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Any recommendations for good spy thriller novels?

Posted by Der User icon on July 11, 2026, 9:54 pm

These are my favourites:

Joseph Kanon
John le Carré
Len Deighton (esp the Bernard Sampson novels).

I notice they're all men. Maybe that says something about the publishing industry.

Anyway, I'm having to re-read them. So looking for some others.

Slow Horses series by Mick Herron

Posted by Raskolnikov User icon on July 11, 2026, 10:02 pm, in reply to "Any recommendations for good spy thriller novels?"

Charles Cumming is popular too; I've not read him.

The corporate media are complicit in the Gaza genocide.
Never forget what they did. Never forgive them for it.

Also Alan Furst nm

Posted by Raskolnikov User icon on July 11, 2026, 10:05 pm, in reply to "Slow Horses series by Mick Herron"

The corporate media are complicit in the Gaza genocide.
Never forget what they did. Never forgive them for it.

I saw all the Slow Horses series in video. Brilliant. Cummings I read once n didn't think much of.

Posted by Der User icon on July 11, 2026, 11:09 pm, in reply to "Slow Horses series by Mick Herron"

I tried Furst but we didn't get on. I'll try again. And I'll try Mick Herron on paper. I'll try Cummings again too.
Any women?

Thanks.

"The Man Who Was Thursday" by G. K. Chesterton

Posted by Keith-264 User icon on July 11, 2026, 11:51 pm, in reply to "I saw all the Slow Horses series in video. Brilliant. Cummings I read once n didn't think much of."

"The Thirty-nine Steps" John Buchan (not as good as the Hitchcock film though)

"The Eye of the Needle" not brilliant but OK

Cold War stuff unworthy of notice.

I'll check out Chesterton. HV seen the other two on film. Also

Posted by Der User icon on July 12, 2026, 10:31 am, in reply to ""The Man Who Was Thursday" by G. K. Chesterton"

you might check out Rogue Male by Geoffrey Household. And the Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers. A bit like the 39 Steps without the humour. Unfortunately.

Thanks a lot.

Childers showed there were no Arab broadcasts urging the Palestinians to flee their homes in 1948

Posted by Der User icon on July 12, 2026, 11:42 am, in reply to "I'll check out Chesterton. HV seen the other two on film. Also "

thus refuting MSM/Israeli propaganda which claimed the Arab nations had caused the exodus.

Chlders published his study in The Spectator, 12 May 1961 (owner then, Ian Gilmour; owner today, Conrad Black).

It's available behind a paywall of £3. No way, Conrad. No way, man.

"The Other Exodus: exposing the Israeli lie that Palestinian leaders ordered the flight of 1948"

Posted by Der User icon on July 12, 2026, 11:44 am, in reply to "Childers showed there were no Arab broadcasts urging the Palestinians to flee their homes in 1948"

https://britainpalestineproject.org/33807-2/

Christopher Hitchens wrote on "Broadcasts" in his Blaming the Victims book with Said.

Posted by Der User icon on July 12, 2026, 12:23 pm, in reply to ""The Other Exodus: exposing the Israeli lie that Palestinian leaders ordered the flight of 1948""

Hitchens shows how Childers dismantled Jon Kimche and others who stood too near the flames by taking umbrage with Childers in the Spectator.

https://libgen.li/get.php?md5=b72d0c4f02ae0296078ee1e7354c6945&key=01UCBCLZDR4HZHCE

Hitchens was a tremendous writer before 9/11 put the wind up him.

Re: Childers showed there were no Arab broadcasts urging the Palestinians to flee their homes in 1948

Posted by Keith-264 User icon on July 12, 2026, 1:08 pm, in reply to "Childers showed there were no Arab broadcasts urging the Palestinians to flee their homes in 1948"

Apparently they warned the Palestinians that they had been defeated and couldn't defend them against the zionazis.

No. We're talking about before the war. That's important.

Posted by Der User icon on July 12, 2026, 2:42 pm, in reply to "Re: Childers showed there were no Arab broadcasts urging the Palestinians to flee their homes in 1948"

The Israeli's suggested the Broadcasts
encouraged the Palestinians to leave their homes before the war so they wouldn't get in the way of any invading Arab army. It was all bunkum.

Actually, any communications with the arab armies before the war had them encouraging the Palestinians to stay!

These days the Israelis are more likely to say the Arab armies invading caused the Nakba!

Posted by Der User icon on July 12, 2026, 3:29 pm, in reply to "No. We're talking about before the war. That's important."

