I've been seriously lacking in my coverage of spy novels lately (particularly in failing to cover the UK release of Jeremy Duns' new novel, Free Country after such a stellar debut; I'll be rectifying that soon), but I have to mention when the foremost living practioner of the genre releases a new book. John Le Carré latest novel, Our Kind of Traitor, hits American shelves today. (It came out in Britain a few weeks ago.) Our Kind of Traitor tells the story of a vacationing couple caught up in a global war of wits between an murderous Russian gangster/arms dealer and various unscrupulous factions within the British Secret Service. As previously reported, a film version is already in the works.
October is a huge month for spy novels in the US. On the 26th, Greg Rucka's eagerly anticipated new Queen & Country novel, The Last Run, will be released, and the same day sees (at last!) the long-awaited American publication of Jon Stock's Dead Spy Running.
Our Kind of Traitor, published by Viking, retails for $27.95 but can currently be had for the bargain price of $14.98 from Amazon.
