Declassified: This Year’s Best Spy Novels

theswimmerThe world of espionage is as thrilling as it is dangerous. It’s a good thing you can enjoy the stories of undercover agents from the comfort of your own home. You may just “spy” your next read among these recently-published titles, available at the library:

The Swimmer by Joakim Zander – A former spy whose career forced him to give up his infant daughter must come to her rescue years later when she is targeted by powerful international adversaries who would kill her for discovering volatile intelligence.

All the Old Knives by Olen Steinhauer – After a failed rescue attempt of a hijacked plane in Vienna, two retired spies, former lovers, can’t help but relive the past and determine if the mission went wrong because of a compromised agent on the inside.

The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen – Follows a Viet Cong agent as he spies on a South Vietnamese army general and his compatriots as they start a new life in 1975 Los Angeles.

Back Blast by Mark Greaney (from the Gray Man series) – Returning to Washington to uncover the truth about why the CIA betrayed him, former elite agent-turned-Gray Man Court Gentry discovers that the case is still very much under discussion and that he has stumbled onto a secret that powerful enemies will kill to keep.

The English Spy by Daniel Silva – Gabriel Allon investigates the murder of the former princess of England and enlists the help of Christopher Keller, a British commando-turned-professional assassin, to track down master bomb maker Eamon Quinn.

Leaving Berlin by Joseph Kanon – Caught in the McCarthy anti-Communist investigations because of his prewar politics, a young Jewish writer who fled the Nazis to America makes a desperate bargain with the fledgling CIA to work as a spy in a decimated Berlin.

Palace of Treason by Jason Matthews – Navigating brutal enemies in her espionage work for the CIA, a Russian intelligence agent pursues a life-threatening affair with her CIA handler before being discovered by a mole.

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