It feels impossible to discuss Cold War fiction, or the whole of espionage fiction for that matter, without mentioning the master of the spy novel himself, John le Carré. As The New York Times notes in the late novelist’s obituary, his “exquisitely nuanced, intricately plotted Cold War thrillers elevated the spy novel to high art by presenting both Western and Soviet spies as morally compromised cogs in a rotten system full of treachery, betrayal and personal tragedy.” But of course, le Carré, while arguably one of the brightest, isn’t the only shining star in the world of literary espionage. His contemporaries — Ian Fleming, Robert Ludlum, Len Deighton, Frederick Forsyth and Robert Littell among others — gave us just as many memorable spies and missions.
One of the great things about art, as it happens, is that it inspires art. So, here we stand, more than half a century removed from the publication of almost all the aforementioned masters’ seminal works, and we’re still comparing contemporary writers of espionage fiction to the greats, determining whether or not they can hold their own against the impressive canon. In the case of the five novels below, comparisons to the masters are well deserved, as is the praise for where and how they deviate from the classics. All published within the last five years, these novels deliver thrill and intrigue reminiscent of the spy novels that came before them and, depending on who you ask, may have made a few improvements.
The Secrets We Kept by Lara Prescott | Vintage
“In a man’s world, women are the perfect spies.” Irina, a secretary, holds the golden ticket out of the CIA typing pool: a Russian birth certificate. She’s asked to transport copies of Boris Pasternak’s banned Doctor Zhivago behind the Iron Curtain, where United States intelligence believes that the Russian novelist’s work will do exactly what the Soviets fear: undermine the communist regime by shifting ideologies currently held by their citizens. To prepare her for this assignment, seasoned spy Sally Forrester mentors Irina in the art of espionage. Meanwhile, the Soviets send Pasternak’s mistress and muse, Olga Ivinskaya, who inspired Zhivago’s heroine Lara, to the gulag when she refuses to share details about the book.
A Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick, “Prescott combines Mad Men-esque period style with a spy story worthy of John le Carré,” notes Entertainment Weekly. NYT bestselling author Kate Quinn says “The Secrets We Kept is simply sensational … From the gulags of the USSR to the cherry blossom trees of Washington DC, the story grips and refuses to let go.”
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The Bucharest Dossier by William Maz | Oceanview
CIA analyst Bill Hefflin hasn’t set foot in Romania since childhood. When his family fled to Greece as refugees, he was separated from his first love, Pusha. Now, “Boris,” a KGB mole who’s been feeding Hefflin intelligence on an exclusive basis, has summoned him for a face-to-face meeting. When he arrives, the civil unrest brought about by Ceausescu’s regime has reached its boiling point. Revolution is imminent, and the holdout Communist government in the Eastern Bloc will soon crumble. Amidst upheaval, and distracted in his quest to reunite with Pusha, Hefflin must navigate the spy game’s suspect motivations and shifting allegiances as he’s thrown in harm’s way at every turn.
Introspective and transportive, Maz delivers “an accomplished debut,” declares NYT bestselling author Lee Child. It’s “a love story inside an espionage thriller inside a historical record, with all three elements working together to maximum effect.” The novel presents “a smooth and scintillating mix of Robert Ludlum and John le Carré,” says USA Today bestselling author Jon Land. “A masterwork of spy tradecraft. … Solid writing and superb storytelling make this one a must-read. … Blistering, bracing, and bold.” (Our review.)
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American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson | Random House
FBI intelligence officer Marie Mitchell’s career has completely stalled. As sharp and talented as she may be, there’s no denying that in an old boys’ club such as this, it’s difficult for a young black woman to find her footing. Routinely passed over for high-profile assignments, the tedium of paperwork occupies her days. So, when she’s offered a spot on a task force charged with overthrowing “Africa’s Che Guevara,” Burkina Faso’s charismatic, communist leader Thomas Sankara, she ignores her suspicions that she’s been hired solely for her appearance, not her skill, and accepts the position.
