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The Top Spy & Espionage Books Of All-Time

“What are the best books about Espionage & Spying?” We looked at 465 of the top spy books, aggregating and ranking them so we could answer that very question!

Covertly slide into a world of secrets, lies, warring governments, and espionage. The top 18 books, all appearing 4 or more “Best Spy” lists, are ranked below by how many times they appeared and include images, descriptions, and links. The remaining 400+ titles, all appearing on 3 or fewer lists, as well as the articles we used, are in alphabetical order on the bottom of the page.

Happy Scrolling!



Top 18 Spy & Espionage Books



18 .) Kim by Rudyard Kipling

Lists It Appears On:

  • HiloBrow
  • The Telegraph
  • Medium
  • The Guardian 2

Kim is set in an imperialistic world; a world strikingly masculine, dominated by travel, trade and adventure, a world in which there is no question of the division between white and non-white. Two men – a boy who grows into early manhood and an old ascetic priest, the lama – are at the center of the novel. A quest faces them both. Born in India, Kim is nevertheless white, a sahib. While he wants to play the Great Game of Imperialism, he is also spiritually bound to the lama. His aim, as he moves chameleon-like through the two cultures, is to reconcile these opposing strands, while the lama searches for redemption from the Wheel of Life.

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17 .) The Company by Robert Littell

Lists It Appears On:

  • NPR
  • The Telegraph
  • WHSmith
  • Goodreads

This critically acclaimed blockbuster from internationally renowned novelist Robert Littell seamlessly weaves together history and fiction to create a multigenerational, wickedly nostalgic saga of the CIA—known as “the Company” to insiders. Racing across a landscape spanning the legendary Berlin Base of the ’50s, the Soviet invasion of Hungary, the Bay of Pigs, Afghanistan, and the Gorbachev putsch, The Company tells the thrilling story of agents imprisoned in double lives, fighting an amoral, elusive, formidable enemy—and each other—in an internecine battle within the Company itself. A brilliant, stunningly conceived epic thriller, The Company confirms Littell’s place among the genre’s elite.

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16 .) The Tailor of Panama by John le Carré

Lists It Appears On:

  • Share Ranks
  • Goodreads
  • Goodreads 2
  • The Guardian 2

He is Harry Pendel: Exclusive tailor to Panama’s most powerful men. Informant to British Intelligence. The perfect spy in a country rife with corruption and revolution. What his “handlers” don’t realize is that Harry has a hidden agenda of his own. Deceiving his friends, his wife, and practically himself, he’ll weave a plot so fabulous it exceeds his own vivid imagination. But when events start to spin out of control, Harry is suddenly in over his head—thrown into a lethal maze of politics and espionage, with unthinkable consequences. . . .

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15 .) A Coffin for Dimitrios by Eric Ambler

Lists It Appears On:

  • Five Books
  • HiloBrow
  • Goodreads
  • Goodreads 2
  • Electric Lit

A chance encounter with a Turkish colonel leads Charles Latimer, the author of a handful of successful mysteries, into a world of sinister political and criminal maneuvers. At first merely curious to reconstruct the career of the notorious Dimitrios, whose body has been identified in an Istanbul morgue, Latimer soon finds himself caught up in a shadowy web of assassination, espionage, drugs, and treachery that spans the Balkans.

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14 .) Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett

Lists It Appears On:

  • Addictive Boks
  • Share Ranks
  • The Culture Trip
  • Goodreads
  • Goodreads 2

“His code name was “The Needle.” He was a German aristocrat of extraordinary intelligence—a master spy with a legacy of violence in his blood, and the object of the most desperate manhunt in history. . . .

But his fate lay in the hands of a young and vulnerable English woman, whose loyalty, if swayed, would assure his freedom—and win the war for the Nazis. . . . “

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13 .) Berlin Game by Len Deighton

Lists It Appears On:

  • NPR
  • The Telegraph
  • The Strand Magazine
  • The Culture Trip
  • Goodreads
  • Goodreads 2

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12 .) From Russia With Love by Ian Fleming

Lists It Appears On:

  • Bookbub
  • The Strand Magazine
  • Flavorwire
  • Goodreads
  • Goodreads 2
  • The Telegraph

“James Bond is marked for death by the Soviet counterintelligence agency SMERSH in Ian Fleming’s masterful spy thriller, and the novel that President John F. Kennedy named one of his favorite books of all time.

SMERSH stands for “Death to Spies” and there’s no secret agent they’d like to disgrace and destroy more than 007, James Bond. But ensnaring the British Secret Service’s most lethal operative will require a lure so tempting even he can’t resist. Enter Tatiana Romanova, a ravishing Russian spy whose “defection” springs a trap designed with clockwork precision. Her mission: seduce Bond, then flee to the West on the Orient Express. Waiting in the shadows are two of Ian Fleming’s most vividly drawn villains: Red Grant, SMERSH’s deadliest assassin, and the sinister operations chief Rosa Klebb—five feet four inches of pure killing power.”

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11 .) The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad

Lists It Appears On:

  • HiloBrow
  • The Strand Magazine
  • The Culture Trip
  • Goodreads
  • Goodreads 2
  • The Guardian

Mr Verloc, the secret agent, keeps a shop in London’s Soho where he lives with his wife Winnie, her infirm mother, and her idiot brother, Stevie. When Verloc is reluctantly involved in an anarchist plot to blow up the Greenwich Observatory things go disastrously wrong, and what appears to be ‘a simple tale’ proves to involve politicians, policemen, foreign diplomats and London’s fashionable society in the darkest and most surprising interrelations.

