18 books like The Vanished Messenger

What to read after The Vanished Messenger — books similar to it, matched on shared themes.

The kingdom of the blind Edward Phillips Oppenheim · 1909 · ★ 3.9 · 220p · ≈ 7h · Challenging E. Phillips Oppenheim’s 1916 thriller follows the search for a German spy in Great Britain during World War I, and highlights wartime tensions among the British upper class. Shares: Espionage, Spy Fiction

The river line Charles Morgan · 1949 · 210p · ≈ 7h · Challenging Includes the plays The River Line, The Flashing Stream and The Burning Glass Charles Morgan was a distinguished novelist before he moved onto stage drama, with his reputation as a major dramatist established by his first play, The Flashing Stream. Morgan was unique for combining the roles of principal dramatic critic of The Times withthat of a practicing dramatist. The Daily Herald wrote that… Shares: Espionage, Spy Fiction

A Colder War Charles Cumming · 2014 · ★ 4.0 · 400p · ≈ 13h · Moderate Internationally acclaimed as “a premier writer of espionage thrillers” (USA Today), Charles Cumming is “among the most skillful spy novelists” (Washington Post) and “a worthy successor to the masters…like John le Carré and Len Deighton” (Chicago Sun-Times). Now, with A COLDER WAR, Cumming returns with MI6 agent Tom Kell (A Foreign Country), in a tour de force that will dazzle readers and critics… Shares: Espionage, Spy Fiction

Horizon, a novel Helen MacInnes · 1946 · 192p · ≈ 6h · Challenging A wartime story of conflicting emotions and loyalties. Some Tyrolean citizens, north and south, sick of being under Italian rule, look to the Nazi invasion as a liberation, their promises of freedom as something worth fighting for. Other wiser heads, including liberated POW Roy know the Nazi's treachery. Roy is holed up for 8 months in a family home as liaison between the local resistance and… Shares: Espionage, Spy Fiction

Octopussy and the Living Daylights Ian Fleming · 1966 · ★ 3.6 · 111p · ≈ 3h · Moderate Octopussy: the darling, was a bit surly. The tentacle she lashed around Major Smythe's arm that morning was none to gentle. So when Smythe found himself the sudden quarry of James Bond at cocktail time, the Major had a brilliant, if rather gruesome, inspiration... The Living Daylights: are about to blasted out of a living target on a crowded Berlin street. Crouched behind a .308 International… Shares: Espionage, Spy Fiction

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 Spy's bedside book Graham Greene · 1957 · 256p · ≈ 8h · Moderate For everyone who’s ever wondered what it really takes to be a spy, legendary author Graham Greene (The Third Man, The Quiet American) and his brother Hugh have compiled this irresistible selection of fiction, memoir, and tricks of the trade straight from the all-time masters of espionage. Here is a perfectly safe way to discover the dangerous secrets many spies have died to learn.Want to know how… Shares: Espionage, Spy Fiction

The devil's alternative Frederick Forsyth · 1979 · ★ 4.1 · 479p · ≈ 15h · Moderate A thriller, from the author of THE DAY OF THE JACKAL and THE DOGS OF WAR, in which the President of the USA and other statesmen throughout the world face a decision that will cost the lives of many people. Shares: Espionage, Spy Fiction

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

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

The untouchable John Banville · 1997 · ★ 4.0 · 409p · ≈ 13h · Moderate (From the Hardcover edition) Twenty years after his "retirement," ex-spy Victor Maskell attempts to come to terms with what has happened to his life by embarking on his memoirs. This is the plot which fuels Banville's stunning new novel--a story that goes beyond the mere facts of espionage to penetrate the intricate heart of the spy. Shares: Espionage, Spy Fiction

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