18 books like Black blade

What to read after Black blade — books similar to it, matched on shared themes.

Yellow-dog contract Ross Thomas · 1977 · ★ 4.0 · 264p · ≈ 8h · Moderate An ex-political operative is a master of dirty tricks, but now he's mixed up in something far worse: "Ross Thomas is without peer in American suspense" (Los Angeles Times).   There are few jobs that Harvey Longmire hasn't had. He's been a crime reporter, Louisiana state legislator, foreign correspondent, and—briefly—a decoy for the CIA. But he made his name as campaign trail fixer, an… Shares: Spy Fiction, Mystery

Mysterious Mr. Sabin Edward Phillips Oppenheim · 1900 · 370p · ≈ 12h · Challenging "The mysterious Mr. Sabin is an unscrupulous French royalist who aids the German government in a conspiracy of war against England. His part in the plot is that of securing valuable papers recording the coast defenses of England, for which services he demands Germany's conquest of France and the restoration of the monarchy in the person of Prince Henri and his cousin, Helene of… Shares: Spy Fiction

Pray for Brave Heart Helen MacInnes · 1955 · 256p · ≈ 8h · Moderate About the undeclared and ever-waging war of our time, the war for men's minds, and the action takes place in Switzerland. Shares: Spy Fiction

Windmills of the gods Sidney Sheldon · 1987 · ★ 3.9 · 384p · ≈ 12h · Moderate A college professor, a naive Kansan, becomes the US ambassador to Romania and learns a lot about life. Shares: Spy Fiction

The Whip Hand Victor Canning · 1965 · ★ 4.0 · 271p · ≈ 9h · Moderate A 1960s London PI's search for a missing au pair leads to sinister evil in this classic spy series opener by the author of The Rainbird Pattern.Meet Rex Carver, the suave and laconic private investigator.His job is to track down a German au pair, Katerina Saxmann, who has gone missing in Brighton. But when the security services show up at his apartment within hours of him accepting the… Shares: Spy Fiction

If you can't be good Ross Thomas · 1973 · ★ 4.1 · 249p · ≈ 8h · Moderate An old CIA connection brings trouble for a Washington, DC, barman in this thriller from "America's best storyteller" (The New York Times Book Review).   As the saying goes, you can't pick your friends. If you could, Mac McCorkle would disown Padilla. They owned a bar together in Bonn, the West German capital, and stayed partners even after Padilla's sideline as a CIA operative got the bar… Shares: Spy Fiction

The man who lost the war W. T. Tyler · 1980 · ★ 3.5 · 434p · ≈ 14h · Moderate Set in post-war Berlin, a disillusioned former CIA operative and a Russian spy cross paths in their search for an elusive double agent. Shares: Spy Fiction

The second lady Irving Wallace · 1980 · ★ 3.9 · 383p · ≈ 12h · Moderate On a state visit to Moscow, Billie Bradford, the beautiful and brilliant wife of the President of the United States, is abducted by the Soviets and replaced by Vera Vazilova, a superbly trained Russian undercover agent and actress who is the First Lady's physical double.The impostor's mission--to induce the President to reveal a U.S. secret that will drastically tip the world balance toward… Shares: Spy Fiction

Family Trade James Carroll · 1982 · ★ 3.5 · 400p · ≈ 13h · Moderate A New York Times Notable Book"A rich, seductive meld of characters real and fictive, of history and fancy."  — New York Times Book ReviewIn this compelling family saga set during a tumultuous era in Boston history, 1960-1984, acclaimed author James Carroll chronicles the lives of two brothers, Nick and Terry Doyle, as they strive to move beyond the strictures of their working-class… Shares: Spy Fiction

When the Sacred Ginmill Closes Lawrence Block · 1986 · ★ 4.0 · 261p · ≈ 8h · Moderate In the dark days, in a sad and lonely place, ex-cop Matt Scudder is drinking his life away -- and doing "favors" for pay for his ginmill cronies. But when three such assignments flow together in dangerous and disturbing ways, he'll need to change his priorities from boozing to surviving. Shares: New york, Mystery

Strega Andrew Vachss · 1987 · ★ 4.0 · 293p · ≈ 9h · Moderate Andrew Vachss's implacable private eye has a new client, Strega. She wants Burke to find an obscene photograph--and that search will take him into the ocean that flows just beneath the city, an ocean whose currents are flesh and money, the anguish of children and the pleasure of twisted adults. It is a place that Burke can visit only at the risk of his sanity and his life. But between the power… Shares: New york, Mystery

The Dead Room Heather Graham · 2007 · ★ 4.0 · 384p · ≈ 12h · Moderate A year ago, archaeologist Leslie MacIntyre barely survived the explosion that took the life of her fiance, Matt Connolly. In the long months since, she’s slowly come to terms not only with her loss but with her unsettling new ability to communicate with ghosts, a dubious “gift” received in the wake of her own brush with death.Now she’s returned to lower Manhattan’s historic Hastings House, site… Shares: New york, Mystery

You Only Live Twice Ian Fleming · 1964 · ★ 3.7 · 262p · ≈ 8h · Moderate Bond, a shattered man after the death of his wife at the hands of SPECTRE founder Ernst Stavro Blofeld, has gone to pieces as an agent, endangering himself and his fellow operatives. M, unwilling to accept the loss of one of his best men, sends 007 to Japan for one last, near-impossible mission with the hopes of bolstering his spirits. But Japan proves to be Bond's downfall, leading him to a… Shares: Japan, Spy Fiction, Mystery

Palace of Treason Jason Matthews · 2015 · ★ 4.2 · 480p · ≈ 16h · Moderate 843 pages (large print) ; 23 cm Shares: Spy Fiction

The Property of a Lady Elizabeth Adler · 1990 · ★ 4.1 · 576p · ≈ 19h · Moderate | alt = A book cover showing a conch shell and fish; both are covered in flies. Shares: Spy Fiction, Mystery

Annette, the Metis Spy Joseph Edmund Collins · 1886 · 132p · ≈ 4h · Challenging This is a adventure book. The sun was hanging low in the clear blue over the prairie, as two riders hurried their ponies along a blind trail toward a distant range of purple hills that lay like sleepy watchers along the banks of the Red River. The beasts must have ridden far, for their flanks were white with foam, and their riders were splashed with froth and mud, 'The day is nearly done, mon… Shares: Spy Fiction

The doorbell rang Rex Stout · 1965 · ★ 4.2 · 178p · ≈ 5h · Moderate There’s no one and nothing the great detective Nero Wolfe wouldn’t take on if the price was right. That’s something wealthy society widow Rachel Bruner is counting on when she writes him a check for a whopping hundred grand. But even Wolfe has a moment’s doubt when he finds out why the prize is so generous. For the oversize genius and his able assistant Archie Goodwin are about to lock horns with… Shares: New york, Mystery

The Icon Neil Olson · 2005 · ★ 4.0 · 377p · ≈ 12h · Moderate A fascinating novel of art theft, family intrigue, and an ancient religious artifact that possesses untold power When Matthew Spear, a young curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, meets the lovely Ana Kessler, an art dealer who has inherited an impressive group of pieces, he discovers a prize: the collection includes the Holy Mother of Katarini—a sacred icon long thought destroyed. But while… Shares: New york, Spy Fiction

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