Find all previous and future episodes listed here or in your podcast app under "Barbican Station”. This episode I have an interview with Nick Mohammed who plays Mayor Jaffrey on SLOW HORSES. We talk about his playing a politician on show and why we're interested in spies behaving badly. Plus what's it like joining the …
Continue reading Barbican Station – Nick Mohammed Interview and Season 5 wrap-up
Find all previous and future episodes listed here or in your podcast app under "Barbican Station”. This episode I have an interview with Hiba Bennani who plays Tara on SLOW HORSES. We talk about this season and the surprising turn we see in episode 5. Plus how she integrated into the cast and that nightclub …
Find all previous and future episodes listed here or in your podcast app under "Barbican Station”. This episode I have an interview with James Callis who plays Claude Whelan on SLOW HORSES. We talk about this season and Claude's role as First Desk, Claude's wife and his inability to take control. We also get into …
Find all previous and future episodes listed here or in your podcast app under "Barbican Station”. This episode I have an interview with Ruth Bradley who plays Emma Flyte on SLOW HORSES. We talk about this season and Emma's relationship with Diana Taverner. Ruth talks about that epic fight from season four, acting with Christopher …
Find all previous and future episodes listed here or in your podcast app under "Barbican Station”. Welcome back as we look at season 5 episode 2 of SLOW HORSES. I'm pleased to welcome back Dr. Mary to the show to break down all the details of this episode. We talk about the Roddy's apartment, that …
Continue reading Barbican Station – Season 5 Episode 2 – Recap
Find all previous and future episodes listed here or in your podcast app under "Barbican Station”. This episode I have an interview with Christopher Chung who plays Roddy Ho on SLOW HORSES. We talk about this season and how Roddy is living his best life. Christopher goes into how the collaboration with the many different …
Continue reading Barbican Station – Christopher Chung Interview
Find all previous and future episodes listed here or in your podcast app under "Barbican Station”. Welcome back as we return to look at season 5 of SLOW HORSES. This season is an adaptation of the Mick Herron novel London Rules. I'm pleased to welcome back Scott Hardy from the SpyHards podcast to the show. …
Continue reading Barbican Station – Season 5 Episode 1 – Recap
Find all previous and future episodes listed here or in your podcast app under "Barbican Station". Donate to #TeamEvie and the Literally Healing program at the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles. Go to TinyURL.com/giveTE to make a monetary donation to the Literally Healing program or go to TinyURL.com/TeamE24, pick a book and make sure to …
Continue reading Interview – Duane & Meredith Swierczynski on #TeamEvie
As I did before the release of Slough House, I look at some of the burning questions ahead of the next book. With Bad Actors just a few short days away, I’m ponder what we might see. Read the book and then laugh at my incorrect guesses! Warning – Spoilers ahead for all books in …
Publishers are always looking to refresh the backlist of authors and sell more copies. In the 70’s the beautiful painted book covers went out of fashion and photo covers came into vogue. The UK publisher Fontana had paperback rights to many of the well known thriller writers of the time like Desmond Bagley, Alastair Maclean, …
Continue reading Broken Covers – John Creasey, The Baron edition
I’ve always been fascinated with the history of the cold war spy novel. I had previously considered Atomsk, released in 1949 and written by Carmichael Smith, the first but it appears to only be the first US Cold War novel. The UK’s Humphrey Slater wrote Conspirator and beat Atomsk by a year. Conspirator follows a …
Continue reading Conspirator by Humphrey Slater – The first Cold War novel?
