Many of the best thrillers are so-called spy novels. What are the secrets of the best espionage novels? If one's writing is not purely for personal pleasure, then an author must take account of the expected audience. For espionage novels that means the target readers will be fairly sophisticated. However, the genre offers many sub-topics for the writer to explore.
Key Ingredients
The best spy novels will have some of the following ingredients cooperating to a greater or lesser extent, together with the basics of all well-written fiction - sharp character development and a credible plot, well delivered so as to capture the reader. Here is a sample.
Duplicity
What are spies if not cheats and liars? The world of spying is based on cheating, stealing secrets and living double lives. Skilled novelists include clear depiction of the stresses with which spies live on a day-to-day basis. These include cover story management (which is linked to identity), for example.
Running an Agent
Many spy novels have been written with a focus only on this aspect of spying - the interplay between handler and spy is the process of making the marriage work. On the part of the handler, it requires skill in the manipulation of the agent, and a high degree of ruthlessness to work the psychological levers which control the often hapless puppet. To write well about this aspect of the genre is very challenging.
Fieldcraft
This subject underpins almost every one of the topics here, and is visible in almost all espionage novels. Dead letter boxes, communications, cutouts, and technology ranging from lemon juice (invisible ink) to the use of miniature cameras - all provide an insight into this invidious world. The narrow subject of code breaking has formed the central theme of many novels.
Intelligence Gathering
Mata Hari used her charms to gather intelligence, and 'humint' as it is called, is still a fundamental mechanism. With the invention of photography, the techniques burgeoned, with real-time electronic intelligence gathering using satellites and analysing signals traffic on the web, mobile phones and email now ubiquitous.
The Secrets
The nature of the secrets which a spy passes on is not central to the best thriller novels, though interesting secrets can form the core of a great yarn. Many spy stories are built around one intriguing secret, but some do not need any secret at all (except, of course, the central issue of duplicity). For example, 'Riddle of the Sands' was built around the premise that Germany was preparing in secret, in the early 20th century, to attack Great Britain.
The Organisation
CIA, DIA, GRU, Savak - the list of acronyms is lengthy, and each can form the basis of a spy novel. This is a difficult topic effectively to write about, because (just like the police procedure genre), it requires detailed knowledge of an organisation's structure and internal workings in order to portray it accurately. There is another view that the detail can be invented and deficiencies can be ironed out by the use of expert consultants. The intelligence world is very shadowy, though, and finding suitable consultants (who would be breaking secrecy laws) is not easy.
In Conclusion
The very best thriller novels will include a broad spectrum of these topics, with one, or perhaps two, explored in detail as the heart of the novel. Spy novels are a difficult genre in which to write well, because they usually involve characters of high intellect. Developing those characters, their thought processes and associated plots requires a high degree of skill on the part of the novelist. The topics identified in this brief sketch provide just a sample of range of sub-topics used in the best thriller novels in the espionage genre.
The author writes thriller novels with espionage and maritime themes. Find out more about one of James's spy novels 'Gate of Tears' and the kind of location research that he carries out to construct a thriller.
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