Liar's candle vs The Matarese Circle: Which Should You Read?

Both live on shelves: Intelligence officers, Spy Fiction, Fiction

Liar's candle August Thomas · 2018 ★★★★☆ 3.7 320 pages · ≈ 5 h 56 m · Moderate

Reminiscent of the work of John le Carre and Olen Steinhauser, this brilliant debut novel features a young State Department intern on the run in Turkey, trying to outwit and outmaneuver everyone from the Turkish…

Terrorism

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The Matarese Circle Robert Ludlum · 1979 ★★★★☆ 4.1 601 pages · ≈ 11 h 08 m · Moderate

An international circle of killers, the Matarese will undoubtedly take over the world within just two years. Only two rival spies have the power to stop them: Scofield, CIA, and Talaniekov, KGB. They share a genius for…

Soviet union Spies

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Side by side

The verdict

Readers rate The Matarese Circle highest: The Matarese Circle 4.1 · Liar's candle 3.7.
Liar's candle is the quickest read — about 5 hours vs 11 for The Matarese Circle.
The Matarese Circle has the widest readership — 42512 ratings behind its score.

Liar's candle: Check price →The Matarese Circle: Check price →

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How to choose

Want a one-evening read? Liar's candle ≈ 5h vs 11h for The Matarese Circle Just want the better-reviewed one? The Matarese Circle 4.1 vs 3.7 from readers

Scores by source

	Liar's candle	The Matarese Circle
Goodreads	3.7 (730)	4.1 (42512)
Hardcover	3.8 (4)	3.8 (44)
Apple Books	4.0 (14)	4.0 (87)
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Reception

	Liar's candle	The Matarese Circle
Ratings	730	42512
Editions	10	11
Film adaptations	—	1
Want to read	1650	11548
Reading it now	45	1007
Written reviews	157	471
Wikipedia attention	—	869
Pages	320	601
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Questions readers ask

Which is rated higher: Liar's candle or The Matarese Circle?

The Matarese Circle has the higher combined reader rating across sources (The Matarese Circle 4.1/5, Liar's candle 3.7/5).

Which is shorter to read: Liar's candle or The Matarese Circle?

Liar's candle is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Liar's candle (320 pages, ≈ 5 h 56 m); The Matarese Circle (601 pages, ≈ 11 h 08 m).

Which is harder to read: Liar's candle or The Matarese Circle?

Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Liar's candle: Moderate; The Matarese Circle: Moderate.