Our Book of the Week this week is Call for the Dead by John le Carré, a spy novel introducing the now-infamous George Smiley. We have put together a list of similar spy thrillers and non-fiction exposés for you to enjoy today.
A Spy Among Friends, by Ben MacIntyre
With access to previously unseen documentation, Ben MacIntyre draws light on five of the most notorious figures of the Cold War. The Cambridge Five was a ring of spies in the United Kingdom who passed confidential information to the Soviet Union. This intimate biography is a must-read for any fans of wartime history.
The Missing American, by Kwei Quartey
When Emma Djan loses her job with the Ghanaian police force, she is unsure about what will become of her career. Her only hope lies with a private detective agency who take on missing persons cases. Her first case concerns an American man who has vanished whilst visiting an internet girlfriend in Ghana. Fearing for his father’s life, the man’s son travels around the world to meet Emma. Together, they will discover an underground web of crime as they fight to uncover the truth of what really happened to The Missing American.
Red Gold, by Alan Furst
Jean Casson is a wanted man. Forced to return to Paris under the regime of the Gestapo, Casson must assume a new identity away from his former circles as a film producer. Learning to survive in the seedy world of Pigalle brings new challenges, challenges made even more difficult by Casson’s continuing affinity with the resistance movement.
The Quiet American, by Graham Greene
Thomas Fowler is a British journalist covering the French War in Vietnam. He has lived in the country for over two years, and has spent this time with his live-in lover, Phuong. However, when young American idealist Alden Pyle arrives with his theoretical knowledge and lack of experience, Fowler’s life will change forever. A murder mystery within a love triangle, Greene’s novel blends crime, romance, and war to make for an exhilarating read.
Some of these books are available to download from our cloudLibrary here. All you need is an RBKC library card and if you are not a member, don’t worry, just click here – it’s completely free to join and use our resources.
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