Here’s our pick of spy thrillers that are either just out or coming soon and on pre-order.
The Devil’s Bargain by Stella Rimington
Straight from the hand of a former MI5 chief comes the third on a new series set in the political heart of London. A story of a Soviet illegal (deep undercover asset), Peter Robinson, MP and spy, moving closer to the levers of power in Westminster.
From the Publisher:
One lie put the nation at risk. Another might save it.
The new spy thriller from Stella Rimington, former head of MI5
Harry Bristow: policeman, father, chauffeur, fraud.
In 1988 Harry made one mistake: he took a bribe, letting a man he knew as Igor into Britain – and he’s regretted it ever since. So when he recognises Igor many years later as his newly-elected MP, he knows he has to come clean. But the MP recognises him too – and Harry fears what he might do next.
Peter Robinson, MP: salesman, politician, bachelor, spy.
It was easy to get into Britain in 1988 as an illegal, working deep undercover, but the break-up of the Soviet Union cut Robinson off from his homeland. He’s inching closer to Britain’s levers of power – but now the one man who knows his secret has reappeared. With no way to contact Moscow, he must act fast to preserve his position and reap its rewards – at any cost.
Manon Tyler, CIA analyst, has just boarded a plane to London – with a report on Russian illegals to read.
The Confessor by Andrew Turpin
The Confessor is book #3 of the Jayne Robinson Thriller series by Andrew Turpin that kicked off with ‘The Kremlin’s Vote, a dramatic spy thriller set in Russia.
If you’re looking for a gripping espionage thriller with unexpected twists that will be difficult to put down, this could be worth a read.
From the Publisher:
The horrific killing of four cardinals on a quiet street in Washington, DC. Deadly threats and intrigue at the Vatican. And Jayne Robinson battling against an unknown enemy to find out the truth for a desperate pope.
Intelligence operative Robinson is deployed by the CIA to discover why the American cardinals were murdered on their way to a top-level meeting at the White House—with a mysterious message they were unable to deliver.
The Confessor, book number three in the Jayne Robinson series, is a gripping modern spy thriller with sharp twists that will stun the reader.
Outbreak by Frank Gardner
Outbreak is an intriguing story of the unexpected discovery of a zombie-Esque pestilence, assumed by British Intelligence to have been the fault of Russia.
The novel, expressing the horrors of Science gone wrong, has plenty of action with the tireless efforts of British intelligence to find the truth.
From the publisher:
The explosive new thriller featuring MI6 operative Luke Carlton on his most terrifying mission yet.
Deep within the Arctic Circle, three scientists from the UK’s Arctic Research Station trudge through a blizzard in search of shelter. They see a cabin ahead. It appears abandoned. No lights. No snowmobile outside. But as they push open the door, the smell hits them. Rank and foetid: there’s something bad inside.
Then movement. A man lies slumped, his face disfigured by livid pustules. Blood runs from his nostrils; his chest glistens blackly. The team’s medic, Dr Sheila Mackenzie, pushes forward to examine him when the convulsions start. Blood, bile and mucus spray into the air. The doctor knows it’s too late – she’s been contaminated . . .
Standing Alone by Stephen Leather
Standing Alone is part of a new series from Stephen Leather, author of the Spider Shepherd series. SAS Trooper Matt ‘Lastman’ Standing is the only man for the job of hunting down a rogue Navy SEAL assassin while ducking Mexican cartels, Russian Mafia and Hungarian gangsters. Plenty of twists and turns to keep you sweating.
From the Publishers:
A Navy SEAL has gone rogue, selling his skills to the highest bidder as a professional assassin. Ryan French no longer cares who he kills so long as the price is right. His former bosses want him taken down, but they’re not prepared to get their hands dirty so they need a Brit to do the job.
Outsider by Rob Sinclair
Outsider is the third book in the Ryker Returns series. James Ryker, a veteran intelligence agent, travelling through frozen north Norway, isn’t looking for trouble, but fate’s irony will soon slap that notion back in his face. A near crash with a teenage boy puts Ryker on the road to conspiracy and violence.
