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The greatest spy thrillers in literature

The greatest spy thrillers in literature

by Matt Blake and Penguin editors

23 September 2026

min read

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We can’t resist the mysterious world of the spy action thriller. These novels, which feature high-stakes espionage against a backdrop of national or international conflict, are always such page-turners because they’re brimming with conspiracies, secrets and undercover plots.

So, whether you’re looking for your next read after James Bond, or you’re new to the genre and looking for a spy thriller that’s similar to The Bourne Identity or Mission Impossible films, you’re in the right place. The following is our comprehensive guide to the best spy novels, from classic titles to modern espionage thrillers.

The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad

Set in an Edwardian London underworld of terrorist bombers, spies, grotesques and fanatics, Conrad’s dark, unsettling masterpiece asks if we ever really know others, or ourselves.

The classic story is woven around an attack on the Greenwich Observatory in 1894 masterminded by Verloc, a Russian spy working for the police, and ostensibly a member of an anarchist group in Soho. What Conrad does best is delve into the heart of human character – what motivates us, makes us love, hate and take action, and how society shapes us.

The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy

The Scarlet Pimpernel is less spy than leader of a secret society of English aristocrats, dedicated to rescuing French nobility from the guillotine of revolutionary France. So a bit like if Bond mixed with Batman and swapped his fast car for a horse.

But the story was a precursor to the spy fiction genre that was soon to explode, as espionage awareness grew in the build-up to the Great War. It's an edge-of-the-seat rollercoaster of secret identities, shadowy plots, covert messages and derring-do, with one of the most dashing heroes in fiction.

The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan

Just as the pin is being pulled on World War One, a stiff-upper-lipped Londoner meets an American spy with a secret too many. He invites the spy to use his flat to hide from the shadowy German spy ring that's after him. But when he returns home one night to find the spy dead, he realises he must run not only for his life, but also for the sake of British national security. What follows is an adventure story for the ages – one that set the standard for the man-on-the-run thriller that we all know so well today.

The Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers

When Charles Carruthers accepts an invitation from a German pal to go on a yachting and duck-hunting jolly in the Frisian Islands, little does he know he's about to tumble into a daredevil investigation into a German plot for world domination. If that sounds familiar, consider when it was written.

Not only did Erskine Childers effectively predict the threat of war with Germany, he wrote what could be considered the first proper spy novel ever penned. And it's gripping to boot, a thriller of derring-do and darstardly villains that influenced many masters of the genre, from John Buchan to John le Carré.

The Mask of Dimitrios by Eric Ambler

Crime novelist Charles Latimer is travelling in Istanbul when he first hears of the mysterious Dimitrios – a master criminal, long wanted by the law, whose body has just been fished out of the Bosphorus. Fascinated by the story, Latimer decides to retrace Dimitrios’ steps across Europe to gather material for a new book. But as he discovers more about his subject’s shadowy history, fascination tips over into obsession – and soon, his own life is on the line.

Clever, authentic and packed with intrigue, this is a first-class classic that paved the way for modern espionage thrillers.

Casino Royale by Ian Fleming

You can't do a spy list without a nod to everyone's favourite gentleman spy – the “double-O” agent who drinks hard and loves harder. There is no spy more iconic than "Bond, James Bond". We could have picked any of Ian Fleming's novels but this is the first, and certainly one of the best. If you're going to get into Fleming, a life-and-death game of baccarat with an international master criminal on the payroll of Soviet Russia is a good place to start.

The Quiet American by Graham Greene

Here is a love story and a spy story set in the chaos of 1950s Vietnam, just before the US military complex trundled in. It follows Alden Pyle, a young, wide-eyed CIA agent slung in to make sense of the war-torn country, and Thomas Fowler, a jaded and cynical British foreign correspondent who's had enough of it all. Trouble is, they've both fallen in love with the same woman. It caused a political storm in America, where many slammed Graham Greene for his portrait of “obtuse and destructive American innocence and idealism” which, as Greene saw it, was a recipe for mass murder.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carré

This is the leading voice of the genre and probably the most famous spy novel of them all. It's the first in John le Carré's acclaimed Karla Trilogy and did for espionage fiction what Lord of the Rings did for fantasy. Meet George Smiley, former spymaster brought back into the fray for One Last Job: to outfox a Soviet mole who's infiltrated the highest echelons of the British Secret Intelligence Service. It's a gripping deep dive into the human psyche and the original cat-and-mouse thriller.