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10 .) The Tourist by Olen Steinhauer

Lists It Appears On:

  • This Is Writing
  • WHSmith
  • Bookbub
  • Book Browse
  • Goodreads
  • Goodreads 2

Milo Weaver has tried to leave his old life of secrets and lies behind by giving up his job as a “tourist” for the CIA―an undercover agent with no home, no identity. Now he’s working a desk at the agency’s New York headquarters. But when the arrest of a long-sought-after assassin sets off an investigation into a colleague, exposing new layers of intrigue in his old cases, he has no choice but to go back undercover and find out who’s been behind it allfrom the very beginning.

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9 .) The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth

Lists It Appears On:

  • Addictive Boks
  • This Is Writing
  • Crime Fiction Blog
  • The Strand Magazine
  • The Culture Trip
  • Goodreads
  • Goodreads 2

“The Jackal. A tall, blond Englishman with opaque, gray eyes. A killer at the top of his profession. A man unknown to any secret service in the world. An assassin with a contract to kill the world’s most heavily guarded man.

One man with a rifle who can change the course of history. One man whose mission is so secretive not even his employers know his name. And as the minutes count down to the final act of execution, it seems that there is no power on earth that can stop the Jackal.”

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8 .) The IPCRESS File by Len Deighton

Lists It Appears On:

  • Addictive Boks
  • HiloBrow
  • The Week
  • Crime Fiction Blog
  • Flavorwire
  • Goodreads
  • Goodreads 2

Len Deighton’s classic first novel, whoseprotagonist is a nameless spy – later christened Harry Palmer and made famous worldwide in the iconic 1960s film starring Michael Caine.

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7 .) The Quiet American by Graham Greene

Lists It Appears On:

  • HiloBrow
  • Share Ranks
  • Crime Fiction Blog
  • The Strand Magazine
  • Goodreads
  • Goodreads 2
  • The Guardian

“””I never knew a man who had better motives for all the trouble he caused,”” Graham Greene’s narrator Fowler remarks of Alden Pyle, the eponymous “”Quiet American”” of what is perhaps the most controversial novel of his career. Pyle is the brash young idealist sent out by Washington on a mysterious mission to Saigon, where the French Army struggles against the Vietminh guerrillas.

As young Pyle’s well-intentioned policies blunder into bloodshed, Fowler, a seasoned and cynical British reporter, finds it impossible to stand safely aside as an observer. But Fowler’s motives for intervening are suspect, both to the police and himself, for Pyle has stolen Fowler’s beautiful Vietnamese mistress.”

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6 .) Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene

Lists It Appears On:

  • HiloBrow
  • The Telegraph
  • WHSmith
  • The Culture Trip
  • Goodreads
  • Goodreads 2
  • Flavorwire
  • Addictive Boks

MI6’s man in Havana is Wormold, a former vacuum-cleaner salesman turned reluctant secret agent out of economic necessity. To keep his job, he files bogus reports based on Charles Lamb’s Tales from Shakespeare and dreams up military installations from vacuum-cleaner designs. Then his stories start coming disturbingly true…

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5 .) The Spy Who Came in From the Cold by John Le Carré

Lists It Appears On:

  • Addictive Boks
  • HiloBrow
  • Share Ranks
  • Crime Fiction Blog
  • The Telegraph
  • The Culture Trip
  • Goodreads
  • Goodreads 2

In the shadow of the newly erected Berlin Wall, Alec Leamas watches as his last agent is shot dead by East German sentries. For Leamas, the head of Berlin Station, the Cold War is over. As he faces the prospect of retirement or worse—a desk job—Control offers him a unique opportunity for revenge. Assuming the guise of an embittered and dissolute ex-agent, Leamas is set up to trap Mundt, the deputy director of the East German Intelligence Service—with himself as the bait. In the background is George Smiley, ready to make the game play out just as Control wants.

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4 .) The Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers

Lists It Appears On:

  • HiloBrow
  • Share Ranks
  • Crime Fiction Blog
  • The Telegraph
  • WHSmith
  • Goodreads
  • Goodreads 2
  • The Guardian 2
  • The Guardian

The classic spy novel by Erskine Childers, credited as the first work of modern espionage fiction. Set in pre-World War I Europe, two British subject, Carruthers and Davies, uncover secret German activity suggesting a prelude to war.

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3 .) The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum

Lists It Appears On:

  • Best Science Fiction Books
  • HiloBrow
  • Share Ranks
  • Crime Fiction Blog
  • The Telegraph
  • Bookbub
  • The Strand Magazine
  • The Culture Trip
  • Goodreads
  • Goodreads 2

His memory is a blank. His bullet-ridden body was fished from the Mediterranean Sea. His face has been altered by plastic surgery. A frame of microfilm has been surgically implanted in his hip. Even his name is a mystery. Marked for death, he is racing for survival through a bizarre world of murderous conspirators—led by Carlos, the world’s most dangerous assassin. Who is Jason Bourne? The answer may kill him.

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2 .) The 39 Steps by John Buchan

Lists It Appears On:

  • HiloBrow
  • Oregon Live
  • The Telegraph
  • The Strand Magazine
  • The Culture Trip
  • The Guardian
  • Share Ranks
  • Crime Fiction Blog
  • Goodreads
  • Goodreads 2

Hanney, an expatriated Scot, returns from a long stay in South Africa to his flat in London. One night he is buttonholed by an American who appears to know of an anarchist plot to destabilise Europe, and claims to be in fear for his life. Hannay lets the American hide in his flat, and returns later to find that another man has been found shot dead in the same building, apparently a suicide. Four days later Hannay finds the American stabbed to death…

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1 .) Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carré

Lists It Appears On:

  • Cool Material
  • HiloBrow
  • Oregon Live
  • The Culture Trip
  • The Guardian
  • The Week
  • This Is Writing
  • WHSmith
  • The Strand Magazine
  • Goodreads
  • Goodreads 2
  • Flavorwire
  • NPR

The man he knew as “Control” is dead, and the young Turks who forced him out now run the Circus. But George Smiley isn’t quite ready for retirement—especially when a pretty, would-be defector surfaces with a shocking accusation: a Soviet mole has penetrated the highest level of British Intelligence. Relying only on his wits and a small, loyal cadre, Smiley recognizes the hand of Karla—his Moscow Centre nemesis—and sets a trap to catch the traitor.

