We are currently recommending (in alphabetical order) the following espionage genre novels and/or films/TV series which we ranked as meriting four or five stars:
Bill Fairclough - Beyond Enkription - The Burlington Files Series *****
Dan Fesperman - Winter Work ****
Greville Wynne - The Courier *****
Michael Flatley – Blackbird ****
Mick Herron - Slow Horses - The Slough House Series *****
Peter Kosminsky - The Undeclared War *****
Robert Baer - The Fourth Man ****
Robert Freegard - Rogue Agent ****
Of these the novel we rate most highly is Bill Fairclough's Beyond Enkription and the film we rate most highly is The Courier starring Benedict Cumberbatch. Both of these productions are fact based.
We try on a pro bono basis to help promote crime and espionage books (especially non-fiction) where the profits from publishing go to good causes related to the authors' experiences. The Burlington Files ticks all those boxes and just as happened to Mick Herron's now famous Slough House series, the series was rejected for spurious reasons by mainstream publishers in pursuit of profit.
Many authors create fictitious stories about make-believe spies without so much as a nod or a wink to acknowledge the real spies who risk their lives for the very countries the authors live in. Those authors, famous names included whether dead or alive, simply exploit and mislead for their own advantage. Most of them can’t even realistically depict what espionage is about.
It’s time authors in the fictional espionage genre put warning labels on their misleading products and gave credit to those in the real world who have to face down daily dangers for their fellow compatriots including those authors who do them such disservice.