The Writers Staying out in the Cold

Old spies never die, they just become spooks forever. The Cold War has turned lukewarm, and the Berlin Wall is a pile of rubble, but spy fiction is as popular – and highly prescient – as ever.

Alan Judd’s No. 2 Whitehall Court blends his trademark flair and authenticity as a new MI6 recruit tries to uncover a mole and prevent catastrophe. Spymaster Charles Cumming returns with Icarus 17, the gripping fourth instalment in his highly-acclaimed Box 88 espionage series. Nick Harkaway takes on the mantle of his late father, John le Carré, as he resurrects George Smiley in the extraordinary thriller Karla’s Choice. Louise Doughty, bestselling author of Apple Tree Yard, weaves tangled webs in the twisty and propulsive A Bird in Winter.

Double agent N.J. Cooper is in charge.