For those of you working out what to take to the beach, here are the top spy books of 2025. Some of them are not yet published but pre-order now or try to get your hands on a proof or advanced reader’s copy.
Quality-wise, this is already a stronger year for spy books than 2024, with four books which get similar marks in my scoring system to Karla’s Choice, which was No. 1 in my rankings last year. The top 7 spy novels would all have been contenders for the top 2 spy books last year.
[PS: I'm also a hard marker. I rank books based on whether they’re my sort of thing, the intricacies of the plot, the quality of the writing, the pacing (page turning), the sense of place, the characters and the dialogue.
It is very rare for anything to get 90%+ which equates to 5 stars, so don’t be alarmed (or writers be offended) that my top tier here is 4.5 (80%+). I would unhesitatingly recommend anything over 70% (4 stars) and have very much enjoyed anything over 60% (3.5 stars), which is all the books here. I’m a pedant – even The Spy Who Came in From the Cold only scores 96%. In this decade only Damascus Station, Moscow X, Winter Work, The Berlin Exchange and The Secret Hours scored over 90%. Karla’s Choice got 86%]
SUPERB SPY BOOKS- 4.5 STARS
[In publication order]
THE POET’S GAME, by Paul Vidich
This may be Paul Vidich’s best book, which means it is very good indeed.
Retired CIA Moscow‑station chief Alex Matthews, now a private equity investor, is called back when his old Russian asset, code‑named Byron, reveals kompromat on the U.S. president (an unnamed Trump). Tasked with extracting Byron from Russia, Matthews re-enters the deadly spying game, while trying to patch his life back together after a family tragedy. It’s exciting, tense and delivers a knockout emotional punch. Don’t fret, Paul Vidich’s most modern book is not hung up on Trump, it’s just a macguffin for perhaps his most polished book yet, one which has Paul’s trademark economy of language and depth of character but with his most commercial plot yet.
Regardless of whether you think this is better than Beirut Station, The Matchmaker and The Mercenary, Vidich is on a four book run which ranks with anything anyone else has achieved this century, indeed it is reminiscent of Eric Ambler’s master works before the Second World War.
THE PEAK, by Sam Guthrie [28 August]
Hands down the best debut of the year, this is a hugely propulsive Australian politico-spy thriller which blends the plot mechanics of a great mystery with interesting and deep characters, snappy dialogue and an espionage conspiracy. Written by a former diplomat, Sam Guthrie,the book covers just one day as political fixer Charlie Westcott scrambles to protect the reputation of lifelong friend and government minister Sebastian Adler, who has committed suicide. At the same time Australia suffers a national security crisis when a mysterious blackout cripples Sydney and Melbourne and Chinese spies mobilise. Wescott does battle with the deep state as he seeks to untangle the mess of Adler’s political ambitions, dangerous international entanglements, and personal bonds.
It positively crackles and the pages turn themselves. It’s great and it’s out at the end of the month. It would make a sensational Netflix series.
CLOWN TOWN, by Mick Herron [11 September]
Britain’s best living spy writer, Mick Herron has done it again. In the ninth Slough House novel, the misfit spies of MI5’s dumping ground find themselves mixed up in backmail plot involving revelations about a covert operation from the Troubles. This, in turn, is connected with secrets River Cartwright finds in his late grandfather, the Old Bastard’s library.
Meanhwile, First Desk Diana Taverner plots to turn blackmail into leverage. The first half of Clown Town moves a little slowly as the separate strands gradually come together, but every page is a new joy thanks to Herron's writing. You are glad you’re back spending time with the Slow Horses, not the least because this may be the funniest dialogue Herron has ever written for Jackson Lamb. Then you reach a moment of high drama, the usual Slough House clusterfuck, and from there it’s a rollercoaster ride, lethally compelling, culminating in wonderful plot and counterplot between Lamb, Taverner and Peter Judd.
The Secret Hours, with its Lamb origin story, was probably Herron’s greatest achievement, but this (for me) is right up there with Spook Street, Real Tigers and Slough House as a high point of the regular series.