Complicating matters is her secret admiration of the work Sankara has done for his country, as well as the mysterious circumstances surrounding her sister’s death, and completing this assignment may just alter her core beliefs. Nominated for the NAACP Image Award, NPR asserts that “like the best of John le Carré, it’s extremely tough to put down. It marks the debut of an immensely talented writer who’s refreshingly unafraid to take risks, and has the skills to make those risks pay off.” Time notes that “in bringing a virtually unheard-from fictional viewpoint to espionage literature, [Wilkinson] has reinvigorated the genre.”
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Safe Houses by Dan Fesperman | Vintage Crime/Black Lizard
Aspiring CIA field agent Helen Abell has been tasked with managing the organization’s network of safe houses in West Berlin. Wanting to prove herself capable of meatier assignments, she takes the initiative of scoping out one of the houses one night, unintentionally overhearing a meeting between two unfamiliar voices that seem to speak in code. This strange conversation suggests plots of a dubious nature are at work, and before long, she witnesses a crime that places her in the crosshairs of a powerful and dangerous figure within the agency itself.
With both her career and life in jeopardy, Helen must turn her own espionage skills against the very organization that trained her in order to expose the truth. The repercussions of everything she witnessed and her own actions extend far beyond 1979 Europe, leading to a double homicide in present-day Maryland. “Fesperman raises the bar sky-high with this one,” says Lee Child. “Smart, sophisticated, suspenseful, and intensely human. One of the great espionage novels of our time.” Booklist calls it “a masterfully constructed example of classic le Carré-style espionage fiction.”
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Who Is Vera Kelly? by Rosalie Knecht | Tin House
Recruited by the CIA for her quick wits, sharp tongue and technical skills, Vera Kelly lands an assignment in Argentina. Undercover and posing as a Canadian university student, she has been tasked with surveilling her peers, keeping her eyes peeled for communist sympathies and KGB recruitment among the young activists and radicals in Buenos Aires, as well as wiretapping a congressman. But as the fragile political climate shifts, Vera finds herself utterly betrayed and stranded in the wake of a coup.
A Lambda Literary Award finalist and an Edgar Award and a Sue Grafton Memorial Award winner, NPR calls Who Is Vera Kelly “lively and subversive … John le Carré and many other writers make hay with the personal repercussions of assuming false identity. Knecht flips the terms artfully, showing us a heroine who discovers her true tough self by going undercover.” It’s “a slow-burn espionage thriller, a complex treatment of queer identity, and an immersive period piece all rolled into one delectable page-turner,” lauds The New York Times. “Vera Kelly introduces a fascinating new spy to literature’s mystery canon.”
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | Bookshop
The Secrets We Kept by Lara Prescott
“In a man’s world, women are the perfect spies.” Irina, a secretary, holds the golden ticket out of the CIA typing pool: a Russian birth certificate. She’s asked to transport copies of Boris Pasternak’s banned Doctor Zhivago behind the Iron Curtain, where United States intelligence believes that the Russian novelist’s work will do exactly what the Soviets fear: undermine the communist regime by shifting ideologies currently held by their citizens. To prepare her for this assignment, seasoned spy Sally Forrester mentors Irina in the art of espionage. Meanwhile, the Soviets send Pasternak’s mistress and muse, Olga Ivinskaya, who inspired Zhivago’s heroine Lara, to the gulag when she refuses to share details about the book.
A Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick, “Prescott combines Mad Men-esque period style with a spy story worthy of John le Carré,” notes Entertainment Weekly. NYT bestselling author Kate Quinn says “The Secrets We Kept is simply sensational … From the gulags of the USSR to the cherry blossom trees of Washington DC, the story grips and refuses to let go.”