Publishers description: James Ryker stumbles into a chilling conspiracy in a small Norwegian town . . .
Travelling through frozen north Norway, Ryker isn’t looking for trouble, but he has a habit of finding it. After a near miss on the road with a young moped driver, a local policeman assists the teenager and encourages Ryker on his way. But when Ryker travels to the nearby small town of Blodstein—only to be warded off by the locals when he asks questions about the boy he nearly killed—his instincts as a longtime intelligence agent fire.
Deep Sleep by Steven Konkoly
Deep Sleep by Steven Konkoly is a page-turning book that won’t let you sleep until you finish reading to the end. Following the death of his mother, a disgraced former CIA officer who felt she was on the verge of discovering a conspiracy threatening the USA, Devin Gray is himself pulled into the dangerous power game.
From the Publisher:
Stopping the most dangerous conspiracy ever to threaten America means believing the unthinkable in an explosive novel by Wall Street Journal bestselling author Steven Konkoly.
Countersurveillance expert Devin Gray is unwittingly thrown headfirst into dangerous new territory after the death of his mother. Helen Gray, a paranoid and disgraced former CIA officer, believed she was on the verge of preventing a national catastrophe—a mission worth dying for. Others, including Devin, believe she was chasing delusions. Until he finds what she left behind.
Wormwood by Mark Dawson
Another gripping story from the Group Fifteen files dealing with the twists and upheavals in the career of an MI6 agent, Eloise Shepherd, against the backdrop of the cold war and the disaster at Chernobyl. Imaginative and impressive espionage thriller that perfectly intertwines history and fiction.
From the Publisher:
What if it wasn’t an accident?
1969. Eloise Shepherd, one of MI6’s brightest rising stars, is working undercover in Soviet Russia as Magdalina Novikova. Her mission is to persuade nuclear physicist Stanislav Kalashnik to defect and bring his knowledge of Russian weapons back to the UK. On the verge of success, the operation fails suddenly and spectacularly.
17 years later, Kalashnik is Chief Engineer at the power plant near Pripyat known as Chernobyl. His concerns for the safety of the plant are growing. When his views lead to accusations that question his patriotism, he finds himself in a very risky position.
Meanwhile, back in London, Eloise Shepherd’s life and career are spinning out of control when she’s approached with a one-time offer to redeem herself. The mission: to get Kalashnik over Soviet borders once more. It’s an opportunity that could change everything and Eloise knows there’s no reward without risk. But she’s heading straight towards a danger far greater than she could ever have anticipated.
The Silent Sisters by Robert Dugoni
In this third Intense tale of intricate spycraft, CIA agent Charles Jenkins thinks he is done with the spying game until a case of two sisters, American assets deep undercover in Russia, cutting contact with their handlers becomes the new mission.
From the publisher:
In this pulse-racing thriller by the New York Times bestselling author of The Last Agent, an American sleeper cell in Russia goes silent—and it’s one man’s duty to find them.
After a harrowing escape from Russian agents on his last mission, Charles Jenkins thinks he’s finally done with the spy game. But then the final two of the seven sisters—American assets who have been deep undercover in Russia for decades—cut off all communication with their handlers. Are they in hiding after detecting surveillance? Or have they turned and become double agents? It’s Jenkins’s duty to find out, but he’s been added to a Russian kill list. It will require all of Jenkins’s knowledge of spycraft—and an array of disguises—to return to the country undetected.
But plans go awry his first night in Moscow when Jenkins gets involved in an altercation that ends in the death of the son of one of Russia’s most powerful organized crime leaders. Pursued by mafia henchmen, Russian agents, and a particularly dogged Moscow police detective, Jenkins is determined to track down the final two sisters and get them to America—or die trying. As various forces close in, Jenkins fears this time he might’ve pushed his luck too far.