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The Additional Best Books About Spies and Espionage



 

#BookAuthorLists
(Titles Appear On 3 Lists Each)
19A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great BetrayalBen MacintyreEarly Bird Books
Mal Warwick On Books
Medium
20Above SuspicionHelen MacInnesHiloBrow
Share Ranks
Crime Fiction Blog
21Agent Zigzag: A True Story of Nazi Espionage, Love, and BetrayalBen MacintyreEarly Bird Books
Goodreads 2
Library Thing
22Ashenden: Or the British AgentW. Somerset MaughamThe Telegraph
Cool Material
The Guardian
23BlowbackValerie Plame and Sarah LovettCool Material
Oregon Live
The Big Thrill
24Casino RoyaleIan FlemingCool Material
Goodreads
Goodreads 2
25Death of a CitizenDonald HamiltonHiloBrow
The Culture Trip
Flavorwire
26MasqueradeGayle LyndsShare Ranks
Crime Fiction Blog
Bookbub
27Mexico SetLen DeightonNPR
Goodreads
Goodreads 2
28Operation MincemeatBen MacintyreThe Week
Library Thing
Mal Warwick On Books
29Red SparrowJason MatthewsOregon Live
Bookbub
Goodreads
30Six Days of the CondorJames GradyGoodreads
Goodreads 2
HiloBrow
31Slow HorsesMick HerronAddictive Boks
The Telegraph
Medium
32The Constant GardenerJohn le CarréFive Books
Goodreads
Goodreads 2
33The Eye of the NeedleKen FollettHiloBrow
Crime Fiction Blog
Bookbub
34The Human FactorGraham GreeneThe Week
Goodreads 2
Electric Lit
35The Hunt for Red OctoberTom ClancyFlavorwire
Goodreads
Goodreads 2
36The Kill ArtistDaniel SilvaNPR
Goodreads
Goodreads 2
37The Little Drummer GirlJohn LeCarreWHSmith
Goodreads
Goodreads 2
38The Manchurian CandidateRichard CondonAddictive Boks
Goodreads 2
Flavorwire
39The Spy who Loved MeIan FlemingShare Ranks
Crime Fiction Blog
Goodreads 2
40The Unlikely SpyDaniel SilvaShare Ranks
Crime Fiction Blog
Goodreads 2
(Titles Appear On 2 Lists Each)
41A Death in ViennaDaniel SilvaNPR
Goodreads 2
42A Murder of QualityJohn le CarréGoodreads
Goodreads 2
43A Perfect SpyJohn le CarreOregon Live
Goodreads
44Agent Storm: My Life Inside Al Qaeda and the CIAMorten StormMal Warwick On Books
The Guardian 2
45Assignment in BrittanyHiloBrow
The Telegraph
46At RiskStella RimingtonOregon Live
Bookbub
47Bad Luck and TroubleLee ChildBook Browse
Goodreads
48Call for the DeadJohn le CarréGoodreads
Goodreads 2
49Clear and Present Danger (Jack Ryan Universe, #6)Tom ClancyGoodreads
Goodreads 2
50Close QuartersAdrian MagsonThe Big Thrill
The Big Thrill
51Code Name VerityElizabeth WeinBookbub
Cheshire Library Blog
52Dark Star (Night Soldiers, #2)Alan FurstThe Strand Magazine
Goodreads 2
53Debt of Honor (Jack Ryan Universe, #8)Tom ClancyGoodreads
Goodreads 2
54DeceptionAdrian MagsonThe Big Thrill
The Big Thrill
55DeclareTim PowersBest Science Fiction Books
Medium
56Doctor No (James Bond, #6)Ian FlemingGoodreads
Goodreads 2
57For Your Eyes Only (James Bond, #8)Ian FlemingHiloBrow
Goodreads 2
58Goldfinger (James Bond, #7)Ian FlemingGoodreads
Goodreads 2
59Gorky Park (Arkady Renko, #1)Martin Cruz SmithGoodreads
Goodreads 2
60Greenmantle (Richard Hannay #2)John BuchanGoodreads 2
HiloBrow
61I Am Pilgrim (Pilgrim, #1)Terry HayesGoodreads
Book Browse
62JackdawsKen FollettBook Browse
Goodreads 2
63Journey Into FearEric AmblerThe Telegraph
Goodreads 2
64Live and Let Die (James Bond, #2)Ian FlemingGoodreads
Goodreads 2
65London MatchLen DeightonNPR
Goodreads 2
66Morning Spy, Evening SpyColin MacKinnonShare Ranks
Crime Fiction Blog
67Moscow Rules (Gabriel Allon, #8)Daniel SilvaGoodreads
Goodreads 2
68N or M?Agatha ChristieHiloBrow
Goodreads 2
69Night HeronAdam BrookeThe Strand Magazine
Medium
70Night SoldiersAlan FurstWHSmith
Goodreads
71On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (James Bond, #11)Ian FlemingGoodreads
Goodreads 2
72Red HarvestDashiell HammettOregon Live
The Guardian
73RetributionAdrian MagsonThe Big Thrill
The Big Thrill
74Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne ImperativeEric Van LustbaderThe Big Thrill
The Big Thrill
75ShibumiTrevanianGoodreads
Goodreads 2
76Smiley’s PeopleJohn le CarréGoodreads
Goodreads 2
77The Billion Dollar Spy: A True Story of Cold War Espionage and BetrayalDavid E. HoffmanEarly Bird Books
Mal Warwick On Books
78The Black TulipMilt BeardenOregon Live
Cool Material
79The Bourne Ultimatum (Jason Bourne, #3)Robert LudlumGoodreads
Goodreads 2
80The Cardinal of the Kremlin (Jack Ryan Universe, #5)Tom ClancyGoodreads
Goodreads 2
81The Charm SchoolNelson DeMilleGoodreads
Goodreads 2
82The Code-BreakersDavid KahnTor
Library Thing
83The Dogs of WarFrederick ForsythGoodreads
Goodreads 2
84The Eiger SanctionHiloBrow
Share Ranks
85The Foreign Correspondent (Night Soldiers, #9)Alan FurstGoodreads
Goodreads 2
86The Fourth ProtocolFrederick ForsythGoodreads
Goodreads 2
87The Girl Who Played With Fire (Millennium #2)Stieg LarssonGoodreads 2
Goodreads
88The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium, #1)Stieg LarssonGoodreads
Goodreads 2
89The Good SpyJeffrey LaytonThe Big Thrill
Mal Warwick On Books
90The Great ImpersonationEdward Phillips OppenheimHiloBrow
NPR
