We’re no strangers to crime thrillers. From Riley Sager to David Baldacci, the New York Times bestseller list seems perpetually chock-full of the latest whodunnit. But there’s something especially enticing about the subgenre of political thrillers. Weaving governmental intrigue through electrifying narratives adds a layer of conspiracy and mystery, bringing the crime to a larger scale and making the reader wonder just how far the malevolence reaches.
Today, we’re focusing on seven fantastic thrillers that focus on combining fictional wrongdoings with very real history. With grains of truth buried within, these high-stakes books make us wonder just how terrifyingly real some of these stories may be.
Absolute Friends by John le Carré
You can’t go wrong with a classic le Carré novel. A legend in the world of espionage and political thrillers, this prolific writer drops us into the Cold War as two old friends and colleagues reunite. Ted Mundy is a man trying to get back on his feet and leave his clandestine past behind him. Sasha, meanwhile, isn’t ready to let their shared history of spying go quietly. And as Mundy is pulled back into the world of British intelligence, he finds himself losing his grip on his family — the very people he first swore to protect.
The narrative spans from 1960’s West Berlin through the Cold War, giving us what feels like a firsthand look at the instability on both sides of the Iron Curtain. As the protagonists further entangle themselves in a web of deception, readers will be kept breathless with anticipation for the book’s dramatic conclusion.
A Rising Man by Abir Mukherjee
It’s 1919 in Calcutta, and a former Scotland Yard detective — and veteran of the Great War — is looking for a place to start fresh. Captain Sam Wyndham is there to accept his new position as the new chief of the local police force — but almost as soon as he arrives, he’s thrown into a murder investigation that threatens to worsen the political instability in Calcutta.
With the peoples’ safety on the line, Wyndham needs to navigate both the winding path of the killer and the fraught state of British-occupied India. Aided by Sergeant Banerjee and the largely unhelpful Inspector Digby, Wyndham works against the clock to track down the killer before more lives are lost. A Rising Man captures the narrative of a man trying to escape suffering, only to find it permeating through the nation he now calls home.
The Sava Steps by Lee Lindauer
During the Bosnian War in 1995, a Dutch Battalion of the United Nations Protective Force was charged with preventing the escalation of atrocities on local villagers. Instead of this, they enacted what became known as the Srebrenica Genocide, ultimately leading to the deaths of 8,000 Bosnians.
While it’s set in the modern day, The Sava Steps shows the aftereffects of tragedy, the way it maims its victims, its survivors and even the land itself. This often unrecognized genocide serves as the motivation for one of the novel’s pivotal characters — Melika Žbanić is a scarred, impassioned survivor of the genocide, and she is hellbent on revenge. Meanwhile, former FBI agent Thorne Hightower is drawn to the area because of a loss in the family. When the details of his brother-in-law’s death seem suspicious, he’s drawn to Melika’s village — but it may not be Melika behind the crime. Worse, the killer’s end goal may be even darker than either of them first predicted.
Read our full review of The Sava Steps here.
City on the Edge by David Swinson
In the summer of 1972 in Beirut, Lebanon, an American boy lives with his parents in a community of ex-pats. It’s a transformative season for young Matthew — he experiences everything from becoming a teenager to falling in love to being in mortal danger. In the midst of it all, he’s also beginning to learn of his father’s true reasons for being in Lebanon. A foreign service attaché rising through the ranks, it seems like Matthew’s father may have a hand in turmoil that is shaking the city.
As political unrest threatens to bring a new era of radicalism, Matthew must find out who his father really is as a person — and what his own role is in this time of uncertainty. This sprawling story is a coming-of-age tale for both Matthew and the country of Lebanon itself.
Watch our interview with David Swinson, where he discussed his inspiration behind City on the Edge.
Lightseekers by Femi Kayode
While Lightseekers may be set in the modern day, history’s impact on the novel rings loud and clear. When investigative psychologist Dr. Philip Taiwo is assigned to analyze the torture and murder of three university students known as the Okriki Three, he soon comes to realize that there is much more here than just a depraved killer. The crime has connections to the sociopolitical landscape of Nigeria as well as the influence of past historical tensions.
Now, Philip must navigate issues of tribalism and sparse clues to track down the perpetrators before there are more losses of innocent life. Drawing on his own experience as a clinical psychologist, author Femi Kayode paints a chilling picture of modern Nigeria and the way its past continues to linger like a shadow over the nation.
Velvet Was the Night by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Maite is a secretary trying to eke out a living in 1970s Mexico. She has her eyes more focused on romantic comic books than the protests going on throughout the city — until her next-door neighbor Leonora disappears. Suddenly, the civil unrest is a lot more personal.
Meanwhile, Elvis — not that Elvis — is sent by his gang on a less-than-official investigation for Leonora. He’s a lot more familiar with using his fists than solving a missing-person case. But both Maite and Elvis soon come to realize that there may be more here than meets the eye. Soon, danger is not only coming from the political demonstrations, but the gangs, the government and even Russian spies. Written by the bestselling author of Mexican Gothic and The Daughter of Doctor Moreau, this twisting tale breathes new life into the crime noir genre.
Read our full review of Velvet Was the Night here.
Our Woman in Moscow by Beatriz Williams
Despite the title, our story actually begins in 1948 London, when Iris Digby, her American diplomat husband and their two children all disappear without a trace. It takes 4 years to get any sort of clue — one that comes in the form of a postcard from Moscow, sent to Iris’s estranged twin sister. The two parted bitterly in Rome years ago, but now Ruth Macallister has second thoughts on their argument that day. She’d thought her sister was foolish, rushing into a marriage with a US Embassy official during the chaos of WWII.
Now, Ruth wonders if there was more going on behind the scenes — and if so, what does Iris know that caused her to flee behind the Iron Curtain? And is it even truly Iris who is reaching out to Ruth? Determined to find out, Ruth sets out on a daring journey of subterfuge, family and the sacrifices we make for those we hold close.