The Bucharest Dossier by William Maz
CIA analyst Bill Hefflin hasn’t set foot in Romania since childhood. When his family fled to Greece as refugees, he was separated from his first love, Pusha. Now, “Boris,” a KGB mole who’s been feeding Hefflin intelligence on an exclusive basis, has summoned him for a face-to-face meeting. When he arrives, the civil unrest brought about by Ceausescu’s regime has reached its boiling point. Revolution is imminent, and the holdout Communist government in the Eastern Bloc will soon crumble. Amidst upheaval, and distracted in his quest to reunite with Pusha, Hefflin must navigate the spy game’s suspect motivations and shifting allegiances as he’s thrown in harm’s way at every turn.
Introspective and transportive, Maz delivers “an accomplished debut,” declares NYT bestselling author Lee Child. It’s “a love story inside an espionage thriller inside a historical record, with all three elements working together to maximum effect.” The novel presents “a smooth and scintillating mix of Robert Ludlum and John le Carré,” says USA Today bestselling author Jon Land. “A masterwork of spy tradecraft. … Solid writing and superb storytelling make this one a must-read. … Blistering, bracing, and bold.” (Our review.)
American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson
FBI intelligence officer Marie Mitchell’s career has completely stalled. As sharp and talented as she may be, there’s no denying that in an old boys’ club such as this, it’s difficult for a young black woman to find her footing. Routinely passed over for high-profile assignments, the tedium of paperwork occupies her days. So, when she’s offered a spot on a task force charged with overthrowing “Africa’s Che Guevara,” Burkina Faso’s charismatic, communist leader Thomas Sankara, she ignores her suspicions that she’s been hired solely for her appearance, not her skill, and accepts the position.
Complicating matters is her secret admiration of the work Sankara has done for his country, as well as the mysterious circumstances surrounding her sister’s death, and completing this assignment may just alter her core beliefs. Nominated for the NAACP Image Award, NPR asserts that “like the best of John le Carré, it’s extremely tough to put down. It marks the debut of an immensely talented writer who’s refreshingly unafraid to take risks, and has the skills to make those risks pay off.” Time notes that “in bringing a virtually unheard-from fictional viewpoint to espionage literature, [Wilkinson] has reinvigorated the genre.”
Safe Houses by Dan Fesperman
Aspiring CIA field agent Helen Abell has been tasked with managing the organization’s network of safe houses in West Berlin. Wanting to prove herself capable of meatier assignments, she takes the initiative of scoping out one of the houses one night, unintentionally overhearing a meeting between two unfamiliar voices that seem to speak in code. This strange conversation suggests plots of a dubious nature are at work, and before long, she witnesses a crime that places her in the crosshairs of a powerful and dangerous figure within the agency itself.
With both her career and life in jeopardy, Helen must turn her own espionage skills against the very organization that trained her in order to expose the truth. The repercussions of everything she witnessed and her own actions extend far beyond 1979 Europe, leading to a double homicide in present-day Maryland. “Fesperman raises the bar sky-high with this one,” says Lee Child. “Smart, sophisticated, suspenseful, and intensely human. One of the great espionage novels of our time.” Booklist calls it “a masterfully constructed example of classic le Carré-style espionage fiction.”
Who Is Vera Kelly? by Rosalie Knecht
Recruited by the CIA for her quick wits, sharp tongue and technical skills, Vera Kelly lands an assignment in Argentina. Undercover and posing as a Canadian university student, she has been tasked with surveilling her peers, keeping her eyes peeled for communist sympathies and KGB recruitment among the young activists and radicals in Buenos Aires, as well as wiretapping a congressman. But as the fragile political climate shifts, Vera finds herself utterly betrayed and stranded in the wake of a coup.
A Lambda Literary Award finalist and an Edgar Award and a Sue Grafton Memorial Award winner, NPR calls Who Is Vera Kelly “lively and subversive … John le Carré and many other writers make hay with the personal repercussions of assuming false identity. Knecht flips the terms artfully, showing us a heroine who discovers her true tough self by going undercover.” It’s “a slow-burn espionage thriller, a complex treatment of queer identity, and an immersive period piece all rolled into one delectable page-turner,” lauds The New York Times. “Vera Kelly introduces a fascinating new spy to literature’s mystery canon.”