By the way, the Arab countries were close to Britain post World War II and Britain was friendly with the new Israeli state so that Arab Army invasion was most likely a very half hearted affair. Some of the Arab countries didn't even have goals in common. They were heading for a hiding and they should have seen it.

I doubt any of them cared a jot about Palestine other than to wonder could they grab a bit of it.

Re: I'll check out Chesterton. HV seen the other two on film. Also

Posted by Keith-264 User icon on July 12, 2026, 1:22 pm, in reply to "I'll check out Chesterton. HV seen the other two on film. Also "

I remember the TV film with peter O'Toole, not bad not brilliant.

Also, Ashenden by Somerset Maugham. They say Maugham, himself, was a spy.

Posted by Der User icon on July 12, 2026, 3:36 pm, in reply to "Re: I'll check out Chesterton. HV seen the other two on film. Also "

I didn't finish it, I ran out of steam (May have spotted another book out of the corner of my eye. A frequent occurrence).

I prefer Maugham's short stories to his novels.

Edward Wilson is good too nm

Posted by Raskolnikov User icon on July 12, 2026, 11:19 am, in reply to "Any recommendations for good spy thriller novels?"

The corporate media are complicit in the Gaza genocide.
Never forget what they did. Never forgive them for it.

Will check him out. Thanks. nm

Posted by Der User icon on July 12, 2026, 11:46 am, in reply to "Edward Wilson is good too nm"

Ian Fleming?...OK, I'll get my coat...

Posted by Ed User icon on July 12, 2026, 1:07 pm, in reply to "Will check him out. Thanks. nm"

...enjoyed some of them, though.

"I won't dignify the attacker's words by repeating them, they are horrific and vile."

"The Spy Who Came in from the Cold"

Posted by scrabb User icon on July 12, 2026, 4:06 pm, in reply to "Ian Fleming?...OK, I'll get my coat..."

is possibly the best Cold War spy thriller for me. I stopped reading le Carre when his later novels became bloated when he got literary pretensions (the tedious George Smiley).

An early Graham Greene novel , The Confidential Agent is pretty good, and The Third Man, a novella based on his film script.

Not strictly a spy thriller, The Small Back Room by Nigel Balchin is a good WWII read. The bomb disposal hero has a tin foot. Made into an excellent film by the Archers.

Re: "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold"

Posted by Ed User icon on July 12, 2026, 4:38 pm, in reply to ""The Spy Who Came in from the Cold""

Never read the book but really enjoyed the film...thought Burton and Bloom were excellent.

"I won't dignify the attacker's words by repeating them, they are horrific and vile."

Good list here; binge-watched most of Slow Horses S1 as a result. I'll add Eric Ambler

Posted by marknadim User icon on July 13, 2026, 6:10 am, in reply to "Any recommendations for good spy thriller novels?"

Dated but still a pleasure.

Wasn't The Maltese Falcon a novel first?

Posted by Keith-264 User icon on July 13, 2026, 5:24 pm, in reply to "Good list here; binge-watched most of Slow Horses S1 as a result. I'll add Eric Ambler"

Hmmm, by Dashiell Hammett. I read Red Harvest on night shifts a few years ago, rather good.

Indeed. Forgot Chandler n Hammett. Grievious error. nm

Posted by Der User icon on July 13, 2026, 5:46 pm, in reply to "Wasn't The Maltese Falcon a novel first?"

Slow Horses is a cracking watch. Gary Oldman is hilarious. n I'll check out Ambler. nm

Posted by Der User icon on July 13, 2026, 5:49 pm, in reply to "Good list here; binge-watched most of Slow Horses S1 as a result. I'll add Eric Ambler"

Kristin Scott-Thomas hides a multitude of plot, script and acting sins....nm

Posted by Keith-264 User icon on July 13, 2026, 7:26 pm, in reply to "Slow Horses is a cracking watch. Gary Oldman is hilarious. n I'll check out Ambler. nm"

Leslie Charteris often had The Saint dabble in international espionage and intrigue...

Posted by Ed User icon on July 13, 2026, 9:51 pm, in reply to "Kristin Scott-Thomas hides a multitude of plot, script and acting sins....nm"

...those books are of course, extremely dated now, set in the 30s and 40s, but I remember reading them in my teens and enjoying them.
If I remember correctly about the infamous cat burglar, The Saint's ambition was to amass a personal fortune of £25,000 so he could retire gracefully and life a long and luxurious life!
That might just get you a ticket for the World Cup Final these days!

"I won't dignify the attacker's words by repeating them, they are horrific and vile."

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