91The Honourable SchoolboyJohn le CarréGoodreads
Goodreads 2
92The Irregulars: Roald Dahl and the British Spy Ring in Wartime WashingtonJennet ConantGoodreads 2
Library Thing
93The Key to RebeccaKen FollettGoodreads
Goodreads 2
94The Looking Glass WarJohn le CarréGoodreads
Goodreads 2
95The MessengerDaniel SilvaBook Browse
Goodreads
96The Ministry of FearGraham GreeneHiloBrow
Goodreads
97The Moscow ClubJoseph FinderShare Ranks
Crime Fiction Blog
98The Night ManagerJohn le CarréGoodreads 2
Independent
99The Odessa FileFrederick ForsythGoodreads
Goodreads 2
100The Rembrandt Affair (Gabriel Allon, #10)Daniel SilvaGoodreads
Goodreads 2
101The Russia HouseJohn le CarréGoodreads
Goodreads 2
102The Saladin StrategyNorm ClarkGoodreads
Goodreads 2
103The Spy; or, A Tale of the Neutral GroundJames Fenimore CooperMedium
The Guardian
104The Sum of All FearsTom ClancyAddictive Boks
Goodreads
105The Tears of AutumnCharles McCarryMedium
NPR
106The TravelersChris PavoneThe Big Thrill
Independent
107Thunderball (James Bond, #9)Ian FlemingGoodreads
Goodreads 2
108Too Bad to DieFrancine MathewsThe Big Thrill
Book Browse
109Tsunami ConnectionMichael James GallagherGoodreads
Goodreads 2
110Where Eagles DareAlistair MacLeanShare Ranks
Goodreads 2
111Wild Bill DonovanDouglas WallerThe Week
Mal Warwick On Books
112You Only Live TwiceIan FlemingOregon Live
Goodreads 2
(Titles Appear On 1 Lists Each)
1131000 YardsBook Content Ratings
11461 Hours (Jack Reacher, #14)Lee ChildGoodreads
1159800 Savage RoadM. E. HarriganThe Big Thrill
116A Colder WarCharles CummingBook Browse
117A Corpse in the KoryoJames ChurchOregon Live
118A Delicate TruthJohn Le CarréElectric Lit
119A Kill in the MorningGraeme ShimminThe Big Thrill
120A Life in Secrets: Vera Atkins and the Missing Agents of WWIISarah HelmLibrary Thing
121A Line in the SandGerald SeymourAddictive Boks
122A Man Called IntrepidWilliam StevensonLibrary Thing
123A Murder of CrowsTerrence McCauleyThe Big Thrill
124A Prince of the CaptivityHiloBrow
125A Rough ShootHiloBrow
126A Small Death in LisbonRobert WilsonGoodreads 2
127A Small Town in GermanyJohn le CarréGoodreads 2
128A SpyCharles CummingBook Browse
129A Spy for All SeasonsDuane R ClarridgeThe Guardian 2
130A Spy in the OintmentDonald WestlakeNPR
131A Taste For DeathThe Telegraph
132A Time to Die (Victor)Tom WoodComparaboo
133A Time to KillHiloBrow
134Absolute FriendsJohn Le CarréAddictive Boks
135Absolute PowerDavid BaldacciGoodreads
136Afraid of the DarkJames GrippandoThe Big Thrill
137After the Fall: A Prelude to the Senator’s Son (Among Wolves)Book Content Ratings
138Agent in PlaceHelen MacInnesElectric Lit
139Agents of InnocenceDavid IgnatiusThe Guardian 2
140AirframeMichael CrichtonGoodreads 2
141American Assassin (Mitch Rapp, #1)Vince FlynnGoodreads
142An Ordinary Spy: A NovelJoseph WeisbergBook Browse
143And West Is WestRon ChildressBook Browse
144Angels & Demons (Robert Langdon, #1)Dan BrownGoodreads 2
145Anonymous SourcesMary Louise KellyThe Big Thrill
146Arctic RisingTobias BuckellBest Science Fiction Books
147Background to Danger.HiloBrow
148Between Silk and Cyanide: A Codemaker’s War, 1941-1945Leo MarksLibrary Thing
149Billion-Dollar BrainLen DeightonBest Science Fiction Books
150Bletchley Park: The Secret ArchivesSinclair McKayIndependent
151Blind Man’s Bluff: The Untold Story Of American Submarine EspionageSherry Sontag and Christopher Drew with Annette Lawrence DrewEarly Bird Books
152Blood OilJames PhelanThe Big Thrill
153Blood TattooJude HardinThe Big Thrill
154Body of SecretsJames BamfordTor
155Bodyguard of Deception (Book 1 of the World War Two Trilogy)Samuel MarquisGoodreads 2
156Bonus: They Call Me Alexandra GastoneT.A. MaclaganBookbub
157Brandenburg GateHenry PorterBook Browse
158Brave New WorldAldous HuxleyGoodreads 2
159Bridge of SpiesGiles WhittellLibrary Thing
160Brute ForceMarc CameronThe Big Thrill
161Caasino RoyaleIan FlemingThe Week
162Cause for AlarmEric AmblerWHSmith
163Choice of EnemiesM.A. RichardsThe Big Thrill
164Choice of WeaponsRaymond BensonThe Big Thrill
165Cloaks and VeilsJ.C. CarlesonThe Big Thrill
166Code Name Jack RabbitElizabeth NobleThe Big Thrill
167CoercionTim TignerThe Big Thrill
168Cold BlackAlex ShawThe Big Thrill
169Cold EastAlex ShawThe Big Thrill
170Consent to Kill (Mitch Rapp, #8)Vince FlynnGoodreads
171Contract to KillAndrew PetersonThe Big Thrill
172Crown of SlavesDavid WeberBest Science Fiction Books
173Dark AssetAdrian MagsonThe Big Thrill
174Dark Territory: The Secret History of Cyber WarFred KaplanMal Warwick On Books
175Dark Voyage (Night Soldiers, #8)Alan FurstGoodreads 2
176Day of the JackalShare Ranks
177Dead LineStella RimingtonAddictive Boks
178Deadly TrustJJ CooperThe Big Thrill
179Death in BudapestJames L. RossThe Big Thrill
180DecodedThe Telegraph
181Diamonds Are Forever (James Bond, #4)Ian FlemingGoodreads 2
182Die Trying (Jack Reacher, #2)Lee ChildGoodreads
183Disciples of DeathPaul HowardThe Big Thrill
184Double Cross: The True Story of the D-Day SpiesBen McIntyreMal Warwick On Books
185Elusive IsabeHiloBrow