THE PERSIAN, by David McCloskey [US: 30 Sep/ UK: 29 January 2026]
I think this is the book which has cemented my view that David McCloskey can have a long and historic career as an espionage writer.
Damascus Station was a wow debut. I thought Moscow X, which had a brilliant espionage plot was even better, though some others like it less than I do. The Seventh Floor was very enjoyable, though the alligator farm was as much Hiaasen as McCloskey. All three of these books featured Artemis Aphrodite Procter, a brilliant creation but one which David would probably be sensible to ration. The Persian has none of the character crossovers and is a very mature work. McCloskey experiments effectively with the structure – part of it is the journal of an Iranian, Kamran Esfanhani, who is captured by the Iranians spying for the Israelis, part of it his live experiences and part of it a flashback of the whole mission.
As with all McCloskey books it builds to high drama and twists with characters you care about. There is much here on love and loyalty as well as deep cover operations. It’s deep and satisfying in a slightly different way to his first three but keeps the McCloskey traits of great tradecraft and headlong dash to the end. It proves he is a great spy writer.
EXCELLENT SPY BOOKS – 4 STARS
PARIAH, by Dan Fesperman
Fesperman has come up with the premise of the year. Hal Knight, a comedian-turned-politician, sees his life collapse in disgrace after a #MeToo scandal. Then the CIA recruits him to penetrate the authoritarian regime of Bolrovia, an Eastern European dictatorship, where the strongman Nikolai Horvatz is a fan of his purile humour (think Al Franken v Hungary’s Viktor Orban).
Knight is a great character searching for redemption who quickly finds his ability to perform makes him an effective spy. This is at times a funny book, clever and well observed but Fesperman also paints a chilling picture of a society in the grip of oppression which grabs you in the guts.
His security chief and the sidekick deployed as Hal’s minder are both persuasive. It won’t surprise you that a contemporary book like this uses Russian influence operations as a plot device. Is this as good as Safe Houses, or his masterpiece Winter Work? Not quite. I was hoping for a scene where Hal and Horvatz have a long night of the soul about the moral compromises and performative aspects of despotism and what it means to step outside acceptable norms to get what you want. And when it comes to the resolution I would have liked Hal to have more personal agency. But this is nitpicking and I’ve only included it to explain why Pariah is not a little higher.
This is a wonderfully engrossing piece of work, brilliantly written as you would expect and confirms Dan Fesperman not just as one of the masters of the genre but as a writer who is prepared to try something a little different to great effect.
When I redo my list of the best spy writers, he’ll be in the top 20, along with Vidich and McCloskey. We are blessed to be reading when they are writing.
RED STAR DOWN, by D. B. John
If you want pulled from the headlines realism and a geopolitical plot on the grand scale, Red Star Down is an absolute winner. This is a Ludlum-style epic of 700 pages but it is much better written than the old master and it never flags.
Amid Trump's first presidency, a North Korean spy named Eric Rahn quietly embeds as a White House adviser, pushing for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from South Korea. When a Russian intelligence officer is assassinated in Washington and a Korean man poisoned at an airport, CIA agent Jenna Williams steps in. Meanwhile, a Moscow student, Lyosha, publicly confronts Vladimir Putin—sparking dangerous fallout. Both Jenna and Lyosha’s paths converge with global conspiracies.
In essence, Red Star Down tries to explain why Trump and Kim Jong Un really met up and what happened when Trump and Putin met shortly afterwards. It’s a masterful piece of speculation woven around real events.
As Jeremy Duns has already pointed out, Red Star Down provides highly insightful and chilling portraits of Putin, Trump and the Kim family. It truly does give you an understanding of our world which even the best journalism can’t achieve. If you read this before D.B.John’s first book, Star of the North, you will spoil the ending of that book but it is in no way necessary to have done so to enjoy this. It’s a belter.
THE OLIGARCH’S DAUGHTER, by Joseph Finder
Joseph Finder is one of those writers who sells a lot of books, more than most of the authors we love, but only periodically turns his attention to espionage or spy adjacent thrillers. This one is long but brilliantly immersive.
