5 Spy novels you’ll love*
(*At least I hope you’ll love these spy novels.)
I’m a bit late reading spy thrillers. They were never my thing back in the good ole days when I adored literary fiction and pretended that I was the next Melville. (Really.) Then I stumbled on a recommendation for a Dan Fesperman novel. The reviewer was someone I respected, so I got the book. And–gasp–I enjoyed it. It was actually intelligent. Shocking, I know, but I was a snob.
Fast forward a decade. I’ve now read a few more spy thrillers, including two new releases. Here are five that I enjoyed:
The Kill List, by Frederick Forsythe
A terrorist known only as The Preacher radicalizes young Muslims, urging them to commit assassinations. After several high-profile deaths, the U.S. government places The Preacher on the “Kill List”. It lists criminals dangerous enough that there’s a special, highly secretive agency to hunt down and kill them. One of their best agents, known only as The Tracker, loses his father to one of the Preacher’s converts. The hunt’s on. This work by a well-known spy novelist is apparently not one of his best offerings. Still it was a fun read. I reviewed The Kill List yesterday.
I Am Pilgrim, by Terry Hayes
I really enjoyed the writing in this novel, but it received mixed reviews on Goodreads. Again there’s a terrorist who wants to destroy the world (or at least his enemy) and only one man will be able to find him. I liked that the terrorist’s motivations and desires are given full attention and that the events leading to his desire to destroy the enemy are compelling and told with compassion; he comes across as a fully-developed character, not just a stereotypical bad guy.
The Double Game, by Dan Fesperman
This isn’t the Fesperman novel that I mentioned before (that was Layover in Dubai), but this one was a lot of fun. If you’re familiar with a lot of “classic” spy novels (La Carre, etc.) then you’ll want to check this out. Fesperman (and his characters) pay homage to their inspirations. The novel’s a bit of a mash note to the classic authors who paved the way for the rest of the spy-novelist world.
The Fourth Courier, by Timothy Jay Smith
This releases tomorrow! My full review will be available then. But here’s a teaser . . .
Poland, 1992. The victims have all been alike: young males, shot execution-style with a rare police-issued weapon, and slashed on the cheek–and one has traces of radium on his skin. There are no identifying clues. Fearing that nuclear material is being smuggled across the border, the FBI sends agent Jay Porter to investigate. (read more tomorrow!)
The Pyongyang Option, by A. C. Frieden
I reviewed this new release last week. Wonderful book. All of you who adore spy thrillers, this is for you. All of you who love lawyers-in-peril novels, this is for you. (Is that a genre? It should be.) For all of you who yawn at the CIA and roll your eyes at lawyers, this book is for you, too. I dare you to read only one page. You won’t be able to. (read more)
But where are all the female spy novelists?!
If you know any, please add them in the comments! A few were recommended to me on Twitter. If I get enough–and I’ll be searching for them!–I’ll create a Top 5 post of all female spy novelists. So bring on the recommendations. (Hint, hint: I love comments.)
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