Damascus Station
by David McCloskey, Norton $27.95
This standout debut from a veteran former CIA officer is packed with insider knowledge and the story itself feels completely authentic. The action rolls across Paris and Damascus to make a cracking, highly topical tale of espionage, intertwined with an electric romance. More please.
Yesterday’s Spy
by Tom Bradby, Bantam Press £16.99
A finely crafted take on the 1953 western-influenced coup in Iran that overthrew the popular Mossadegh regime in favour of the autocratic Shah. Bradby skilfully threads the essential history into a gripping tale — layered with vivid scene-setting — of a spy whose son has gone missing in Tehran.
The Russian Doll
by Marina Palmer, Hodder and Stoughton £16.99
When Ruth Miller, a young woman from a deprived background, takes a job with an oligarch’s wife, she is soon enjoying a life of uber-luxury in a swish corner of London. But as Faust could have told her, Miller’s new comfort comes at a high price in this sharply drawn and very timely thriller.
Tell us what you think
What are your favourites from this list — and what books have we missed? Tell us in the comments below
The Chemical Cocktail
by Fiona Erskine, Point Blank £8.99
Fast-paced, roller-coaster ride featuring explosives expert Jaq Silver grappling with a mysterious inheritance while trying to rescue her kidnapped fiancé. The action-packed storyline, just the right side of bonkers, roams from Lisbon to England to the steamy depths of the Brazilian jungle as Erskine lets her imagination rip to great effect.
The Matchmaker: A Spy in Berlin
by Paul Vidich, No Exit Press £9.99
Anne Simpson is a naive American woman living in Berlin. When her husband disappears, she learns that he was not a piano-tuner but a “Romeo”, a Stasi agent charged with targeting lonely single women. Meanwhile, the Wall is about to come down and tension soars in Vidich’s atmospheric tale of the once divided city.
Adam LeBor is the author of ‘Dohany Street’, a Budapest noir crime thriller
Summer Books 2022
All this week, FT writers and critics share their favourites. Some highlights are:
Monday: Economics by Martin Wolf
Tuesday: Environment by Pilita Clark
Wednesday: Fiction by Laura Battle
Thursday: History by Tony Barber
Friday: Politics by Gideon Rachman
Saturday: Critics’ choice
Join our online book group on Facebook at FT Books Café