Finder creates highly believable characters and relationships and knows how to build tension, methodically but like a vice. Paul Brightman, now living as “Grant Anderson,” is hiding in remote New Hampshire under an assumed name with a bounty on his head. Years earlier, on Wall Street, he fell in love with Tatanya—daughter of a Russian oligarch—and unwittingly became entangled in insider trading and Kremlin‑linked corruption. When he agrees to cooperate with the FBI, his cover is blown. A hired assassin almost kills him on a fishing trip, triggering a desperate flight into wild terrain. Finder alternates timelines: Paul’s present fight for survival and his past descent into espionage and betrayal.
This is a very well crafted thriller and I hope it means Finder will dip his toe in our waters rather more often.
GOOD TO VERY GOOD SPY BOOKS – 3.5 STARS
DUTY OF CARE, by Gerald Seymour
The fifth of Gerald Seymour’s Jonas Merrick books is a delightful addition to one of the most underrated and underdiscussed spy series this century. This one has a plot to exchange prisoners, dirty Russian money and a gripping tale involving a sinister Albanian crime gang who are mixed up with Putin's spooks. Merrick, the Olympic flame who ‘never goes out’ and has the social skills of a rock, builds an operation that only he is clever enough to coordinate, swans around very pleased with himself and then, when all seems lost, goes into the field, a process which quickly induces humility as well as firework. This is surprisingly moving by the end as well as clever and exciting.
More please!
MRS SPY, by M. J. Robotham
This has been billed as a spy novel with the vibes of a cosy crime book – think Tess Gerritsen’s The Spy Coast. But actually that sells it a little short and Spybrarians should in no way be put off.
The main character single mum Maggie Flynn, is an excellent creation. She’s mourning her spy-husband in 1960s London when she is unexpectedly recruited into MI5. Known as “Magpie,” she juggles domestic life and undercover work—donning disguises, tailing suspects, and sniffing out betrayals as she investigates her husband’s mysterious death. Maggie uncovers a secret domestic spy operation, Cold War-era scandals, and murky MI5 coverups.
The real triumph here is a very persuasive portrait of London in the swinging sixties, with its pubs, pickled eggs, and Mary Quant fashion. By the end you’re cheering her on. Good stuff.
More About Author M.J.Robotham
A SPY AT WAR, by Charles Beaumont [UK: OUT NOW/ US: December 2]
I’m a little torn on this book, which has had rave reviews from several Spybrarians. Charles Beaumont is a very accomplished writer and his first book was fantastic. When the action gets to Ukraine and his lead former MI6 officer Simon Sharman finds himself under fire, the action absolutely crackles, your heart beats faster, the sweat runs down your spine. Charles has been to these places, knows of what he writes and the atmosphere is incredible. But I would strongly recommend you familiarise yourself with the first book before embarking on this one. It’s not so much a sequel as a direct continuation of the plot and for this reader (who had read A Spy Alone a long time ago) there was not enough set up to fully appreciate what is going on or why it matters.
It’s great when characters go on multiple volume arcs but thrillers need to be a little more standalone than other sagas so new readers can start anywhere. Those who have read Beaumont’s debut will probably enjoy this a lot, those who haven’t should start there. With its immediacy—drone warfare and influence operations– plus a clear stance on the moral failure of institutions to deal with a modern evil, this is timely and passionate in depicting espionage’s real cost in the fight for democratic resistance.
MOSCOW UNDERGROUND, by Catherine Merridale
The most atmospheric book I’ve read this year. Moscow, 1934. As the city builds its iconic subway, the excavation awakens buried secrets. Anton Belkin, an investigator at the procuracy, is reluctantly drawn into a murder investigation when a renowned archaeologist is killed in a deserted mansion. Think Arkady Renko in the 1930s, a moral man who wants to protect the innocent boy accused of the killing, who is also wrestling with his former lover Vika—now a powerful secret-police official with the OGPU.
