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This is going to shock you all, but I am just a Book Spy. I am not a real spy.
I know, you never saw that twist coming.
All joking aside, I’ve always wondered which espionage thrillers are considered to be the most authentic among people who’ve actually lived that life. Sort of like watching House or Grey’s Anatomy with a nurse or doctor, you know? They can point out all the details that are incorrect while explaining what it’s really like or how things really work inside a hospital.
I wanted that—but with spy thrillers.
So, I turned to my good friend and fellow author, Joe Goldberg, for some help. Long before he was writing books, Joe was a CIA covert action officer. His work at the CIA earned him three Exceptional Performance Awards before he eventually transitioned to a career in the private sector, where he served as the leader of Corporate Intelligence at Motorola, receiving the Meritorious Award, which recognizes an individual who has made significant contributions to the intelligence profession. (for more on Joe, read his full bio at the bottom of the page.)
Joe knows the spy game and books, making him the perfect person to weigh in and help me with this list. So, without further ado, here are his top-ranked spy thrillers, followed by a few of my favorite titles, each accompanied by a brand-new review that breaks down why I think you should give them a read if you love twisting tales of espionage.
The Best Spy Thrillers
Written by Joe Goldberg
Sometimes, people think I know more than I really do. They ask for my fiction espionage book recommendations. Rather than telling them I am as dumb as half a pack of Juicy Fruit gum, I offer up my uninformed opinion.
It is a tricky question. Espionage fiction is a massively broad category that probably dates back two hundred years to The Spy by James Fenimore Cooper. Kipling, Conrad, and Buchan are all renowned authors of classic books. I place thriller books in a spectrum that ranges from espionage on one end to military/action-adventure on the other. My “John Le Carre’ line.”
At the risk of being yelled at, many books are in espionage categories but are not really espionage or even about the CIA.
The CIA is just a means to get to the real story. So, to make my choices “easier,” I narrowly focused on Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) books—those where the CIA as an institution is essentially a character.
Not tangentially.
A lot.
Books that combine the internal personal struggles with the culture and bureaucracy of the Agency, along with the pressure of the specific mission and the overall geopolitical times.
Below is a mix of old and new, unique, genre-bending, well-crafted CIA novels. A few well-known and/or bestsellers, while others are not.
Popularity is irrelevant to my selections.
DISCLAIMERS:
First, I struggled to choose some books over others as I HAVE NOT READ EVERY FICTION BOOK ON CIA! There are great books I still need to get to.
Next, since this is CIA-centric, it excludes anything prior to its founding (1947). It eliminates the great British authors, old (Le Carre, Deighton, Fleming, Forsyth) and contemporary (Herron), unless the book was, again, mainly about the CIA directly. No Silva (that hurts).
Fourth, and at risk of taking two to the body and one to the head, no Mitch Rapp. No Gray Man.
Lastly, I am not a professional book reviewer—like Ryan (also known as The Real Book Spy). I have searched and compiled many reviews to form a summary and make my point. I have included the Goodreads summaries of each for your convenience.
The Tears of Autumn by Charles McCarry
Original release: 1974
“Idealists make brave agents, but they are bad intelligence officers. They cannot exist for long without the company of like minds; they have a need to speak their beliefs and to hear their beliefs spoken.”
Paul Christopher, at the height of his powers as a secret agent, believes he knows who arranged the assassination and why. His theory is so destructive of the legend of the dead president, though, and so dangerous to the survival of foreign policy that he is ordered to desist from investigating. But Christopher is a man who lives by and for the truth, and his internal compunctions force him to the heart of the matter. He resigns from the Agency and embarks on a tour of investigation that takes him from Paris to Rome, Zurich, the Congo, and Saigon. Threatened by Kennedy’s assassins and by his own government, Christopher follows the scent of his suspicion – one breath behind the truth, one step ahead of discovery and death. (Goodreads)
When I started writing, I consumed mountains of books on espionage. I searched “Best espionage books.” Tears of Autumn appeared too many times to ignore. Once I read it, I knew why.
The Tears of Autumn is an international thriller, based on political intrigue surrounding the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963. We follow Paul Christopher, a nearly flawless spy and former Marine who exists in a less-than-perfect world. Christopher believes he knows who and why President Kennedy was killed. This isn’t good for his career or for those who don’t want the information known.
