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The 16 Greatest Spy Thriller Novels of All Time

By YPB Team

Bleak Cold War chess matches, breakneck manhunts and the Edwardian tales that invented the whole genre. Cast your vote!

  1. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy — ranked #11
    Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
    John le Carre's masterful 1974 tale of hunting a Soviet mole inside British intelligence.
    1000pts
  2. Smiley's People — ranked #22
    Smiley's People
    Le Carre's 1979 novel bringing George Smiley's duel with his Soviet rival Karla to a close.
    763pts
  3. The Bourne Identity — ranked #33
    The Bourne Identity
    Robert Ludlum's propulsive 1980 thriller introducing amnesiac operative Jason Bourne.
    680pts
  4. Casino Royale — ranked #44
    Casino Royale
    Ian Fleming's 1953 novel that introduced James Bond, agent 007.
    624pts
  5. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold — ranked #55
    The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
    Le Carre's bleak, era-defining 1963 Cold War novel of betrayal and moral compromise.
    560pts
  6. The Hunt for Red October — ranked #66
    The Hunt for Red October
    Tom Clancy's 1984 techno-thriller debut about a defecting Soviet submarine captain.
    560pts
  7. The Day of the Jackal — ranked #77
    The Day of the Jackal
    Frederick Forsyth's meticulous 1971 thriller about a professional assassin hired to kill de Gaulle.
    485pts
  8. I Am Pilgrim — ranked #88
    I Am Pilgrim
    Terry Hayes' sweeping 2013 debut thriller pitting a retired agent against a lone terrorist.
    485pts
  9. Eye of the Needle — ranked #99
    Eye of the Needle
    Ken Follett's gripping 1978 WWII thriller about a ruthless German spy in Britain.
    397pts
  10. From Russia with Love — ranked #1010
    From Russia with Love
    Ian Fleming's tense 1957 Bond adventure set against a Soviet assassination plot.
    291pts
  11. The Riddle of the Sands — ranked #1111
    The Riddle of the Sands
    Erskine Childers' 1903 sailing-and-espionage classic, a foundational spy novel.
    291pts
  12. The Ipcress File — ranked #1212
    The Ipcress File
    Len Deighton's cynical 1962 debut featuring a working-class, unnamed British spy.
    0pts
  13. The Thirty-Nine Steps — ranked #1313
    The Thirty-Nine Steps
    John Buchan's 1915 chase thriller that helped invent the modern spy novel.
    0pts
  14. A Coffin for Dimitrios — ranked #1414
    A Coffin for Dimitrios
    Eric Ambler's atmospheric 1939 thriller tracing the life of a mysterious criminal.
    0pts
  15. The Quiet American — ranked #1515
    The Quiet American
    Graham Greene's prescient 1955 novel of espionage and idealism in 1950s Vietnam.
    0pts
  16. Red Sparrow — ranked #1616
    Red Sparrow
    Jason Matthews' 2013 thriller drawing on real tradecraft in a modern Russia-vs-CIA duel.
    0pts

#books91#thriller49#classics479#espionage1

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