Recommend a Good Contemporary Spy Novel

[Anonymous]

Red Widow by Alma Katsu An exhilarating spy thriller written by an intelligence veteran about two women CIA agents whose paths become intertwined around a threat to the Russia Division--one that's coming from inside the agency.

[Anonymous]

For China: Adam Brookes is excellent. Night Heron, Spy Games, and the Spy’s Daughter. Plus, the author is a Brit, but lives in Takoma Park, so lots of DC references.

Oliver Harris, A Shadow Intellligence has great cyber tradecraft.

Chris Pavone, for a more pop-spy thriller with female middle aged moms juggling family and work ambition.

I would love to find more female writers in this genre!

[Anonymous]

Also, Kathy Wang, Imposter - this is more of a Silicon Valley feminist novel (think Sheryl Sandburg as Russian spy). I also like Kathy Wang’s fashion blog and Hermes bag collection, lol.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also, Kathy Wang, Imposter - this is more of a Silicon Valley feminist novel (think Sheryl Sandburg as Russian spy). I also like Kathy Wang’s fashion blog and Hermes bag collection, lol.

The title is Imposter Syndrome, by Kathy Wang

[Anonymous]

Love this thread and can’t stop updating.

David Ignatius, Quantum Spy and The Director were quite good - he’s a WashPost journalist and I get the sense he includes gossip that he can’t properly source. Couldn’t get into Palladin.

Nonfiction but reads like a spy novel - The Lazarus Heist, by Jean Lee and Geoff White. It is about the North Korean bitcoin hacks. Also a great BBC podcast

[Anonymous]

For slapstick, comedic thrillers, Lee Goldberg’s Ian Ludlow thrillers. Killer Thriller (Chinese spying) and Fake Truth (Russian misinformation)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Red Widow by Alma Katsu An exhilarating spy thriller written by an intelligence veteran about two women CIA agents whose paths become intertwined around a threat to the Russia Division--one that's coming from inside the agency.

OP here. YES! I really liked Red Widow, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone recommend a good contemporary spy novel? Nothing set during the Cold War or WWII. I'm more interested in novels involving contemporary Russia, China, or the Middle East.

I've recently liked Damascus Station, by David McClosky, and Red Cell, by Mark Henshaw. Also loved the Red Sparrow trilogy awhile back. (Haven't seen the movie but heard it wasn't nearly as good as the book.)

Any other ideas? Thanks!

Philip Kerr and the Bernie Gunthe series. Sadly Kerr passed away a few years ago.

Trilogy "March Violets" set in 1936.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone recommend a good contemporary spy novel? Nothing set during the Cold War or WWII. I'm more interested in novels involving contemporary Russia, China, or the Middle East.

I've recently liked Damascus Station, by David McClosky, and Red Cell, by Mark Henshaw. Also loved the Red Sparrow trilogy awhile back. (Haven't seen the movie but heard it wasn't nearly as good as the book.)

Any other ideas? Thanks!

Philip Kerr and the Bernie Gunthe series. Sadly Kerr passed away a few years ago.

Trilogy "March Violets" set in 1936.

While the Bernie Gunther series is really, really good, it's not contemporary - it takes place before, during and after WWII.
For that era, I love the Allen Furst books, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone recommend a good contemporary spy novel? Nothing set during the Cold War or WWII. I'm more interested in novels involving contemporary Russia, China, or the Middle East.

I've recently liked Damascus Station, by David McClosky, and Red Cell, by Mark Henshaw. Also loved the Red Sparrow trilogy awhile back. (Haven't seen the movie but heard it wasn't nearly as good as the book.)

Any other ideas? Thanks!

The first 2 Red Sparrow books were great - the last, not so much. And the movie was absolutely horrible if you read the book first.

[Anonymous]

State of Terror, by Louise Penny and Hillary Clinton. It’s a geopolitical thriller, with a modern Middle East plot. But unlike the James Patterson/Bill Clinton books that have big explosions and fight scenes, this one is more character driven and has these wonderful scenes describing being the only woman in the room in geopolitical diplomatic situations and managing male egos.

[Anonymous]

+1 Mick Herron series

[Anonymous]

Alias Emma by Ava Glass

Female spy in London and Russian threat

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Alias Emma by Ava Glass

Female spy in London and Russian threat

I thought I would love this book, but for me it felt like non-stop logistics (the details of getting from Point A to Point B) rather than character development or even much of a mystery about why things were happening.

Did I miss something? (I ended up quitting about halfway through.)

[Anonymous]

Olen Steinhauer is coming up on my reading lists. Haven’t tried him yet but curious if anyone has thoughts.

Also, I enjoyed the Power Couple by Alex Berenson, which has an interesting look at a DC couple spy marriage. But I can’t recommend the author anymore, as he is a Covid vaccine denier. Please do not give him a platform for misinformation