Alma Katsu's first spy novel is Red Widow, the logical marriage of her love of storytelling with her 30+ year career in intelligence. As an intelligence officer, Katsu worked at several federal agencies as a senior analyst where she advised policymakers and military commanders on issues of national security. The last third of her government career was spent in emerging technologies and technology forecasting. She was also a senior technology policy analyst for the RAND Corporation and continues as an independent consultant and technology futurist, advising clients in government and private industry.
At CrimeReads Katsu tagged five of the best spy novels, written by spies, including:
Charles McCarry, The Miernik DossierRead about the other entries on the list.
McCarry, who had been in CIA’s clandestine service, could be called the American le Carré except for one thing: he never made it look easy. His underlying themes are often the same—the spy’s sneaking suspicion that his morality is being chipped away, that he may be serving bad men with bad intentions—but his writing was painstakingly beautiful, poetic, lush. You’d expect no less from a former presidential speechwriter. The Miernik Dossier was his first book and has inspired many aspiring spy novelists both inside and outside at the Agency, I suspect.
The Miernik Dossier is among Alan Furst's five best spy books.
--Marshal Zeringue
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