In June, I read six books, all of them crime fiction.
- The Honourable Schoolboy by John le Carré
- The Seven Dials Mystery by Agatha Christie
- Some Buried Caesar by Rex Stout
- A Perfect Spy by John le Carré
- Murder Among Friends by Elizabeth Ferrars
- An American Spy by Olen Steinhauer
There is no way I could pick a favorite book this month. I read three books that I regarded as excellent books:
A Perfect Spy,
Some Buried Caesar, and
An American Spy. The authors of those books, John le Carré, Rex Stout, and Olen Steinhauer respectively, are among my favorite authors. The other three books were also very enjoyable reads. I rarely consider a book I have read to be a clunker, but sometimes there are books that just are not my thing. Not this month. A wonderful month of reading.
I continue to read mostly spy fiction.
The Honourable Schoolboy by le Carré is one of the Smiley novels.
A Perfect Spy and
The American Spy are both obviously spy novels, and
The Seven Dials Mystery is a lighter version of the espionage fiction genre.
An American Spy is the third book in a trilogy by Olen Steinhauer, and I waited nearly two years to finish this series. Milo Weaver works for the CIA, in the Department of Tourism. "Tourists" are described as undercover agents with no identity and no home. Milo is not the James Bond type, although there are plenty of thrilling escapades and violence. But we see the other side of this spy's life, the family he wishes he could spend more time with. I did enjoy picking up on Milo Weaver's adventures again. The first book in the trilogy is
The Tourist, the second is
The Nearest Exit.
14 comments:
Tracy, le Carré and Christie are definitely on my list. I haven't read so many of their books.
Between my husband and me we have read all of these books!
You did have some excellent reads this month, Tracy. Those are some highly talented authors, and a good spy novel can be memorable.
Prashant, I have found le Carre to be very addictive. Even though the books I have chosen lately are very long.
That is interesting, Patti. Your husband reads spy fiction?
I never have figured out why I like spy novels so much, Margot, because I often get confused by the plots and characters. But in the end, I find them very satisfying.
Good selection this month Tracy: all authors I know, I have read two of these books and would happily read the other 4 - and fully intend to do so soon in the case of the Ferrars... Also would like to get back to more Olen Steinhauer.
I only have one more Steinhauer to read (ALL THE OLD KNIVES), Moira. I guess I can then go back and reread his first series. I am on the lookout for more of Ferrar's book at the book sale, and if that does not pan out, I will go searching for specific ones, maybe try some of her series books.
Glad you had a decent month. I never did take le Carre on holiday and I need to get to the Weaver series someday!
I'm not in love with spy novels the way I am with mysteries, but a well done one can be very satisfying.
I enjoyed the Weaver series a lot, Col. Le Carre books may be too dense to enjoy on a holiday, unless that is what you prefer.
I had slowed down on reading spy novels last year, Ryan, but now I am getting back on track. I have so many in the TBR stacks.
TracyK: I really enjoyed the Milo Weaver series. So few spy novels have significant family participation. The presence of Milo's family made it more "real" for me.
I equally have thought of reading his first series but I have never come across them in bookstores.
I like the presence of family members in spy novels also, Bill. The Bernard Samson series by Len Deighton has that element too. I think I had to seek out copies of Steinhauer's first series books online in order to find them.
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