After being teased by Nick Harkaway, one of le Carré's sons, during book events surrounding the release of Silverview we now have additional details on a book of John le Carré/David Cornwell correspondence. The book, currently titled A Private Spy: The Letters of John le Carré, 1945-2020, has a UK release date of November 3rd, …
After an off year of reading in 2020, I had a return closer to form in 2021. Below I’ve highlighted some of my favorite spy related novels in no particular order. Slough House by Mick Herron - Herron continues to fire on all cylinders with his seventh book in the Slough House series. This one …
I’m pleased to welcome guest writer Jeff Gelb to the site for this interview with author Robert Randisi. ROBERT RANDISI REFLECTS ON HIS NICK CARTER NOVELS By Jeff Gelb I was very fortunate to be a child of the 1960s. I grew up in the era when the Beatles changed the face of music forever, when the Marvel Universe …
Continue reading Robert Randisi on his Nick Carter novels – Interview
I’m pleased to welcome guest Dick Woodgate to the site for the below book review. ‘I don’t like killing, but I’m good at it.’A Kill in the Morning by Graeme Shimmin As opening lines go, it’s a good one by any standard. It’s memorable too – I read Graeme Shimmin’s novel, A Kill in the Morning a few years ago now, yet I didn’t need …
Surprising news broke this morning that a final complete novel from John le Carré would be published in October titled Silverview. According to his agent Jonny Geller, via The Guardian, le Carré had been working on the novel on and off before The Pigeon Tunnel and had recently completed it, giving permission for its publication …
These were released a couple of months ago, but still worth highlighting. Book seven of the series is titled Slough House, I'm guessing to coordinate with the, now COVID delayed, TV series. No major redesign to the covers on offer. Publisher John Murray makes a minor adjustment by adding a splash of color to their …
In this episode I take a closer look at the second book in the Slough House series, Dead Lions, with Alice Dryden. We explore the truth behind a dickie bow, melting cars, whether all small English villages contain hidden evil and Dorset knob throwing.
I guest hosted a couple of recent episodes of the Spybrary podcast that I thought folks might want to check out.
In the first episode of Barbican Station we take a closer look at Mick Herron, the author of the Slough House series. What makes him write these books?
Future episodes will explore the books in the series.
I’m always excited to find a new spy novel series by an author that does something fresh in the genre. I was lucky enough to have the pleasure of reading one such series recently. Thanks to the recommendation of the excellent Spybrary discussion group, I listened to the audiobook for Khurrum Rahman’s debut novel East …
Continue reading East of Hounslow & Homegrown Hero by Khurrum Rahman – Review
I posted previously about the book description for the next book in Mick Herron's Slough House series and it looks like it might now have a title. According to Amazon and Barnes and Noble the next book is titled - Slough House. It's a title that's appropriately full circle from the first novel Slow Horses, …
A production timeline and news about the upcoming AppleTV+ show, Slow Horses, an adaption of the Mick Herron spy series.
It’s been 8 years since we’ve had a novel dedicated to the trials and tribulations of Milo Weaver, Olen Steinhauer’s former spy turned spymaster. Milo was a member of a secretive CIA department called Tourism, it’s agents tasked with cleaning up messes that the government didn’t want to have to acknowledge. Members of the department, …
Continue reading The Last Tourist by Olen Steinhauer – A Review
A man who is able to seamlessly blend in with the native cultures of Siberia is sent by the US to infiltrate a hidden Russian base and escape with crucial information on what the Russians are up to. Can you guess the title? If you guessed Kolymsky Heights, you’d be correct. But if you said …
Publishers are always looking to refresh the backlist of authors and sell more copies. In the 70’s the beautiful painted book covers went out of fashion and photo covers came into vogue. The UK publisher Fontana had paperback rights to many of the well known thriller writers of the time like Desmond Bagley, Alastair Maclean, …
Over time many authors have sung the praises of the Quiller books. I found authors as varied as a spy novelist who writes from a Christian perspective to a writer of Florida based pulp novels. I found quite a few examples of writers expressing their admiration online. Among them was Shane Black screenwriter of Lethal …
Publishers are always looking to refresh the backlist of authors and sell more copies. In the 70’s the beautiful painted book covers went out of fashion and photo covers came into vogue. The UK publisher Fontana had paperback rights to many of the well known thriller writers of the time like Desmond Bagley, Alastair Maclean, …
I've read a few spy related books recently and thought I'd offer a quick round up of some recent releases. The Bayern Agenda - Dan Moren I've always thought that spies and scifi can be a good fit. By setting your book in the far future you can play with some of the spy tropes without …
I'm always on the hunt for new bits of history or trivia about the Circus. I've made a new find and I think you'll find it to be quite the treat. I was digging through some archives at the library and found one of Control's commencement addresses to the graduates of the Sarrett training camp. …
In this episode I provide an introduction to the world's most famous spy writer. John le Carré began writing novels as a way to relieve the boredom of his duties as an upper-class raised British diplomat. That was what the world was told. The reality was that he wrote under a pseudonym; in truth he was a spy for MI6. His ability to live two lives at once was what made him both a successful spy as well as one of the most famous espionage novelists of all time.