186End of SecretsRyan QuinnThe Big Thrill
187Ender’s Game (Ender’s Saga, #1)Orson Scott CardGoodreads 2
188Epitaph for a SpyHiloBrow
189Europe in AutumnDave HutchinsonMedium
190Execution (Harry Tate 5)Adrian MagsonThe Big Thrill
191Executive Orders (Jack Ryan Universe, #9)Tom ClancyGoodreads
192Extreme Measures (Mitch Rapp, #11)Vince FlynnGoodreads
193Fallout: The True Story of the CIA’s Secret War on Nuclear TraffickingCatherine Collins and Douglas FrantzThe Guardian 2
194Fear and SpearThe Telegraph
195FlashbackJenny SilerBookbub
196Flight From Berlin: A NovelDavid JohnBook Browse
197Forced To KillAndrew PetersonThe Big Thrill
198From London FarHiloBrow
199Funeral in BerlinLen DeightonWHSmith
200George SmileyJohn Le CarreBest Science Fiction Books
201Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001Steve CollLibrary Thing
202Go Softly All My Years (Braddock Family Book 1)Book Content Ratings
203Gravity’s RainbowHiloBrow
204H.I.V.E. Higher Institute of Villainous EducationMark WaldenCheshire Library Blog
205Hard CoverAdrian MagsonThe Big Thrill
206Hard Kill (Riz #1)Charlie FlowersGoodreads 2
207Hard Road (A Jon Reznick Thriller)J. B. TurnerComparaboo
208HARLOT’S GHOSTNorman MailerCrime Fiction Blog
209Harriet the SpyHiloBrow
210Hazardous DutyE. Howard HuntOregon Live
211His Last Bow: 8 StoriesArthur Conan DoyleGoodreads 2
212Hitler’s Spy Chief: The Story of Wilhelm Canaris, the Most Dangerous Intelligence Man of WWIIRichard BassettEarly Bird Books
213Homeland: Carrie’s RunAndrew KaplanThe Big Thrill
214Homeland: Saul’s GameAndrew KaplanThe Big Thrill
215HoodwinkDominic TorrThe Big Thrill
216HopscotchHiloBrow
217Hunt for Red OctoberTom ClancyThe Culture Trip
218Hunter: Intrepid 2Chris AllenThe Big Thrill
219HuntingtowerHiloBrow
220I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill YouAlly CarterCheshire Library Blog
221Ice Station ZebraAlistair McLeanFlavorwire
222In Pursuit of Platinum: The Shocking Secret of World War IIVic RobbieGoodreads
223Independence HallRoland SmithCheshire Library Blog
224Inside the Company: CIA DiaryPhilip AgeeThe Guardian 2
225IntelligenceSusan HaslerOregon Live
226Intercept: The Secret History of Computers and SpiesGordon CoreraIndependent
227Ipcress FileShare Ranks
228Istanbul PassageJoseph KanonElectric Lit
229It Can’t Always be CaviarJohannes Mario SimmelNPR
230Jack 1939Francine MathewsThe Big Thrill
231James BondIan FlemingBest Science Fiction Books
232John le Carré: The BiographyAdam SismanIndependent
233Jump CutLibby Fischer HellmannThe Big Thrill
234Killing Floor (Jack Reacher, #1)Lee ChildGoodreads
235Knight Without ArmourHiloBrow
236Layover in DubaiDan FespermanThe Big Thrill
237LegendsRobert LittleMedium
238Lehrter Station: A John Russell ThrillerDavid DowningBook Browse
239Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy: Four Women Undercover in the Civil WarKaren AbbottEarly Bird Books
240Lies in WaitDonna Del OroThe Big Thrill
241Los AlamosThe Telegraph
242Mary’s Mosaic: The CIA Conspiracy to Murder John F. Kennedy, Mary Pinchot Meyer, and Their Vision for World PeacePeter JanneyMal Warwick On Books
243Mask of TreacheryJohn CostelloLibrary Thing
244Mathias SandorfHiloBrow
245Memoirs of a SpymasterMarkus WolfTor
246Memorial Day (Mitch Rapp, #7)Vince FlynnGoodreads
247Miami Spy Games: Russian Zombie Gun, Part OneArmand RosamiliaGoodreads 2
248Michael StrogoffHiloBrow
249Mission to Paris: A NovelAlan FurstBook Browse
250MJ-12: InceptionMichael J. MartinezThe Big Thrill
251Moonraker (James Bond, #3)Ian FlemingGoodreads 2
252Mr Norris Changes TrainsHiloBrow
253Mr. StandfastHiloBrow
254My Five Cambridge FriendsYuri ModinThe Guardian 2
255My Silent WarKim PhilbyWHSmith
256Net ImpactDonald J. BingleThe Big Thrill
257No Way OutAlan JacobsonThe Big Thrill
258NomadJames SwallowThe Big Thrill
259Nonofficial AssetWilliam SewellGoodreads
260One Shot (Jack Reacher, #9)Lee ChildGoodreads
261Operation PaxHiloBrow
262Operation Shakespeare: The True Story of an Elite International StingJohn ShiffmanMal Warwick On Books
263Our Paths to GloryThe Telegraph
264Pandora’s TempleJon LandThe Big Thrill
265PapillonHenri CharrièreGoodreads 2
266Passenger to FrankfurtAgatha ChristieGoodreads 2
267Patriot ActJames PhelanThe Big Thrill
268Patriot Games (Jack Ryan Universe, #2)Tom ClancyGoodreads
269Patriotic Betrayal: The Inside Story of the CIA’s Secret Campaign to Enroll American Students in the Crusade Against CommunismKaren M. PagetMal Warwick On Books
270Plum Island (John Corey, #1)Nelson DeMilleGoodreads
271Polar Star (Arkady Renko, #2)Martin Cruz SmithGoodreads 2
272Portrait of a Spy (Gabriel Allon, #11)Daniel SilvaGoodreads
273Proof of LifeMisty EvansThe Big Thrill
274Readers’ Opinion:Nature: A NovelBook Browse
275Red Rabbit (Jack Ryan Universe, #3)Tom ClancyGoodreads
276Red SkyChris GoffThe Big Thrill
277Red StationAdrian MagsonThe Big Thrill
278Red Storm RisingTom ClancyGoodreads
279SabotageMatt CookThe Big Thrill
280SandstormAlan L. LeeThe Big Thrill
281Saving the QueenWilliam F. Buckley, Jr.Oregon Live