This is primarily a mystery, rather than a spy thriller but its tropes are very spy-adjacent and Belkin finds himself up to his neck with competing factions in the alphabet soup of Stalin’s security state. Most impressive are the sections set underground in the new metro system. There's a lot of fascinating background but you can feel the mud under your feet and the chlostrophobia. It's where the Soviet dictator’s grand visions of progress do battle with political betrayal, dissent, corruption and greed.
THE PROTOCOLS OF SPYING, by Merle Nygate [October 9]
In the aftermath of Hamas’s October 7th attack, London’s Mossad station chief, Eli Amiram, navigates both the geopolitical shockwaves and the continuing internal rivalries which emerge when a colleague’s plot to assassinate a target on British soil—apparently tied to Trump supporters—raises suspicion of a deeper conspiracy. Off the books operator Petra seeks to redeem her failures by recruiting Wasim Al-Arikhi, whose sister was radicalised in Nygate’s second book.
As their missions intersect (and the Mossad pager plot makes a peripheral appearance to add to the immediacy) this is a terrific study of the human cost of espionage. As a spy thriller this may not quite have the tension of Honour Among Spies but this is probably Nygate’s best novel in terms of character.
It is brave to try to see things from the Israeli point of view in the current climate when much of her audience will have sympathies elsewhere. But navigating these waters with a decent man like Eli and a glib one like Rami, adds real depth and understanding. We needed to see these characters experience this changing world and it is, at times, not just exciting but rather moving as well.
Give it a go.
Merle Nygate Official Website
A COLD WIND FROM MOSCOW, by Rory Clements
Set in the bitter winter of 1947, Professor Tom Wilde—a Cambridge historian and reluctant MI5 operative—is pulled into a Soviet conspiracy when a dead body is discovered in his college rooms. Britain is grappling with postwar austerity, rationing, and fears that Stalin’s agents have penetrated British intelligence. MI5’s Freya Bentall enlists Wilde to pose as an American contact while rooting out a mole. Wilde navigates institutional espionage and gangland brutality. The recreation of the period is fantastic, the plot and characters fairly formulaic (though the femme fatale is a woman of considerable spirit) but this is a nice easy read for those moments when you don’t want something diverting on the beach and don’t want to have to think too deeply about twists or moral dilemmas.
Rory Clements Official Website
SPY BOOKS PUBLISHED in 2025 BUT STILL TO READ
No 2 Whitehall Court, Alan Judd
An Inside Job, Daniel Silva
The Ratcatcher of Berlin, James Stejskal
Smoke and Embers, John Lawton
The System, Barry Eisler
The First Gentleman, Bill Clinton & James Patterson
The Summer Guests, Tess Gerritsen
FUTURE PUBLICATION
The Second Traitor, Alex Gerlis [August 14]
Sheepdogs, Elliot Ackerman [August 21]
The Predicament, William Boyd [September 4]
Appointment in Paris, Jane Thynne [September 4]
Quantum of Menace, Vaseem Khan [October 23]
Blood Oath, Steve Urszenyi [November 18]
ALREADY SALIVATING ABOUT THESE SPY BOOKS IN 2026
The Method, Matthew Quirk [January 20]
The Cormorant Hunt, Michael Idov [January 27]
Spies and Other Gods, James Wolff [February 26]
Icarus 17, Charles Cumming [July 2] (Publication day for this one has now been delayed twice)
Tim Shipman is one of Britain’s leading political journalists. He is the political editor of the Spectator, the world’s oldest magazine, after 11 years as the lead political writer at the Sunday Times. His quartet of books on the decade after Brexit – All Out War, Fall Out, No Way Out and Out – are widely recognised as the definitive account of the most turbulent period in UK politics since the Second World War.
He is a regular contributor as host and pundit for Spybrary, has interviewed most of the world’s leading spy novelists, occasionally gets leaks from real life security sources and his list of the top 125 spy writers (soon to be updated) has helped to bankrupt a generation of spy fans… And now he’s working on a thriller of his own.
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