If your favorite book is Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy

[CurlewKate]

What else might you like?

Each Peach, Pear, Plum is a lovely book. Similar to Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy - nice for kids because of the repeated words, half-rhymes etc. Really beautiful illustrations as well.

Do you mean the John Le Carre spy novel?

Slow Horses by Mick Herron. Also a great TV series.

@theallotmentqueen I'm sorry, I didn't make myself clear. But I think I might give him a copy of Each Peach Pear Plum as well-we loved it when ours were little.🥰

John Le Carre's son has just written a new book set in the world of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. I've bought DH it for christmas. I can't remember the book title but the author is Nick Harkaway.

YY to pp on Slow Horses as well.

^ It's called Karla's Choice

What about Game, Set and Match by Len Deighton?

Fatherland by Robert Harris

Kate Atkinson's "Transcription".
It's brilliant and funny.

Would agree with Slow Horses.

Fatherland, Robert Harris.

James Bond - whilst accepting it is sex, sadism and snobbery. Antony Horowitz has written a couple of Bond books which are worth reading, too.

And obviously the other Smiley books

hahahah sorry for the misunderstanding! Glad it gave you a chuckle though :-)

I second anything by Robert Harris. Great author. I’m currently listening to Conclave on Audible.

ive also got “Karla’s choice” on Audible. It’s has had very good reviews. I haven’t listened to it yet.

Len Deighton also very good. I remember reading Game, Set and Match when I was a student. Me and my friend in the next room got really into reading Len Deighton books. I’m not sure how well they have aged. I might have to reread them.

I enjoy reading Ben Macintyre. I'm currently reading The Siege.

How about Tom Clancy? Patriot games, clear and present danger etc.

I'm a huge John LeCarre fan - The Spy Who Came In From The Cold is a terrific book and I highly recommend it if you haven't read it yet. I've just finished reading Karla's Choice and thought it was awful. I love LeCarre because he treated his readers as intelligent people who didn't need every nuance explained in detail, Karla's Choice is the opposite.

I don't really rate the Slow Horses books either. Robert Harris is pretty good imo.

Damascus Station by David McCloskey

Frederick Forsyth - Day of the Jackal

He loves Nick Harkaway- and infuriatingly
bought the new one for himself recently. Personally I would rather eat wasps than read this sort of thing, but he really, really rates Nick Harkaway if anyone needs a review!

@MissMarplesNiece Damn-I've just bought him the first Slow Horses as his Christmas Eve book (a Christmas Eve tradition chez us) oh well,he'll just have to pretend to like it!)

A lot of people really like the books, just like many people have enjoyed Karla's Choice, he may really like what you've chosen.

I don't really understand why people compare the Slow Horses books to John LeCarre except for the fact that they're both set in the world of espionage, the quality of the writing is world's apart.

The Slough House books are very much playing with the Le Carre tropes in particular, and there are in-jokes peppered through the books.

They've got the shadow of Berlin and the Cold War like the classic Smiley books. I'd say that there's a better than evens chance that a Smiley fan will like Slough House.

Agree. I think Slow Horses are light, pulpy reads (thought the tv series was much better), but TTSS is a great novel - it’s complex and subtle and I think unparalleled. Smiley’s People and The Spy Who Came In From The Cold are both terrific, but not as good. Day of the Jackal is really good and Fatherland is the best of the Harris novels (which are ok but also generally pulpy).

Mick Herron has got me back into the world of reading fiction due to his amazing writing skills. So I’d absolutely confirm PPs recommendations.

Another author I love, for his writing skills, is Daniel Silva. It helps to start fairly early on in the series (key character is Gabriel Allon) but the first 2 or 3 books are a bit clunky.

This is in fact my favourite book!

non fiction: 1983, world at the brink is fantastic. Simon Sebag Montefiore’s books about Stalin.

fiction: I like 1920s detective fiction, Alan Hollingshurst (not spy novels or anywhere close, just another author I love)

For non fiction, I’m currently reading and enjoying A Spy Among Friends by Ben Macintyre, about Kim Philby and the Cambridge spy ring. John Le Carre’s autobiographical The Pigeon Tunnel is also excellent.

I'd second A Spy Amongst Friends. Obviously he's not in the Le Carre class as a prose writer because almost nobody is, but it's very readable and interesting.