I enjoy John Le Carre but find reading him is a lot of work. I've known a couple of people in the "human intelligence" business, and from what little they've told me of the trade, "The Tailor of Panama," sounds close to the mark of about 80% of "civilian" spy life! (My son, who is in the military end of the trade, says that one big unspoken reason spooks are so close-mouthed is that they don't want anyone to know how much they DON'T know!).

My favorite "spy" novelist is Allan Furst, by far. The one to start with is "The Polish Officer"; unfortunately, it is about as sad a book as you'll ever read. (And then it got even worse for poor Poland....) His latest, "Spies of the Balkans," is also excellent.