Much of the research came from Adam Sisman's essential biography of le Carré.
James Olson's book Fair Play was also quite helpful along with the collection of le Carré interviews called Conversations with John le Carré edited by Matthew J. Bruccoli and Judith S. Baughman.
In the history of spy novels, Mick Herron’s Slough House is becoming as memorable a location as le Carré’s spy headquarters the Circus. Compared to London Rules, which took off like an out of control car, Joe Country is a more sedate affair. In a narrative shift from previous books, the first pages reveal that not all of our slow horses will be returning to the stable, leaving a sense of impending doom hanging over all the characters.
The 2002 book Spy’s Fate is one of those novels you’d never discover unless you went into a bookstore. A recommendation by one of the staff and only stocked because of their passion for it, I picked it up on a whim after seeing it several times on visits to a local bookstore called The …
Spies and romance. They go together like hand to fingerprint disguising glove. But how do we rank some of fictions greatest spies in the romance department? Well, if you’re looking to romance a spy, buyer beware. Let’s take a closer look - James Bond - Pros - Frequently wears a tuxedo. Dines in the best …
Publishers are always looking to refresh the backlist of authors and sell more copies. In the 70’s the beautiful painted book covers went out of fashion and photo covers came into vogue. The UK publisher Fontana had paperback rights to many of the well known thriller writers of the time like Desmond Bagley, Alastair Maclean, …
It's been over two years but I've laid hands on yet another abridged version of The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. We've seen two previous abridged versions, one in a magazine called True and the next in Reader's Digest. Over three issues of Show - The Magazine of the Arts, October through December …
Wilkinson kicks off 2019 right with her excellent novel American Spy.
Publishers are always looking to refresh the backlist of authors and sell more copies. In the 70’s the beautiful painted book covers went out of fashion and photo covers came into vogue. The UK publisher Fontana had paperback rights to many of the well known thriller writers of the time like Desmond Bagley, Alastair Maclean, …
In anticipation of Mick Herron’s US release of London Rules, the fifth book in his Slough House series, I did a re-read of his Slough House related work. Herron's short story/novella The Drop was released a few months after London Rules in the fall of 2018. Read more I've written on Herron and other Slough House …
Kate Atkinson’s latest book Transcription tells the story of fictional spy Juliet Armstrong. She’s an eighteen year old who is recruited to assist with an operation to track German spies in London during WW2. While a colleague reels them in from the apartment next door, she transcribes their recorded conversations. Atkinson jumps between three timelines …
In anticipation of Mick Herron’s US release of London Rules, the fifth book in his Slough House series, I did a re-read of the first four books. London Rules was published after the novel Spook Street. Find a glossary on Slough House terms here and the full list of pieces on the book series here. …
In anticipation of Mick Herron’s US release of London Rules, the fifth book in his Slough House series, I’m doing a re-read of the first four books. Spook Street appeared after the novel Real Tigers in 2017. Read more on other Slough House books here. "First law of Spook Street. Secrets don’t stay secret.” The …
Find even more on the slow horses and the Slough House series here. There is a lot going on in Mick Herron's Slough House books and following the tradition of John le Carré he's created his own spy jargon. As the series continues I thought having a cheat sheet might prove helpful for refreshing memories …
Michael Moreci has become known for his sci fi and comics work but this summer he’s branching out into thrillers. His Roche Limit comic trilogy is sci-fi storytelling at its best. The first part reads like a Blade Runner-esque noir thriller, the second Aliens meets the Southern Reach trilogy and the finale is reminiscent of …
The biggest story of last year was the announcement that John le Carré had written a new Smiley novel. Fans of le Carré's all over the world were shocked. Le Carré had seemed to put a button on Smiley with The Secret Pilgrim so every fan is excited about the new novel. As a collector, …
In anticipation of Mick Herron’s US release of London Rules, the fifth book in his Slough House series, I’m doing a re-read of the first four books. Second is Dead Lions from 2013. Read more on other Slough House books here. “Dead lions,” Molly said. “What about them?” “It’s a kids’ party game. You have …
