18 books like The ghost war

What to read after The ghost war — books similar to it, matched on shared themes.

Morning Spy, Evening Spy Colin MacKinnon · 2006 · ★ 4.0 · 320p · ≈ 10h · Moderate CIA officer Paul Patterson races to track down Kareem, a former Afghan resistance fighter who has become an al-Qaeda and Taliban operative, in a novel about the search for terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden in the months prior to September 11th. Shares: Terrorists, Spy Fiction

Death will have your eyes James Sallis · 1997 · ★ 3.4 · 192p · ≈ 6h · Moderate David (as he's currently known) was a member of an elite corps of spies trained during the coldest days of the Cold War. But those days are long gone and for almost a decade he has been out of the rat race and working as a sculptor. Then a phone call in the middle of the night awakens him: the only other survivor from that elite corps has gone rogue. They need David to stop him. What ensues is… Shares: United States, Spy Fiction

Watchman (Crime Club) Ian Rankin · 1988 · ★ 4.0 · 272p · ≈ 9h · Moderate From #1 international bestseller Ian Rankin, an unlucky spy gets one last chance at redemption. Miles Flint is a spy who has been making some serious mistakes. His last assignment led to the death of a foreign official in London, and after getting too close to his current subject he wound up in police custody. But something is wrong at the agency that has nothing to do with Miles' errors. Why did… Shares: Intelligence service, Spy Fiction, Thriller, Mystery

The Icarus agenda Robert Ludlum · 1988 · ★ 4.0 · 677p · ≈ 22h · Moderate Colorado Congressman Evan Kendrick is trying to live out his term quietly when a political mole reveals his deepest secret: Kendrick was the anonymous hero who freed the hostages held by Arab terrorists in the American embassy in Masqat, and then silently disappeared. Now, brought into the light, Kendrick is a target, pursued by the terrorists he once outwitted. Together with the beautiful woman… Shares: Terrorists, Spy Fiction, Thriller

The scorpio illusion Robert Ludlum · 1993 · ★ 3.9 · 761p · ≈ 25h · Moderate His name defines the international thriller. Now Robert Ludlum has crafted his most suspenseful, most surprising novel since The Bourne Identity - a multileveled, deftly plotted story of a brilliant and seductive woman who lives single-mindedly for revenge; the Scorpios, the powerful, shadowy forces that support her; and the one man who must find her before it is too late. Amaya Bajaratt is… Shares: Terrorists, Spy Fiction

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

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

The Chancellor Manuscript Robert Ludlum · 1920 · ★ 3.9 · 455p · ≈ 15h · Challenging Did J. Edgar Hoover die a natural death? Or was he murdered? When a group of high-minded and high-placed intellectuals known as Inver Brass detect a monstrous threat to the country in Hoover’s unethical use of his scandal-ridden private files, they decide to do away with him—quietly, efficiently, with no hint of impropriety. Then bestselling thriller writer Peter Chancellor stumbles onto… Shares: Intelligence service, Spy Fiction

Tanner On Ice Lawrence Block · 1998 · ★ 3.5 · 286p · ≈ 9h · Moderate Cold War superspy Evan Tanner lost the ability to sleep on a battlefield in Korea. So where the heck has he been since the '70s?Frozen. Cryogenically. A Tanner-sicle. Which he never thought would happen when he walked into a basement in Union City, New Jersey, more than a quarter century ago. Now he's unthawed and ready to rumble, and his somewhat addled, former super-secret boss, "the Chief," is… Shares: Intelligence service, Spy Fiction, Thriller, 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

The Bourne ultimatum Robert Ludlum · 1990 · ★ 4.0 · 611p · ≈ 20h · Moderate David Webb must once again assume the identity of assassin Jason Bourne as he matches wits with his mortal enemy, Carlos, a deadly and elusive terrorist known as "the Jackal," in a final confrontation. Shares: Terrorists, United States, Spy Fiction

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