific new novel

Too Bad to Die by Francine Mathews — Ian Fleming stars in this delightful spy story worthy of James Bond

The brilliant Red Sparrow Trilogy by Jason Matthews

Red Sparrow (Red Sparrow Trilogy #1) — Authentic espionage tradecraft in this gripping novel by a CIA veteran
Palace of Treason (Red Sparrow Trilogy #2) — Nonstop action in the sequel to the bestseller Red Sparrow
The Kremlin’s Candidate (Red Sparrow Trilogy #3) — The gripping conclusion to the Red Sparrow Trilogy

Prague Spring by Simon Mawer — A tale of love and espionage during Prague Spring

The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen — The Vietnam War through Vietnamese eyes

The Travelers by Chris Pavone — A clever spy story that will keep you guessing

The well-crafted Liz Carlyle novels by Stella Rimington

At Risk (Liz Carlyle #1) — High stakes in an excellent espionage thriller
Secret Asset (Liz Carlyle #2) — An engrossing novel about British counter-espionage
Illegal Action (Liz Carlyle #3) — An engaging spy novel from former MI5 director Stella Rimington
Dead Line (Liz Carlyle #4) — Liz Carlyle stars in an outstanding British espionage novel
Present Danger (Liz Carlyle #5)– Do all the best spy novels come from Britain?
Rip Tide (Liz Carlyle #6) — Somali pirates, Al Qaeda, and home-grown terrorists in England
The Geneva Trap (Liz Carlyle #7) — Former MI5 Director spins a fascinating tale of espionage
Close Call (Liz Carlyle #8) — The former MI5 director spins another great tale of espionage
Breaking Cover (Liz Carlyle #9) — Russian agents under cover in the UK

The Cairo Affair by Olen Steinhauer — A complex spy novel worthy of John Le Carre

All the Old Knives by Olen Steinhauer — A terrorist hijacking, the CIA, and two former lovers at dinner

Ross Thomas’s witty spy stories

The Cold War Swap — Making the Cold War seem like fun
Cast a Yellow Shadow — A novel about assassination that’s lots of fun
The Singapore Wink — An engaging novel of crime and espionage set in 1960s Singapore
Missionary Stew — Cocaine, the CIA, and a Central American revolution
Out on the Rim — Con men, a $5 million bribe, and a Philippine rebellion

An Honorable Man by Paul Vidich — The Cold War, the early CIA, and the McCarthy Era

The Good Assassin by Paul Vidich — A compelling spy novel set during the Cuban Revolution

American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson — An African-American spy in the maelstrom of Cold War rivalry in Africa

The William Catesby novels by Edward Wilson

The Envoy (William Catesby #1) — The CIA, the KGB, British intelligence and the H-bomb
The Whitehall Mandarin (William Catesby #4) — In the early days of the Cold War, nuclear espionage in search of the H-bomb
A Very British Ending (William Catesby #5) — A harsh look at post-war British intelligence