Briarpatch vs The second lady: Which Should You Read?

Both live on shelves: Spy Fiction, Fiction

Cover of Briarpatch

Briarpatch Ross Thomas · 1816 ★★★★☆ 4.1 336 pages · ≈ 6 h 13 m · Challenging Find on Amazon

vs

Cover of The second lady

The second lady Irving Wallace · 1980 ★★★★☆ 3.9 383 pages · ≈ 7 h 06 m · Moderate Find on Amazon

The verdict

Ratings are close: 4.1 vs 3.9 — either is a safe pick by score.
The second lady is the easier read (Moderate), Briarpatch more demanding (Challenging).

Side by side