Espionage Novels

[Naivety]

I read The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, because it seemed essential background research for the next Spooks series. I loved it for being gritty and dark. It was certainly in a class of its own.

But I agree with Silktie, that sometimes a pacy but far fetched thriller is just as good.

I read a Ken Follett book recently called Hornet Flight which was about espionage in WW2. It was very readable but at the same time seemed to be based on decent research. I like a novel to teach me something I didn't know before, but I don't need it to be a Booker Prize winner.