Publishers are always looking to refresh the backlist of authors and sell more copies. In the 70's the beautiful painted book covers went out of fashion and photo covers came into vogue. The UK publisher Fontana had paperback rights to many of the well known thriller writers of the time like Desmond Bagley, Alistair MacLean, …
Publishers are always looking to refresh the backlist of authors and sell more copies. In the 70's the beautiful painted book covers went out of fashion and photo covers came into vogue. The UK publisher Fontana had paperback rights to many of the well known thriller writers of the time like Desmond Bagley, Alastair Maclean, …
Finding books that John le Carré has recommended, contributed to or written introductions/forewords to has become something of a passion project for me. In the process of doing this research I came upon its flip side - the fake le Carré blurb scandal. Back in 1991 a writer named Derek Van Arman was involved in a …
I"m back with another addition to my growing list of books le Carré has recommended or blurbed. Catch up with my previous posts - Part one Part two Here are the new additions - The Reason Why by Cecil Woodham-Smith - JlC review - "I’m not sure why I returned to this classic account of one …
Ian Fleming didn't leave to the reader's imagination what James Bond liked to read. As written by Edward Biddulph on the excellent James Bond site - Artistic License Renewed - we can see some of the books Bond perused while off duty. We're not as lucky with other famous fictional spies. That's the idea behind …
Continue reading Reading recommendations for spies – Quiller
Following up on my previous post about "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold," in the next few posts I'll be highlighting some of the odd or rare versions of the book I have. First is a compilation of le Carré's third, fourth, and fifth novels - The Spy Who, A Small town in …
Eric Ambler's "lost" novel
The 50th anniversary of the release of The Spy Who Came in from the Cold passed us by a couple of years ago, and I thought I'd post about a few copies of that important piece of spy fiction that I've picked up over the years. In addition, I'll comment on what to look for when …
Continue reading Collecting The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John le Carré
This site lists just about every spy novel series with two books or more and allows you to search by both author and by character name.
The man who runs the site obviously loves spy novels and the number of authors and books is huge. This is a great resource for anyone looking for new espionage stories.
Morrell’s The Spy who came for Christmas hits the spot for a book you never knew you needed – the Christmas spy tale. Paul Kagan is an undercover intelligence operative who breaks his cover to save an innocent baby, who just might bring peace to the Middle East. He finds refuge with a mother and son alone on Christmas eve, but his enemies are hot on his trail…
Ok, I'll admit it. Until now I hadn't read the most influential spy novel of the 20th century, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John LeCarre. Now that I have, it's easy to see why it had such a big effect. To discuss the plot too much is to spoil it, but …
Continue reading The Spy Who Came in from the Cold – John LeCarre
NPR's Talk of the Nation in 2005 had a interesting interview with a number of former CIA workers that have written spy related fiction and nonfiction. It's well worth a listen - NPR Talk of the Nation - Spy Writers
Picking up with ideas he started to explore in Brotherhood of the Rose, Morrell continues to look at the long term impact a life spent on killing would have on the soul. Can a person find peace and forgiveness when everything they've ever done has caused destruction and pain? Of course, this is all done …
David Morrell, better known as the writer of the novel the first Rambo movie was based on, wrote a spy trilogy in the early 1980s that has just been released in ebook format. The first, Brotherhood of the Rose, follows two orphans that have been raised as brothers and trained to become expert operatives for …
The Nearest Exit by Olen Steinhauer is the sequel to his first book in the series, The Tourist. Milo is an everyday working shlub trying to keep his marriage from falling apart. The only difference is that he works for the Department of Tourism, a secret CIA organization dedicated to doing the work that's so …
The Department of Defense is attempting to block publication of the book Operation Dark Heart: Spycraft and Special Ops on the Frontlines of Afghanistan by Anthony Shaffer, a former agent for the Defense Intelligence Agency. The book had been vetted by the Army Reserves but apparently has still has some sensitive information included. Full story …
Continue reading DOD suppresses spy book – Spy News Story of the Week – 9/10/2010