75 books like The Tears of Autumn

While John Le Carre wrote many fine books, with some unforgettable classics at his peak, this novel was a revelation.

In this short book, he captures the character of the wonderfully crusty, dissatisfied Leamas, the interdependence of love and betrayal, the frustration and interminable waiting of spying, and the moral bankruptcy essential to pursuing higher objectives. 

But for me, the perfect ending, devastating and true to both the character and the Cold War Berlin setting, makes this book memorable.

Another master, Alan Furst’s 1st novel (of 15 so far) is a great place to start. His stories are so well researched you might think you were reading a travel guide.

Filled with intricate details of the conflict between Russia and Germany as World War II begins, Khristo Stoianev is a young man recruited to work for the Russian secret service, the NKVD. From his recruitment in Bulgaria through training and successive secret missions, Khristo must survive not only the Nazis, but his own employers, who decide he too must be killed.

Furst builds both the pace and tension as Khristo fights his way across Europe trying to escape. Relentless.  

I’ve never encountered such a duplicitous and complicated character as the Captain. Having to survive life in Vietnam before and during America’s entry into the war, and after as an immigrant in America, I kept thinking I understood why the character behaved the way he did. His actions made sense. Then I’d get what I thought was a glimpse at his heart and intentions and know I had him all wrong, only to turn the page and see a completely different facet of him again.

Over and over his past and present and desires for the future kept morphing him. The stunning thing about this story is I totally understood why he would be this complex as each section doled out enough clues how someone like him could be so strange and malleable and twisted up in the most odd and fascinating ways. 

I loved this book for its attention to detail and meticulous plotting of the assassin, the Jackal. I also thought the police detective determined to stop him was wonderfully written.

My favorite scenes were set in Algeria, which was hot and exotic. It is a shame all thrillers can’t be this masterful.

I loved the seamless interweaving of narratives, the central quest to secure an asset for the CIA against the hostile backdrop of Damascus, the love story between two truly star-crossed lovers, and the complex survival story of those battling the vicious Assad regime.

I loved the unforgettable tension and pace that was maintained throughout the book and the insight it gave into what it is to be a spy working in the most difficult environment.

Muir’s Gambit is a prequel to Beckner’s blockbuster movie Spy Game (with Brad Pitt and Robert Redford). 

Not your traditional “spy thriller,” it follows a dark thematic arc of two spies, fueled by whisky and cigarettes, talking on the front porch of a beach house after the assassination of a comrade.

It is layered with a gritty (and sometimes absurdist) intellectual/philosophical study of the moral cost of living a life of lies. All in search of a truth that is hidden from everyone but one man.

Told with flashbacks to events in Korea, Vietnam, Cuba, and Hong Kong, it is a story fraught with human emotion—love, heartbreak, grief, regret—and the fragility of memory. A story told with authentic tradecraft and serpentine strategy, it evokes—more than any other book I’ve read—the reality, challenges, and moral pitfalls of working in a clandestine intelligence organization.

Muir’s Gambit is the 1st… show more.

Okay, I like almost anything that is set in Berlin because I lived and “worked” there during the Cold War, but Canon really brings it in this tightly woven story of Martin Keller, a hapless former convict who has been co-opted to work for the CIA in East Berlin.

From the first page, paranoia sets in, as it must on anyone working against the Communist regime of East Germany, when Keller embarks on his own agenda to save himself and, more importantly, the family he loves.

Kanon re-creates the tension of a divided Berlin while his well-drawn characters try to escape the clutches of a morally corrupt government. Kanon is simply one of the best.  

As I mentioned before, I am a history buff. This book traces the cold war and the CIA through the lives of three wonderful characters. A loyal agent, a Russian spy, and a mole in American intelligence are all done in a way that puts you in their shoes from the Cold War’s start through the demise of the Soviet Union. Littell keeps you on the edge of your seat while teaching you what actually happened. A must-read for spy aficionados.

The history of the CIA features many fascinating personalities and there are several excellent spy biographies, Thomas Powers on Richard Helms, for example, or Randall Woods on William Colby. But the most complex and compelling of all figures in the Agency’s past must surely be the legendary head of counterintelligence, James Angleton. Again, there are numerous works on Angleton and his obsessive hunt for a top-level Soviet agent in the CIA, but I enjoyed and benefited most from Tom Mangold’s Cold Warrior, an astonishingly detailed and penetrating portrayal of America’s real-life George Smiley.

I fell in love with the main character, Loveday (no pun intended), in the first few pages. She’s strong and tough, like all spies should be, and sarcastic—which is so fun to read.

I love her motivation as a spy, but she does have one flaw: she's in love with another member of the team and has been keeping him off missions to keep him safe. This makes me like her even more because she wants to protect him. Overall, the action, explosions, love story between Loveday and Vale, and the spy world had me reading until the very end.

I can’t wait to jump into the next book in the series.