282Scorpion BetrayalAndrew KaplanThe Big Thrill
283Scorpion DeceptionAndrew KaplanThe Big Thrill
284Scorpion WinterAndrew KaplanThe Big Thrill
285SekretLindsay SmithBookbub
286Separation of Power (Mitch Rapp, #5)Vince FlynnGoodreads
287Seventeen Moments of SpringThe Telegraph
288sex, lies and videotapeFive Books
289Shadow Knight’s MateJay BrandonThe Big Thrill
290Shadows and EchoesJames CabotThe Big Thrill
291Silent AssassinLeo J. MaloneyThe Big Thrill
292SinJ.M. LeDucThe Big Thrill
293Spies of the BalkansShare Ranks
294Spy Catcher: The Candid Autobiography of a Senior Intelligence OfficerPeter WrightLibrary Thing
295Spy For HireDan MaylandThe Big Thrill
296Spycraft: The Secret History of the CIA’s Spytechs, from Communism to Al-QaedaRobert Wallace and H. Keith Melton with Henry R. SchelsingerEarly Bird Books
297Stalin’s EnglishmanAndrew LownieIndependent
298StormbreakerAnthony HorowitzCheshire Library Blog
299Strangers on a Bridge: The Case of Colonel Abel and Francis Gary PowersJames B. DonovanEarly Bird Books
300Sub Rosa: The O.S.S. and American EspionageStewart Alsop and Thomas BradenEarly Bird Books
301Sweet Tooth: A NovelIan McEwanBook Browse
302Target Tokyo: The Story of the Sorge Spy RingGordon W. Prange with Donald M. Goldstein and Katherine V. DillonEarly Bird Books
303Term LimitsVince FlynnGoodreads
304Termination OrdersLeo J. MaloneyThe Big Thrill
305Thank You, Mr. MotoHiloBrow
306The 231 Club: My Ten Year Journey From Therapist to CIA Courier and Sanctioned Kills – A True StoryJ. BartellGoodreads 2
307The AccidentChris PavoneThe Big Thrill
308The African ContractArthur KernsThe Big Thrill
309The Agency: The Rise and Decline of the CIAJohn RanelaghTor
310The Altar GirlOrest StelmachThe Big Thrill
311The Angel: The Egyptian Spy Who Saved IsraelUri Bar-JosephMal Warwick On Books
312The Art of Betrayal: The Secret History of MI6: Life and Death in the British Secret ServiceGordon CoreraEarly Bird Books
313The BaronessPaul KenyonBest Science Fiction Books
314The Bourne Legacy (Jason Bourne, #4)Eric Van LustbaderGoodreads
315The Bourne RetributionEric Van LustbaderThe Big Thrill
316The Bourne Supremacy (Jason Bourne, #2)Robert LudlumGoodreads
317The Bourne Trilogy (Jason Bourne, #1-3)Robert LudlumGoodreads
318The Boys From BrazilIra LevinGoodreads 2
319The Brotherhood of the Rose.Share Ranks
320The Brothers: John Foster Dulles, Allen Dulles, and Their Secret World WarStephen KinzerMal Warwick On Books
321The Burning GatesParker BilalIndependent
322The Calculus AffairHiloBrow
323The Camel Club (Camel Club, #1)David BaldacciGoodreads
324The Chancellor ManuscriptBantam This is one of Ludlum’s earlier worksRobert LudlumAddictive Boks
325The Climate of TreasonAndrew BoyleLibrary Thing
326The Code Book: The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum CryptographySimon SinghGoodreads 2
327The Cold War SwapShare Ranks
328The Colonel’s MistakeDan MaylandThe Big Thrill
329The Confidential AgentGraham GreeneOregon Live
330The Crook FactoryDan SimmonsMedium
331The Da Vinci Code (Robert Langdon, #2)Dan BrownGoodreads
332The Dangerous Otto Katz: The Many Lives of a Soviet SpyJonathan MilesLibrary Thing
333The Dark FrontierHiloBrow
334The Darkling SpyEdward WilsonMedium
335The Defector (Gabriel Allon, #9)Daniel SilvaGoodreads
336The Delphi Bloodline and A Bodyguard of LiesDonna Del OroThe Big Thrill
337The Devil’s Kingdom: Part 2 of the bestScott MarianiComparaboo
338The Devil’s Chessboard: Allen Dulles, the CIA, and the Rise of America’s Secret GovernmentDavid TalbotMal Warwick On Books
339The Dogs of RigaHenning MankellAddictive Boks
340The Dubai BetrayalJeremy BurnsThe Big Thrill
341The Eagle Has Landed (Liam Devlin, #1)Jack HigginsGoodreads
342The English Assassin (Gabriel Allon, #2)Daniel SilvaGoodreads
343The English Girl: A NovelDaniel SilvaAddictive Boks
344The English SpyDaniel SilvaBookbub
345The ExcomsBrett BattlesThe Big Thrill
346The Execution ChannelKen MacLeodBest Science Fiction Books
347The ExpatsChris PavoneThis Is Writing
348The Fabulous FlightHiloBrow
349The Faithful Spy (John Wells, #1)Alex BerensonGoodreads
350The Falcon and the Snowman: A True Story of Friendship and EspionageRobert LindseyEarly Bird Books
351The Fallen Angel (Gabriel Allon, #12)Daniel SilvaGoodreads
352The Fist of GodFrederick ForsythGoodreads 2
353The Flowery WarTim AndersonBest Science Fiction Books
354The Forever SpyJeffrey LaytonThe Big Thrill
355The Four Adventures of Richard Hannay: The Thirty-Nine Steps / Greenmantle / MrJohn BuchanAddictive Boks
356The GhostRobert HarrisBook Browse
357The Girl HuntersMickey SpillaneFlavorwire
358The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest (Millennium, #3)Stieg LarssonGoodreads 2
359The GodfatherMario PuzoGoodreads 2
360The Golden HourTodd MossThe Big Thrill
361The Good TraitorRyan QuinnThe Big Thrill
362The Hacker ChroniclesPatrick OsterThe Big Thrill
363The Impossible VirginPeter O’DonnellFlavorwire
364The InformerLiam O’FlahertyThe Guardian
365The InnocentIan McEwanThe Culture Trip
366The Innocent (Will Robie, #1)David BaldacciGoodreads
