Chris Pavone’s debut introduces ex-spy Kate, who has turned her back on the world of espionage after fifteen years in the CIA. Escaping to Luxembourg with her family, she and her husband become acquainted with their seemingly like-minded neighbours. But are these two new acquaintances all that they seem? And is Kate’s spying background really behind her? Of course not! This is a real page-turner and an easy introduction for any readers new to the realm of spy fiction.

Anyone who knows me will tell you just how much of a William Boyd fan I am. And this is one of his best.  Here, Boyd ventures into the arena of espionage in this highly accomplished tale of Ruth, who discovers that her mother was a spy during World War II. Convinced she is in danger, the older woman enlists the help of her daughter to track down the man who recruited her all those years ago. Restless is a somewhat literary offering (this is William Boyd, after all) but is no less gripping for that. And it’s worth a read just for the finesse with which Boyd adopts a female persona. Not to be missed.

Set in Moscow, that hotbed of mystery and intrigue, Gorky Park is of course an espionage thriller of the highest order. Not for the faint-hearted, the novel commences with a particularly nasty image of three mutilated corpses in an amusement park. Given the lack of both faces and fingers, it is clear to Inspector Arkady Renko that these bodies are meant to be unidentifiable. Not your everyday crime, then. Ah, but he has a clue: a pair of roller skates …

Fans of the redoubtable Renko will witness the Russian sleuth exercising his considerable detection skills in this cold-climate tale of procedural policing.

Robert Harris is a writer of many talents, turning his hand to a range of genres, from high finance to ancient Rome. This spy thriller, based on a true story, showcases Harris’s talents in all their glory. Riveting from the very first page, it tells the tale of Alfred Dreyfus, a military officer in nineteenth-century France, who stands accused of espionage. High treason! Sentence him to death, pronto! Enter Georges Picquart, fellow military officer, who smells a rat despite being no fan of the accused. Will Picquart manage to covertly uncover the truth? There's only one way to find out...

Protagonist Juliet recalls her spell in MI5 in 1940, when she was recruited to undertake the tedious task of transcribing surveillance tapes. The transcribed conversations of fascist sympathisers can’t be much fun for your average eighteen-year-old – but worry not, as Juliet soon finds herself embroiled in far more exciting and dangerous endeavours. Kate Atkinson is a serious writer, and really pulls this one off.