The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth

This book by former RAF pilot and investigative journalist Frederick Forsyth is one of the most celebrated thrillers ever written. It’s intelligent, chilling and 100% unputdownable.

It is 1963 and an anonymous Englishman has been hired by the O.A.S. to murder General de Galle. A failed attempt means the target will be nearly impossible to get to. But this latest plot involves a lethal weapon: an assassin of legendary talent. Known only as The Jackal, this remorseless and deadly killer must be stopped – but how do you track a man who exists in name alone? If you enjoy, The Day of the Jackal, we also recommend Forsyth’s book Revenge of Odessa, a timely and terrifying tale that sees an extremist political group threaten the modern world order.

SS-GB by Len Deighton

Adapted by the BBC, this is a spy story quite different from any other, imagining Britain under German rule following World War Two.

In February 1941, British Command surrendered to the Nazis. Churchill has been executed, the King is in the Tower and the SS are in Whitehall. However, it’s ‘business as usual’ at Scotland Yard (now run by the SS) when Detective Inspector Archer is assigned to a routine murder case. But when SS Standartenfuhrer Huth arrives from Berlin with orders from the great Himmler himself to supervise the investigation, the resourceful Archer finds himself caught up in a high-level, all action, espionage battle.

At Risk by Stella Rimmington

For MI5 officer Liz Carlyle, the nagging complications of her private life are quickly forgotten at Monday’s counter-terrorism meeting. A terrorist may have entered mainland Britain and with each passing hour, the danger increases. But as Liz desperately sifts through the incoming intelligence, she finally realises a truth that could prove deadly: her ability to get inside her enemy’s head is the only hope of averting disaster…

As former Director General of MI5, Stella Rimington’s books are packed full of authentic detail. A must-read for spy thriller fans.

An Officer and a Spy by Robert Harris

Paris, 1895: army officer Georges Picquart watches a convicted spy, Alfred Dreyfus, being publicly humiliated in front of a baying crowd. Dreyfus is exiled for life while Picquart is promoted to run the intelligence unit that tracked him down. But when Picquart discovers that secrets are still being handed over to the Germans, he’s drawn into a dangerous labyrinth of deceit and corruption that threatens not just his honour but his life…

This is a gripping, unmissable thriller. Robert Harris manages to turn fact into fiction with extensive research and quality writing, producing an engaging, compelling, believable story.

I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes

Pilgrim is the former head of a secret espionage unit for US intelligence. Before he disappeared into anonymous retirement, he wrote the definitive book on forensic criminal investigation – a book that will come back to haunt him. It will help NYPD detective Ben Bradley track him down. It will take him to a rundown New York hotel room and the body of a woman. It is a textbook murder – and Pilgrim wrote the book.

What begins as an unusual and challenging case will become a terrifying race-against-time across the world to save America from oblivion.

Crisis by Frank Gardner

Introducing Luke Carlton: ex-Special Boat Service commando, now under contract to MI6 for some of its most dangerous missions. Sent into the Colombian jungle to investigate the murder of a British intelligence officer, hunted down, captured, tortured and on the run from one of South America’s most powerful drugs cartels, Luke is in a life-or-death race to prevent a disaster on a truly terrifying scale.

Fly-on-the-wall insights, a fast pace and electric tension guarantee Frank Gardner’s debut a place on our list.

The Secrets We Kept by Lara Prescott

For my money, there's a chance this tantalising thriller could easily work its way to “iconic” status. It novelises the true story of how a pair of female CIA typists helped Russian author Boris Pasternak and his lover smuggle Doctor Zhivago back into Russia to spread anti-Soviet propaganda (the Soviets had originally banned it for being “artistically squalid, malicious work replete with hatred of Socialism”).

The book, lauded not only for its forensic historical accuracy but for its breakneck storytelling, became a publishing phenomenon. Plus, it stars women – a grossly overlooked demographic in spy fiction.

Agent Running in the Field by John le Carré

Nat, a 47 year-old veteran of Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service, believes his years as an agent runner are over. But with the growing threat from Moscow Centre, the office has one more job for him – one that will take him down a path of political anger that will ensnare those closest to him.