367The Innocent Spy: A MysteryLaura WilsonBook Browse
368The IntelligencerLeslie SilbertBookbub
369The Island of SheepHiloBrow
370The Journeying BoyHiloBrow
371The Last Man (Mitch Rapp, #13)Vince FlynnGoodreads
372The Laughing MonstersDenis JohnsonBook Browse
373The Lone Wolf AgendaJoseph BadalThe Big Thrill
374The Lost CodexAlan JacobsonThe Big Thrill
375The Main EnemyMilton Bearden and James RisenThe Guardian 2
376The Malice of FortuneMichael EnnisBook Browse
377The Man in Red SquareBill MoodyThe Big Thrill
378The Man Who Was Thursday.HiloBrow
379The Man With the Golden Gun (James Bond, #13)Ian FlemingGoodreads 2
380The Marathon ManShare Ranks
381The Mask for Dimitrios / A Coffin for DimitriosEric AmblerAddictive Boks
382The Master Spy: The Story of Kim PhilbyPhillip KnightleyLibrary Thing
383The Matarese Circle (Matarese #1)Robert LudlumGoodreads 2
384The Mystery of Dr. Fu-ManchuHiloBrow
385The Nearest Exit (The Tourist, #2)Olen SteinhauerGoodreads 2
386The New SpiesJames AdamsTor
387The Ninth Orphan (The Orphan Trilogy, #1)James MorcanGoodreads
388The Once and Future SpyRobert LittellNPR
389The Orphan Factory (The Orphan Trilogy, #2)James MorcanGoodreads
390The Orphan Uprising (The Orphan Trilogy, #3)James MorcanGoodreads
391The Other Side of SilencePhilip KerrIndependent
392The Outsider: My Life in IntrigueFrederick ForsythIndependent
393The Path of the KingHiloBrow
394The Perfect English Spy by Tom BowerFive Books
395The Polish Officer (Night Soldiers, #3)Alan FurstGoodreads 2
396The Prisoner of Cell 25Richard Paul EvansCheshire Library Blog
397The Prisoner of GuantanamoDan FespermanBook Browse
398The Quest of the Sacred SlippeHiloBrow
399The Quiller MemorandumAdam HallGoodreads 2
400The RenditionAlbert AshforthThe Big Thrill
401The Riddle of Sands: A Record of Secret Service Recently AchievedErskine ChildersThe Culture Trip
402The Riviera ContractArthur KernsThe Big Thrill
403The Rules of DeceptionChristopher ReichThis Is Writing
404The Russian BrideEd KovacsThe Big Thrill
405The Sadness of the Samurai: A NovelVictor del ArbolBook Browse
406The Scarlet PimpernelHiloBrow
407The Secret Adversary (Tommy and Tuppence #1)Agatha ChristieGoodreads 2
408The Secret AngentThe Telegraph
409The Secret VanguardHiloBrow
410The Secret War: Spies, Ciphers, and Guerrillas, 1939-1945Max HastingsMal Warwick On Books
411The Short DropMatthew FitzSimmonThe Big Thrill
412The SilencedBrett BattlesThe Big Thrill
413The Soul of Viktor TronkoDavid QuammenNPR
414The Spanish Game: A NovelCharles CummingBook Browse
415The Spies of Warsaw (Night Soldiers, #10)Alan FurstGoodreads 2
416The Spies Who Never WereHervie HauflerEarly Bird Books
417The SympathizerViet Thanh NguyenBook Browse
418The Thief TakerC.S. QuinnComparaboo
419The Third ManGraham GreeneGoodreads
420The Third Option (Mitch Rapp, #4)Vince FlynnGoodreads
421The Three HostagesHiloBrow
422The Three MusketeersHiloBrow
423The Three-Nine LineDavid FreedBook Browse
424The ToymakerChuck BarrettThe Big Thrill
425The Trinity SixCharles CummingBook Browse
426The Triple Agent: The al-Qaeda Mole Who Infiltrated the CIAJoby WarrickEarly Bird Books
427The Ultimate ThreatJames OsborneThe Big Thrill
428The UltimatumKaren RobardsThe Big Thrill
429The UnconquerableHiloBrow
430The Valley of ShadowsMark TerryThe Big Thrill
431The Venetian AffairHiloBrow
432The Walking DeadGerald SeymourBook Browse
433The WatchmanAdrian MagsonThe Big Thrill
434The Way of the Knife: The CIA, a Secret Army, and a War at the Ends of the EarthMark MazzettiMal Warwick On Books
435The Wayward SpyShare Ranks
436The Winter Fortress: The Epic Mission to Sabotage Hitler’s Atomic BombNeal BascombEarly Bird Books
437The Woman Who Knew Too MuchTom SavageThe Big Thrill
438The Yemen ContractArthur KernsThe Big Thrill
439Their Trade is TreacheryFive Books
440Then We Take BerlinJohn LawtonBook Browse
441They Came to BaghdadAgatha ChristieGoodreads 2
442They Spy Who Came in from the ColdJohn Le CarréBookbub
443Think Fast, Mr. MotoHiloBrow
444Time Of AttackMarc CameronThe Big Thrill
445Top Secret America: The Rise of the New American Security StateDana Priest and William M. ArkinMal Warwick On Books
446TracersAdrian MagsonThe Big Thrill
447Traitor’s PurseHiloBrow
448Transfer of Power (Mitch Rapp, #3)Vince FlynnGoodreads
449Trigger MortisAnthony HorowitzIndependent
450Tunnel VisionSusan AdrianBookbub
451Turing’s DeliriumEdmundo Paz SoldanBook Browse
452Twice a SpyKeith ThomsonThe Big Thrill
453Under FireGrant BlackwoodThe Big Thrill
454Up Close: Eric Van LustbaderJessica DriscollThe Big Thrill
455Up CountryNelson DeMilleGoodreads
456WandererSterling HaydenThe Guardian
457When Eight Bells TollAlistair MacLeanGoodreads 2
458Winter In MadridC.J. SansomBook Browse
459Winter KillsHiloBrow
460WinterlongMason CrossThe Big Thrill
461Without Remorse (Jack Ryan Universe, #1)Tom ClancyGoodreads
462Woke Up LonelyFiona MaazelBook Browse
463Written in FireMarcus SakeyThe Big Thrill
464Yesterday’s SpyHiloBrow
465Zero WorldJason M. HoughThe Big Thrill


