![]() ![]() The best make it look easy, and he tempted many an intelligence professional into thinking they’d write a book after they’d retired, only to find out it’s much, much harder than it appears. His Cold War books are probably the best at capturing the spy-vs-spy gamesmanship of the time, but he answered the critics who said he was a one-trick pony by writing standalone novels like The Night Manager that dealt with intrigues in other parts of the world and emerging transnational issues. A life in intelligence is tricky you’re often asked to do things that leave a bad taste in your mouth, and no one was able to capture the spy’s internal moral struggle better. The genre lost a giant when le Carré passed away on December 12, 2020. Which is the common thread, you’ll find, in the list below. Because-like Spiderman-spies have great power, and with great power comes great responsibility. You’re constantly asking yourself, am I doing the right thing? Do the ends justify the means? If I do this questionable thing, what does it mean about me as a person? The best spies-like the best people in general-question themselves. In a nutshell, that is the spy business, particularly on the clandestine side. The heart of a good spy novel is not the caper but the personal or moral issue facing the protagonist. Surely, the only authentic spy books are the ones written by people on the inside, right?Īs a retired intelligence professional and a published novelist, and now the author of a spy novel, I’m here to set the record straight: Even when you’ve been in the espionage business, it’s hard to write a good spy novel. If you enjoy this, know that Beatriz's work with the CIA features prominently in Cleeton's 2022 release (and MMD Summer Reading Guide selection) Our Last Days in Barcelona.It’s a perennial question: do spies write the best spy novels? It’s the business of secrets, after all you can’t help but wonder how much authors get right. A page-turning story of love and revenge, though not necessarily in that order. senator, a man who will change her life-though perhaps not in the way either of them hoped. Things get complicated when she falls for a handsome and politically ambitious U.S. But her offer is too good for her government to refuse, and she soon finds herself uncomfortably close to Castro and other dangerous men, seeking precious information the U.S. Beatriz Perez was forced to flee her beloved homeland of Cuba for the refuge of Palm Beach, and will do whatever it takes to help her family and the country she still sees as her own, including begging the CIA to put her to use as a spy-something virtually unheard of in the 1960s. This standalone sequel to Next Year in Havana delivers a tale of politics, history, and love. ![]() Some links (including all Amazon links) are affiliate links. By their very nature, the stakes are high in these books-and I hope the enjoyment (for the reader, at least, ha!) is even higher. Peruse the list, take note of books you’ve already read and enjoyed, and those you may enjoy reading next. Today we’ve gathered an assortment of spy novels from different genres. ![]() I want to know what will happen next, whether they’ll be discovered, whether they should be caught. But whether someone is spying on the enemy or trying to get one over on a business competitor, spy novels make for page-turning, edge-of-my-seat reading. I wonder: How do they do that?! I worry: Have I ever been around anyone undercover? (Actually, I know the answer to that one is yes, it’s a long story.) There are all kinds of ethical ramifications and the purported Good Guys aren’t always that good, I know. I tend to be a well-behaved law-abider in my regular life, and perhaps that’s why I’m in awe of the spies portrayed in these pages. But upon reflection, I realized I’m consistently drawn to these stories-and should actually make a point to seek them out! (I shouldn’t be surprised: I’ve loved these books since I was a kid reading Nancy Drew and Harriet the Spy.) I wouldn’t think to mention spy novels, because I don’t read a whole lot of them. If you were to ask what kinds of books I especially enjoy, I would for sure tell you about compulsively readable literary fiction, compelling mysteries, historical fiction, nerdy nonfiction and memoir and romance. Not only did these two books deliver thoroughly enjoyable reading experiences, they also reminded me how much I love a great spy story. This spring, when I was vetting titles for the 2022 Summer Reading Guide, I just happened to read two wonderful books whose plots revolved around espionage. ![]()
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