10 Thrilling Novels About Espionage

Spy Novels: Our 10 Picks

Secret Agent Gear You Can Actually Buy

• Spy glasses
• Camera pen
• Walkie talkies
• Smart watch
• Pirate scope
• Wearable camera

8 Great Spy Movies

1. Goldfinger (1964)
2. The Bourne Identity (2002)
3. Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014)
4. Skyfall (2012)
5. North by Northwest (1959)
6. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)
7. Argo (2012)
8. The 39 Steps (1935)

Spy Gadgets Used in the Cold War

In Depth

For readers who love epic stories about deception, danger, and conspiratorial plots, there can never be enough intrigue. If you're in the mood for a tale about daring spies, here, in no particular order, are some of the best novels featuring crime-fighters, code breakers, and undercover agents.

In the #1 slot is "The Watchman of Ephraim" by Gerard de Marigny. After losing his wife in a terrorist attack, Cris De Niro 's been laying low at a ranch in Vegas, reading the Bible, and trying to make sense of it all. When De Niro launches his own anti-terrorist agency, he knows he's found his calling. Now, with an attack on the horizon and his attraction to the cunning Dr. Moriah Stevens growing, he'll have to find a way to be true to his country, his wife's memory, and himself.

At #2 is Valerie Plame and Sarah Lovett's "Blowback." CIA operative Vanessa has been waiting her whole career for this. She's about to catch the dangerous arms dealer known as "The Ghost" in the act, when everything goes terribly wrong. Now it's up to Vanessa to launch a major offensive against The Ghost before he goes back underground. But with a clandestine romance complicating things and the hunted party outfoxing her at every turn, Vanessa's mission is looking like a dead end. Will she finally apprehend the criminal mastermind, or go down trying?

Will she finally apprehend the criminal mastermind, or go down trying?

For #3, we get "In Pursuit of Platinum" by Vic Robbie. During the Second World War, France needs a way to smuggle a fortune out of the country before the German invasion. Hiring the famous "Bullion" Bentley to transport the valuables, they're able to outsmart Hitler's minions. But the Germans are also after Alena, a Frenchwoman in possession of a damning secret that could bring the Third Reich to its knees. With the help of a young American, Alena will have to make it across the border before Hitler's army catches up with her.

At #4 is Rodd Clark's "Tigers on the Sudan." A criminal like Alastair Amann can't be apprehended by just anyone. That's what makes this a job for bounty hunter extraordinaire Grip Donovan. Tasked by a mysterious agency with catching the deadly arms dealer, Donovan is ready to complete the mission no matter what it takes. There's just one problem: Alastair is always one step ahead of him. If Grip is going to expose this criminal's dealings, he's going to have to stop playing nice, and start getting his hands dirty.

Coming in at #5 is "Misdirection" by Martin Link. Lucas Norton works as an agent for the British Government Communication Headquarters. He's a normal guy with a struggling marriage, tasked with taking down a few thieves online. But Lucas's first mission for MI5 isn't your average cyber crime. While digging deeper, he discovers that the seemingly simple scheme is linked to plans for a huge, highly-organized heist with $48 million up for grabs. It's up to Lucas to track them down, whether he's ready for it or not.

While digging deeper, he discovers that the seemingly simple scheme is linked to plans for a huge, highly-organized heist with $48 million up for grabs.

For #6 we have Howard Kaplan's "The Spy's Gamble." When a submarine bearing the Israeli Prime Minister goes missing somewhere off the coast of Virginia, only intelligence officer Shai Shaham has an inkling about what might have gone wrong. Unfortunately, if he wants to keep the peace in his homeland and save the Prime Minister, he'll have to join forces with the person he trusts the least, writer and former PLO officer Ramzy Awwad. Despite their complicated past, the two are determined to neutralize the situation before it becomes an international incident.

At #7 is "To Die in Vienna" by Kevin Wignall. Freelance spy Freddie doesn't question his assignments. When he's asked to track a quiet, unassuming academic named Jiang Cheng, he thinks nothing of it... until someone shows up trying to kill him. As Freddie figures out who among his friends and enemies might want him dead, he struggles to see what Cheng has to do with all of it. Has Freddie's new mission made him dangerous enemies he doesn't know about yet? Or does this new threat have something to do with his own past, and secrets he thought he had kept private?

At #8 is Mark E. Henshaw's "Red Cell." Kyra Stryker and Jonathan Burke are part of the Red Cell, a top-secret CIA think tank used to predict and address foreign threats. The two have a knack for being three steps ahead of the action, a skill that could mean the difference between life and death on their latest mission. China is in possession of a deadly nuclear weapon, and Kyra and Jonathan have to find a way to track and secure it before it's too late.

The two have a knack for being three steps ahead of the action, a skill that could mean the difference between life and death on their latest mission.

For #9 we find "Bai Tide" by Erika Mitchell. Undercover CIA officer Bai Hsu isn't thrilled about his latest assignment. Why was he told to watch over a private academy for privileged kids? Everything quickly becomes clear after a North Korean plot involving the school makes Bai aware of the global implications of a win for his adversaries. Now, in order to stop the terrorist forces at work, he'll have to seek out the last person he'd ever want to trust, endangering his country, and his life, in the process.

Finally, at #10, is Russell Blake's "Jet." Mossad agent Jet was a deadly force to be reckoned with back in the day. As a highly skilled assassin and operative, she was the intelligence agency's secret weapon for years, until she got sick of her life and faked her own death in order to start fresh. But when Jet's new life is violently shaken by a foreign attack, she'll need to draw on her skills to survive and defeat the enemy, even if it means exposing the truth about her old life to everyone.