One of the Bond titles made it to the top 10 best spy books of all time listed by Publishers Weekly (Image: Getty)<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n Espionage fiction continues to captivate readers with the genre’s thrilling blend of secrets, betrayals, and missions. In 2023, Publishers Weekly got literary journalist-turned-novelist Patrick Worrall – author of The Partisan – to assemble a definitive list of the 10 greatest spy novels of all time<\/a>.<\/p>\n His top picks span more than a century – from a 1901 classic that inspired real-life double agents to gritty Cold War narratives and high-style adventures. Here are the spy novels that every fan of the genre \u201cshould read before they die\u201d, according to experts.<\/p>\n Don’t miss… <\/strong> Richard Osman left struggling to ‘know what to do’ as his work gets ‘stolen’ <\/a> [LATEST] <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Booker Prize winner John Banville\u2019s The Untouchable is a story of treachery set against the backdrop of the British class system. Loosely inspired by Anthony Blunt, a member of the notorious Cambridge spy ring and Surveyor of the Queen\u2019s Pictures, the novel follows Victor Maskell – a closeted art historian and Soviet agent whose double life gradually gets exposed.<\/p>\n \u201cThe suggestion is that Blunt and fellow traitor Guy Burgess made natural double agents because they grew up in a world where homosexuality meant a life of code words, secret networks, and furtive meetings\u201d, comments the article.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n A cult favourite in France, Jean-Patrick Manchette\u2019s classic The Prone Gunman follows Martin Terrier, a corporate assassin ready to retire and reunite with his childhood sweetheart – only to find himself pulled back into a deadly game.<\/p>\n Worrall notes that Manchette\u2019s work is rooted in post-war French politics and Dashiell Hammett\u2019s noir style: \u201cAll his books involve the merciless lampooning of the bourgeoisie. Most descend into something approaching madness by the end.\u201d<\/p>\n Manchette\u2019s stripped-down prose and brutal realism influenced a generation of European crime writers. Though his books are lesser-known in English, their legacy is undeniable.<\/p>\n While John le Carr\u00e9’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy often gets mentioned in most spy fiction recommendation lists, this one chooses Smiley\u2019s People for its sophistication and sense of closure.<\/p>\n In this novel, George Smiley is pulled out of retirement to investigate a murder that may offer him a final chance at redemption – and revenge against his KGB rival, Karla: \u201cIt\u2019s this redemptive note that marks out Smiley\u2019s People, as well as its unusually detailed focus on the brutality of the Soviet system.\u201d<\/p>\n The book is also eerily predictive, with a plot involving poisonings and political assassinations similar to real-world events that happened decades later.<\/p>\n Graham Greene\u2019s The Human Factor focuses on Maurice Castle, a mid-level British intelligence officer whose quiet life begins to unravel when personal loyalties clash with professional duties. Unlike many espionage protagonists, Castle is not a field agent or master manipulator – he is an ageing bureaucrat drawn into betrayal through personal conviction.<\/p>\n Greene had worked for MI6 and based the novel on his own experiences in the intelligence world. The narrative examines institutional mistrust, race, and colonial politics – especially through Castle\u2019s relationship with his South African wife.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is supposedly the book into which Greene poured most of his real-life experience of the spy game\u2014the ghost of \u2018Kim\u2019 Philby\u2026 hangs over the ending.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Frederick Forsyth on the premiere of the film based on his book, The Day of The Jackal (Image: Getty)<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n Frederick Forsyth\u2019s The Day of the Jackal blends fiction with historical fact, telling the story of a professional British assassin hired by a French far-right group to kill President Charles de Gaulle. The novel\u2019s procedural structure follows both the assassin\u2019s meticulous preparations and the police manhunt aimed at stopping him.<\/p>\n Forsyth\u2019s background as a journalist informed the book\u2019s level of detail, which includes forgeries, false identities, and methods of surveillance: \u201cThe tradecraft is also a big part of the appeal\u2026 the famous \u2018Jackal Fraud\u2019 technique for creating a false identity\u2026 is still used by some intelligence professionals.\u201d<\/p>\n Published in the early 1970s, the novel became a benchmark for realistic spy thrillers, influencing later writers in both the espionage and crime genres.<\/p>\n Modesty Blaise introduces a former criminal mastermind who is recruited by British intelligence. The novel was based on a popular comic strip character created by Peter O’Donnell and illustrator Jim Holdaway. In this first novel, Modesty works alongside her loyal partner Willie Garvin to take on international threats through a mix of martial arts, strategy, and improvisation.<\/p>\n The character\u2019s background – a child refugee turned gang leader – adds complexity to her evolution into a government asset. \u201cYes, it\u2019s nonsense\u2026 but she is an enduring action heroine, lovingly rendered by O’Donnell.\u201d<\/p>\n Len Deighton\u2019s The IPCRESS File centres on an unnamed British intelligence officer investigating brainwashing and nuclear weapons. Unlike Bond, this spy is sardonic, working-class, and cynical. The book mixes Cold War tension with satire, showing scepticism toward military and political institutions.<\/p>\n Deighton\u2019s narrative voice and fractured timeline helped reshape the structure of spy fiction in the 1960s. The book also stood out for its marketing: the original edition featured a distinctive cover design by Ray Hawkey that gave the genre a new visual identity: \u201cStyle wins out over story here\u2026 Precise and funny and brutal by turns, but always seething with energy.\u201d<\/p>\n The book marked the start of a long-running series and was adapted into a film starring Michael Caine.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Michael Caine in The IPCRESS File (Image: Getty)<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n Daniel Craig as James Bond in Casino Royale (Image: Getty)<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n Casino Royale was the first novel to feature James Bond<\/a>. It sees 007 assigned to bankrupt the villain Le Chiffre at a French casino, with events taking a dark turn following Bond\u2019s capture and torture. The novel introduces many of the series\u2019 staples – its luxury, danger, and Bond\u2019s internal conflicts.<\/p>\n Fleming, who served in British naval intelligence during World War II, wrote the book shortly after the war ended. Its Cold War backdrop and decadent setting captured a fantasy that resonated with post-rationing Britain: \u201c[It’s] very silly, as soon as you stop to think about it, but utterly irresistible.\u201d<\/p>\n In Epitaph for a Spy, a Hungarian language teacher is wrongly accused of espionage while staying at a hotel on the French Riviera. Forced to find the real spy to clear his name, he is pulled into a web of Gestapo surveillance and political intrigue.<\/p>\n \u201cEssentially a whodunnit, a Poirot-esque mystery set in a small hotel on the French Riviera with a Gestapo agent rather than a killer to be unmasked.\u201d<\/p>\n Ambler\u2019s influence can be seen in the work of John le Carr\u00e9, Graham Greene, and later espionage writers who adopted his more grounded approach to spy tales.<\/p>\n Kim follows Kimball O\u2019Hara, an Anglo-Irish orphan in colonial India who becomes involved in the British Secret Service. Set during the height of the \u201cGreat Game\u201d between Britain and Russia<\/a>, the novel combines coming-of-age elements with espionage training and undercover missions.<\/p>\n Often read as an adventure story or cultural portrait of India, Kim also functions as a foundational spy novel, incorporating codes, disguises, and intelligence gathering: \u201cIt\u2019s also an espionage thriller\u2026 exploring how young Kimball O\u2019Hara is forged into the perfect undercover agent.\u201d<\/p>\n Kipling\u2019s prose, use of Indian dialects, and attention to cultural nuance contributed to the book\u2019s critical reputation, though its imperialist themes remain debated. The real-life Cambridge spy Harold \u201cKim\u201d Philby was nicknamed after the novel\u2019s hero, underscoring the book\u2019s lasting influence in both fiction and history.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n![\"BRITAIN-LITERATURE-FAIR\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/39\/1200x712\/secondary\/6067149.jpg?r=1743606051504\" "\\"BRITAIN-LITERATURE-FAIR\\"")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/p>\n10. The Untouchable by John Banville (1997)<\/h3>\n
9. The Prone Gunman by Jean-Patrick Manchette (1981)<\/h3>\n
8. Smiley\u2019s People by John le Carr\u00e9 (1979)<\/h3>\n
7. The Human Factor by Graham Greene (1978)<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/39\/1200x712\/secondary\/6067167.jpg?r=1743606051533\" "\\"\\"")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/p>\n6. The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth (1971)<\/h3>\n
5. Modesty Blaise by Peter O\u2019Donnell (1965)<\/h3>\n
4. The IPCRESS File by Len Deighton (1962)<\/h3>\n
![\"Ipcress](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/39\/1200x712\/secondary\/6067174.jpg?r=1743606051544\" "\\"Ipcress")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/p>\n![\"New](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/39\/1200x712\/secondary\/6067192.jpg?r=1743606051560\" "\\"New")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/p>\n3. Casino Royale by Ian Fleming (1953)<\/h3>\n
2. Epitaph for a Spy by Eric Ambler (1938)<\/h3>\n
1. Kim by Rudyard Kipling (1901)<\/h3>\n