Agent Running in the Field is a chilling portrait of our time – in part heartbreaking, in part darkly humorous – told with unflagging tension by one of the greatest storytellers of our age.

The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen

It's rare for a spy novel win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, but that's just what Viet Thanh Nguyen did with this exploration of the Vietnam War and its legacy through the eyes of a Viet Cong spy. The spy in question is a double agent, a captain in the South Vietnamese army who moves with his general to Los Angeles to start new lives.

But what the general (a CIA stooge) doesn't know is that our hero is secretly feeding information to his spymasters in the Viet Cong back home. It's an espionage thriller, a political novel, a campus novel and a story of forbidden love rolled into one. One of the best spy novels of the century so far.

American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson

American Spy is extraordinary in many ways, not least because it makes the rare move (in spy fiction, that is) of placing a female African American intelligence agent at the heart of the action. But this Cold War espionage thriller, set between New York and West Africa, is also a terrific read – pacy, punchy and packed with social and political insight, tacking issues of race and gender in a way that few, if any, spy novels have done before.

Barack Obama was so struck by the story that he included it on his 2019 summer reading list, calling the novel “a whole lot more than just a spy thriller, wrapping together the ties of family, of love, and of country.”

Killing Eve: Codename Villanelle by Luke Jennings

BBC One’s Killing Eve captivated us all when it landed on our small screens back in 2018 – but have you picked up the pacy, addictive books behind the series yet?

Following Villanelle, a ruthlessly trained Russian assassin, and Eve Polastri, the MI5 agent who hunts her, in an entertaining, witty and often bloody cat-and-mouse game, the books are a refreshing addition to the spy thriller genre, mixing the personal and political to great effect.

The Spy Coast by Tess Gerritsen

Maggie Bird lives a quiet life as a retiree in a seaside town. She never talks about her past life as a former spy. But when an unidentified body is left on Maggie’s doorway, she knows it’s a calling card from old times. Enter the ‘Martini Club’ – Maggie’s group of former spy friends. Together, they must solve the mystery and stay one step ahead of law enforcement.

This is the first instalment in the espionage series The Martini Club from Tess Gerritsen, author of the beloved Rizzoli and Isles detective series. The story continues with the 2025 spy novel, The Summer Guests.

The Predicament by William Boyd

Travel writer and accidental spy Gabriel Dax returns in this masterful sequel to Gabriel’s Moon. While on a mission in Guatemala, Dax becomes reluctantly involved when a presidential election sparks street warfare. He escapes to West Berlin, where he learns of a plot to assassinate the young and charismatic President John F. Kennedy.

This is an immersive, suspenseful spy novel from an author at the top of his game.

Frequently asked questions

Who writes the best spy novels?

There are several contenders for the best espionage authors, but many would agree the John le Carré is the master of the spy genre. His most famous novel, The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, exposes the morally grey nature of espionage and its human cost. Its gritty realism is perhaps unsurprising, as many believe le Carré drew on his personal experience of working in MI6.

Similarly, Frederick Forsyth is a big name in spy fiction. His action-packed plots are meticulously researched and pacy and show lone agents trying to make a difference within large (often corrupt) government regimes.

Meanwhile, Ian Fleming introduced the world to everyone’s favourite spy: James Bond. Fleming’s espionage novels might be set in the same Cold War world as le Carré’s, but they are full of more glamour and escapist fantasy.

Who is the best fictional spy of all time?

Many would agree that James Bond is the most famous spy of all time, not just because of Ian Fleming’s bestselling series of novels, but also for the 25 star-studded movie adaptations which launched the careers of actors from Pierce Brosnan to Daniel Craig.

However, other popular spies who deserve an honourable mention include: George Smiley from John le Carré’s novels; Jason Bourne from Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Identity series; Jackson Lamb from Mick Herron’s Slow Horses series; and Eve Polastri from the Codename Villanelle series (better known as the inspiration for Killing Eve).

The greatest spy thrillers in literature

Casino Royale by Ian Fleming

From Bond to Argylle: how spy fiction has evolved

The best legal thrillers and courtroom dramas to read now

100 best crime books of all time, as chosen by our readers

The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen

American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson

Killing Eve: Codename Villanelle by Luke Jennings

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