34 Best Espionage & Spy Book Sources/Lists



SourceArticle
Addictive Boks Spy & Intelligence Thrillers
Best Science Fiction Books Popular Spyfi Science Fiction
Book Browse Spy, Military, Govt & High Tech Thrillers
Book Content Ratings 3 Best espionage Books For Teens
Bookbub 14 Thrillers with Spies, Lies, & Alibis
Cheshire Library Blog Young Adult Spy Novels That Adults Can Enjoy Too
Comparaboo The 4 Best Espionage Books
Cool Material 5 Spy Novels Written By Actual Spies
Crime Fiction Blog TOP 15 SPY NOVELS
Early Bird Books 15 Nonfiction Spy Books More Thrilling Than John le Carré
Electric Lit The Literary Spy Novel: Five Recommendations
Five Books Charles Cumming recommends the best books on Espionage
Flavorwire 10 of the Greatest Cold War Spy Novels
Goodreads Best Spy Novels
Goodreads 2 Espionage
HiloBrow 61 Espionage Adventures
Independent 10 best spy novels
Independent 2 10 best spy books
Library Thing Best Espionage (Non-Fiction)
Mal Warwick On Books 17 good nonfiction books about espionage
Medium The Ten Best Spy Novels you never heard of
NPR Librarian’s Picks: The Best in Spy Fiction
Oregon Live 16 best spy novels by real-life spies, from Graham Greene to John le Carre
Share Ranks Best Spy Novels Ever
The Big Thrill Espionage Thrillers
The Culture Trip 13 Great Spy Novels That Aren’t James Bond
The Guardian The top 10 classic spy novels
The Guardian 2 Top 10 books about spies
The Strand Magazine TOP TEN SPY NOVELS OF ALL TIME
The Telegraph The 20 best spy novels of all time
The Week Jeffery Deaver’s 6 favorite espionage books
This Is Writing Best Espionage Book Recommendations
Tor Five Books About Espionage
WHSmith Joseph Kanon: Top 10 Spy Novels