Checking in at a swift and readable 276 pages, McCarry’s book is smart, humorous (an often overlooked feature of the Agency), true to the genre , detailed, and brilliantly geographically and historically accurate. This book flows with skillful writing, examining concepts such as trust, relationships, power, and reality versus illusion in state affairs. It dives into the overwhelming pressure of family and friends, and plausible reactions to real events.
In my view and the view of others, McCarry is an underappreciated author. A former reporter and speechwriter, McCarry worked for the CIA From 1958 to 1967, under deep cover in Europe, Asia, and Africa. His depictions of tradecraft are carefully crafted, and the realistic characters he builds struggle with feelings, fears, relationships, and families—like we all do.
His book leans much closer to the Le Carre end of the thriller spectrum rather than the action thriller. I wonder if a book like Tears could be as successful today as it was then. The foundational theme of the book—trust in people we rely upon, those in power—is as relevant today as ever.
If you like spy fiction based on intrigue, emotion, and nuance, then you should read Charles McCarry’s books.
Six Days of the Condor by James Grady
Original release: 1974
It’s a nasty game, this political espionage. The people who play it are usually told where to go, what to do, and how to do it – but they’re seldom told why.”
CIA operative Malcolm, code-named Condor, discovers his colleagues butchered in a blood-spattered office, he realizes that only an oversight by the assassins has saved his life. He contacts CIA headquarters for help but when an attempted rendezvous goes wrong, it quickly becomes clear that no one can be trusted. Malcolm disappears into the streets of Washington, hoping to evade the killers long enough to unravel the conspiracy—but will that be enough to save his life? (Goodreads)
James Grady, a former congressional staffer and investigative journalist, was 23 years old when he wrote his Condor in his apartment in Helena, Montana.
The book has a strong concept (you come back from lunch, and everyone is dead) that overcomes a mundane, straightforward, detached, nonfiction-ish writing style. The first six pages have an “insider” feel as he describes the position of Department Seventeen in the CIA hierarchy.
Note to self: Concept is really (really) important. It moves quickly and is easy to read.
The CIA is an untrustworthy, manipulative organization that uses Malcolm (Turner in the movie) for its own ends. The Cold War paranoia and conspiracy themes permeate the story. It becomes the story of a nerd who must adapt, learn on the job, and who or what is good or bad. When I arrived at the Agency, I was at some point sooner rather than later, I would be given tasks that I had no idea how to accomplish, but had to. Adapt. Learn.
Malcolm is a bookworm. He reads and analyzes. He knows stuff. I remember a time in the CIA when I needed some minutia on the Soviet Union’s use of front groups in Greece. Everyone said, “Go ask Marty” (not his real name). So, I traipsed to some far corner of Headquarters and found Marty, a skinny old guy surrounded by floor-to-ceiling stacks of papers and magazines in a vaulted room. I told him what I needed. Without hesitation, he turned and reached into a stack, pulled out some papers, and handed them to me. It was perfect.
Condor pays homage to the CIA’s Marty’s, who are the needed drone bee experts of the intel community, and most never even know they exist.
The book is not complex and has its limitations, but it has some exceptionally realistic scenes—so realistic, in fact, that a Soviet defector’s memoir claimed that the KGB, assuming the CIA division existed, created one of its own. Also, in 1980, the Iranians copied (successfully) the mailman assassination idea in Bethesda, Maryland.
Okay, let’s address the 1976 film adaptation (renamed Three Days of the Condor), starring Robert Redford and Faye Dunaway. The movie is layered with more cynicism and manipulation than the book. Besides the concept, some conspiracy, and action scenes, the movie and book have little in common, which is good.
The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy
Original release: 1984
“It was one thing to use computers as a tool, quite another to let them do your thinking for you.”
This book doesn’t require many comments from me, but I must include Clancy’s first book, a runaway bestseller and the US Naval Institute Press’ first fictional work. It changed the genre forever. It is the must-read “big bang” of the techno-thriller.
For those who might have been in a coma since 1984:
A military thriller so gripping in its action and so convincing in its accuracy that the author was rumored to have been debriefed by the White House. Its theme: the greatest espionage coup in history. Its story: the chase for a top-secret Russian missile sub. Lauded by the Washington Post as “breathlessly exciting.” The Hunt for Red October remains a masterpiece of military fiction by one of the world’s most popular authors, a man whose shockingly realistic scenarios continue to hold us in thrall. Somewhere under the Atlantic, a Soviet sub commander has just made a fateful decision. The Red October is heading west. The Americans want her. The Russians want her back. And the most incredible chase in history is on. (Goodreads)
It isn’t the dominant techno-thriller element that puts it on the list. It is the role and importance of Jack Ryan as a CIA analyst. The Agency collects and analyzes, and Clancy made sure that it had a key role in this book, just not as key as the propulsion system of submarines.
I have previously written articles about the time Tom Clancy spoke at the Agency. He was a new author, fresh off being an insurance salesman. As he modestly stood on the auditorium stage inside “The Bubble,” he said the CIA would always be the heroes in his books. That was refreshing.
Let’s address the 1990 movie starring Alec Baldwin (Ryan) and Sean Connery (Ramius). The book is better (overall). There. I said it…however…there is a GREAT scene in the movie that nails the role of analysts in the CIA.
General: Oh, come on. You’re just an analyst. What can you possibly know about what goes on in his mind?
Jack Ryan: I know Ramius, General. He’s nearly a legend in the submarine community. He’s been a maverick his entire career. I actually met him once at an embassy dinner. Have you ever met Captain Ramius, General?
I’ve been in THAT room inside the CIA. The analyst (specialist in my case) is sitting around the table with a bunch of scowling old-timers glaring at you. The intimidation factor is high. It is that moment, captured in Red October, which epitomizes Agency culture. Step up and speak up. If you ruffle some feathers, in the end, you gain confidence and respect.
Agents of Innocence by David Ignatius
Original release: 1987
“Saving the world isn’t our job. We aren’t priests and we aren’t assassins.”
Agents of Innocence revolves around Tom Rogers, who has recently arrived in Beirut and is working hard to cultivate connections within the Lebanese intelligence community. Beirut CIA station in the Cold War. It is a fictional account of the CIA’s recruitment of Jamal Ramlawi, a high-ranking official of Al Fatah. It is also an analysis of Middle Eastern politics by Ignatius, a Washington Post journalist. The novel explores Lebanon’s Palestinian, Christian, and Shiite quarters, and Israel’s Mossad, through the lens of fiction. (Goodreads)
This is one of my favorite Agency books—ever. I can’t even count the number of times I have recommended this book since I first read it soon after it was published. It was on the recommended reading list of one of my first training classes when I entered the Agency. It is outstanding. I could not believe how detailed Ignatius was regarding the internal workings and politics of the organization.
David Ignatius is a foreign affairs columnist for The Washington Post. He has written eleven spy books. They have won awards, and his book Body of Lies was made into a movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe. He is well-connected in the intel community. I know. He was a friend of one of my CIA mentors who gave me his contact info many years ago.
As fate would have it, I knew a few of the key people Agents of Innocence was based upon! I talked to them about it after publication. It’s quite a story.
This was a template book for me when I started to write espionage. It is not action-packed. It is the slow and steady burn that builds the story of asset recruitment in extremely tough situations and the toll it takes on the CIA case officers. The plot is intricate. The details are precise and historically accurate. The case officers and their issues are honest.
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Joe Goldberg has been a CIA covert action officer, corporate intelligence director, international political consultant, and is currently a college instructor and writer. His work at the CIA garnered three Exceptional Performance Awards. In the private sector, as the leader of Corporate Intelligence at Motorola, Joe received the Meritorious Award, recognizing an individual who has made significant contributions to the intelligence profession. He holds degrees in Political Science and Communications from the University of Iowa. For more on Joe and his books, scroll to the bottom of the page!
During 2014, Joe self-published the novel Secret Wars: An Espionage Story. It was a finalist in both the fiction and historical fiction categories of the Independent Author Network awards. He has a passion for writing, US history, Jimmy Buffett, the Iowa Hawkeyes, and his family. He is a member of the International Thriller Writers and the Alliance of Independent Authors. Most recently, he released the third book in his Spy Devils series, Devil’s Own Day, in 2023. Joe can be found on the internet and social media at: Joegoldbergbooks.com as well as on Facebook, X, and Instagram.