16 Best Spy Novels to Keep You on the Edge

by

best spy novels blog post image

Spy fiction is a genre that deals with espionage, the act of secretly obtaining valuable information, as a major plot element. Inspired by real-life politicking, tensions between major powers, and military movements, it closely follows human nature.

As a genre, it’s thematically related to adventure and thrillers, sharing common themes such as fast-paced plots packed with dramatic twists, conspiracies, and complex characters.

16 Best Spy Novels

We’ve dipped our reading hands into this mysterious world of espionage to present you with 15 great reads for both veteran spy readers and newbies alike. Check them out below!

1. The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum

For fans of the Bourne movies.

A man is fished from the Mediterranean sea. He’s riddled with bullets, with a microfilm implanted on his skin and his face showing signs of plastic surgery. A number on the microfilm leads him to 7.5 million Swiss francs and a name: Jason Bourne.

He finds himself in the heart of a deadly puzzle—amnesiac and pursued by the most dangerous people in the world.

2. The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy

For fans of sea warfare.

Beneath 4,000 miles of Atlantic ocean lurks the Red October, the Soviet Union’s most valuable missile submarine. It’s headed west to American waters—not to engage with warfare, but to defect.

This instigates a massive hunt by the entire Soviet Fleet, which in turn leads to the US making contingency plans. With all-out-war nearing, the superpowers race to find a submarine that’s virtually invisible.

3. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carré

For fans of historical fiction.

George Smiley is an aging spymaster forced out of semi-retirement when the Circus—Britain’s secret intelligence service—is revealed to have a mole. Not just any mole, but one holding a significantly high position.

In a deadly game of secrecy and manipulation, Smiley must not only find the mole, but avoid suspicion from the Circus himself.

4. The Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett

For fans of tragic romance.

Henry Faber is the only remaining German spy in Britain. Known as the Needle for his choice of weapon, he discovers information about D-day that might just let the Germans win the war. When his identity is discovered, he escapes to Scotland and finds his fate on the hands of a young English woman.

5. The Quiet American by Graham Greene

For fans of Vietnam war stories.

Alden Pyle is a CIA agent working undercover in Vietnam. Ignorant and idealistic, he believes that Southeast Asia can only be improved through one thing—American democracy by any means necessary. When his plots and blind morals wreak havoc on innocent lives, his friend, a cynical British journalist, must make a life-changing choice.

6. The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth

For fans of anonymous assassin stories.

The Jackal is a secretive killer known for his skills, but no one knows his true identity. He is hired by the O.A.S. to assassinate the world’s most heavily guarded man, Charles de Gaulle. On his trail is France’s best detective, Claude Lebel.

Engaging in a game of cat-and-mouse, both men race to frustrate each other as the plot to kill Gaulle nears its final act.

7. The Quantum Spy by David Ignatius

For fans of technological thrillers.

Quantum research labs are compromised and the United States suspects a Chinese mole. Harris Chang, a CIA officer, is put in charge of a massive mole-hunt. His ethnicity, loyalty, and personal morals pull him in every direction as he chases the culprit for a piece of technology that could change the world’s power structure.

8. The Kill Artist by Daniel Silva

For fans of revenge stories.

Gabriel Allon had a simple job: he eliminated Israel’s terrorist enemies. But when his job results in the death of his family, he quits and devotes himself to art restoration. When the head of Israeli’s intelligence service turns up at his doorstep, he must once again join the game and chase after the man responsible for his family members’ deaths.

9. The Russian Pink by Matthew Hart

For fans of diamond heists.

Alex Turner is a former CIA operative turned investigator for the Treasury Department. When “The Russian Pink”—a large, rose-hued diamond—unexpectedly makes an appearance around the wife of a presidential elect, Turner must dig deep into a web of mystery involving the 1,512 carat stone that brings death wherever it goes.

10. The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad

For fans of Victorian and Edwardian fiction.

Adolf Verloc is the owner of a pornography shop. He’s also a secret agent, presumably employed by the Russians, tasked by his masters to instigate an anarchist group into attacking the Greenwich Observatory. When his plan goes horribly awry, he must deal with the repercussions of his actions.

11. The Catch by Mick Herron

For fans of the underdog.

John Bachelor is an odd kind of spy. He’s not a field agent or desk jockey, but a part-time pension administrator who checks in on aging and retired agents. He’s lost his wife, house, and savings from a series of unlucky decisions—decisions that lead to him being blackmailed into finding one of his pensioners who disappeared.

12. Need to Know by Karen Cleveland

For fans of contemporary spy fiction.

Vivian Miller is a dedicated CIA analyst working to uncover Russian spies on United States soil. She’s happily married, with four beautiful children. When she stumbles upon a file containing deep-cover agents working within the US, she gets the shock of her life. One of the agents is her husband.

13. SS-GB by Len Deighton

For fans of alternative history.

Operation Sea Lion is successful and British Command surrenders to the Nazis, who claim complete control over the British government. Detective Inspector Archer is put in charge of a routine murder case. When an SS officer is dispatched by Himmler to supervise the case, Archer finds himself in the center of espionage plots involving the different factions of Nazi SS.

14. Red Sparrow by Jason Matthews

For fans of the femme fatale.

Dominika Egorova is forced by her uncle to train as a “Sparrow,” a spy trained to seduce their targets. She is assigned to seduce Nathaniel Nash, who handles the CIA’s most important mole in Russian Intelligence. The two trained spies engage in a duel of wills, deception, and carnal attraction.

15. The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen

For fans of immigration stories.

Our anonymous narrator is a man of “two minds,” a half-Vietnamese, half-French undercover communist agent. During the imminent fall of Saigon, he arranges for himself and a select few to be evacuated onto American soil, where they struggle to settle into a new culture, and their status greatly diminished, while still participating in games of subterfuge.

16. Goldfinger by Ian Fleming

For fans of James Bond.

Auric Goldfinger is perhaps the most iconic of the Bond villains, exhibiting a frightening amount of paranoia and masculinity. Hoarding vast amounts of his namesake metal, MI6 grows suspicious of his activities and sends 007 to investigate. There he uncovers one audacious plot that could bring down the world’s economy.

Reading Spy Novels

Spy fiction has always been obsessed with what happens in the back alleys of society, with changing identities, secret threats, cool weapons, and martial arts.

But recent works have brought a high level of realism into the genre, introducing characters that feel like someone you’ll meet on the streets and settings that are mundane yet mysterious at the same time.

These are the kind of books to read if you’re looking for something familiar but far enough away from reality to be an adventure. Enjoy your reading!

Do you have a favorite spy novel? Share it in the comments below!

 

If you enjoyed this post, then you might also like: