Four decades since Tom Clancy’s ground-breaking debut espionage thriller The Hunt For Red October was dominating bestseller lists around the world, the spy story is enjoying a renaissance thanks to a new generation of writers.
Forget John le Carré, Robert Ludlum and Ian Fleming, brilliant though they are, the world of fictional espionage is in the middle of a major shake-up. Suddenly, espionage is back in the bestseller lists again thanks to the likes of Mick Herron, David McCloskey, Tony Kent and I. S. Berry among others.
Perhaps it’s something to do with the dire state of global politics, the invasion of Ukraine, and the rise of Russia and China as aggressors? After all, the last big spy writing boom came during the Cold War. Or maybe we just want escapism and nothing beats a good thriller? Either way, readers are flocking to the espionage shelves for their reading.
Shane Whaley, who founded the Spybrary podcast, tells me: “I believe the revival of espionage fiction is driven primarily by the exceptional quality of today’s long-form spy television, rather than geopolitics. If anything, many readers are looking to escape today’s grim headlines.
“Across Spybrary, we hear the same story: series like Slow Horses, The Night Manager and Black Doves are inspiring viewers to either discover spy thriller novels for the first time or to rediscover them with fresh enthusiasm. Espionage success on screen has also encouraged more writers to write spy fiction, hoping their work might be adapted. That’s good news for us readers, because the overall standard keeps rising.
“Quality-wise, this is already a stronger year for spy books than 2024. The espionage genre gives authors considerable latitude to invent convincing versions of the secret world, complete with their own jargon (think ‘Slow Horses’ and ‘The Dogs’), which keeps the fiction rich and intriguing. We are also seeing US authors increasingly adopt what I’d call the British style of espionage writing.
“Writers like I.S. Berry, Paul Vidich, Dan Fesperman, and David McCloskey craft plots and characters who rely more on wit than weaponry. This approach appeals to thriller readers seeking realism over high body counts and endless gunfights. The emphasis on guile over guns feels closer to how intelligence work actually operates, and it’s successfully drawing readers back to the genre.”
Thanks Shane. So here are my choices for five of the most thrilling new books…
4 Clown Town by Mick Herron (Baskerville, Out Now)
Mick Herron has done more than almost anyone to drive the renaissance in spy writing and Clown Town, the ninth book in his hugely popular Slough House series, televised by Apple TV and starring Gary Oldman as spymaster Jackson Lamb, doesn’t disappoint. The Oxford-based writer, one of the nicest people in fiction, has a reputation for killing off characters and brilliantly satirising the state of UK politics.
Clown Town sees River Cartwright, played on TV by Jack Lowden, champing at the bit to return to work after injury. With time to kill, he investigates the secrets of a library belonging to his late grandfather – a legendary spy – and a mysteriously missing book. Over at Slough House, the repository for failed spies, Jackson Lamb is as awful (and entertaining) as ever. But when mischief plotted in MI5 HQ threatens his Slow Horses, he takes notice.
Lamb has no plans to send in the clowns, and if they ignore his instructions and fool around, any harm that befalls them is hardly his fault. But they’re his clowns. And if they don’t all come home, there’ll be a reckoning.
Buy Clown Town by Mick Herron
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