With complex plots and provocative dramas, Daniel Silva writes intelligent spy stories. If you like Daniel Silva, here are some readalikes you might enjoy.
Killing Ground by Jack Higgins
Intelligence operative Sean Dillon stops a man at Heathrow Airport. His name is Caspar Rashid, born and bred in England but with family ties to a Bedouin tribe fiercely wedded to the old ways. Rashid’s thirteen-year-old daughter, Sara, has been kidnapped by Rashid’s own father and taken to Iraq to be married to a man known as the Hammer of God, one of the Mideast’s most feared terrorists. Dillon has had his own run-ins with that clan, and when the distraught Rashid begs him for help, Dillon sees a chance to settle some old scores. However, Dillon has no idea of the terrible chain of events he is about to unleash. Before his journey is done, many men will die – and Dillon may be one of them.
The Last Patriot by Brad Thor
Scot Horvath, a former navy SEAL pursues a mystery involving a recently discovered ancient Koran. Differing from the original, this Koran suggests a secret exists that, if revealed, will change the entire nature of the warlike extremist versions of Islam. Furthermore, it has links to Thomas Jefferson.
The Face of the Assassin by David Lindsey
Forensic artist Paul Bern uses his talents as a sculptor to reconstruct a face on a skull brought to him under mysterious circumstances. The more Paul works on the skull, the more he’s convinced that there’s something disturbing about the features. Soon after he figures it out Paul finds himself caught up in a murky world of spies, smugglers and international terrorism.
The Polish Officer by Alan Furst
As Warsaw falls to Hitler’s Wehrmacht, Captain Alexander de Milja is recruited by the intelligence service of the Polish underground. His mission: to transport the national gold reserve to safety, hidden on a refugee train to Bucharest. A world of danger, treachery, and betrayal Furst writes of a time when resistance fighters risked their lives in causes that seemed lost.
Requiem for an Assassin by Barry Eisler
When John Rain decides to get out of the business, his hand is forced by rogue CIA operative Jim Hilger. Hilger kidnaps Dox, Rain’s trusted partner and closest friend, and offers Rain a choice: carry out a final assignment, or bear the responsibility for Dox’s murder.
Walking Back the Cat by John Littell
The focus is on New Mexico, where a Soviet era KGB agent, code-named Parsifal, has been living under deep cover. Reactivated by a new controller for some particularly brutal murder Parsifal’s suspicions are aroused. Fearing a double- cross, he begins, in espionage lingo, “walking back the cat”-retracing the operation to find the source of the deception. His manhunt leads him to an Apache-run casino where he crosses paths with CIA operatives, Apaches, and Finn, a disillusioned Gulf War vet with his own investigation to pursue.
Some other authors to try: John le Carre, T. Jefferson Parker and John E. Gardner