Penguin Classics: Crime & Thriller

George Smiley becomes tangled in a case of suicide and espionage in le Carré's first novel. After a routine security check by George Smiley, civil servant Samuel Fennan apparently kills himself. When Smiley finds that Circus head Maston is trying to blame him for the man's death, he begins his own investigation, meeting with Fennan's widow to find out what...

The third and final novel of John le Carré's acclaimed 'Karla Trilogy', Smiley's People, published in Penguin Modern Classics for the first time, transports readers into the intricate world of espionage and Cold War intrigue. When a former agent is found murdered, George Smiley, retired but ever-observant, finds himself pulled back into the shadowy operations of the Secret Service. Despite...

The Constant Gardener by John le Carré is a masterfully crafted tale of love, loss, and the quest for justice, set against a backdrop of political intrigue and corporate corruption. This gripping narrative begins with the brutal murder of Tessa Quayle, a passionate and determined humanitarian, on the remote shores of Lake Turkana in Northern Kenya. The enigmatic circumstances surrounding...

The Honourable Schoolboy, the second book in John le Carré's revered 'Karla Trilogy' and a distinguished addition to Penguin Modern Classics, delves deep into the shadowy world of espionage with its gripping and intricate narrative. In the aftermath of a shocking betrayal, the once-mighty British Secret Service is left in shambles, and the responsibility of reviving it falls to George...

In A Murder of Quality by John le Carré, readers are drawn into a gripping mystery that reveals the dark underbelly of a prestigious British public school. When Stella Rode, the wife of a respected teacher at the exclusive Carne School, is brutally murdered, George Smiley is called upon to investigate. What appears to be a straightforward case soon unravels...

A Perfect Spy by John le Carré is widely considered a masterpiece of the spy genre and a cornerstone of contemporary British literature, now proudly featured in Penguin Modern Classics. Le Carré's eleventh novel tells the intricate tale of Magnus Pym, a high-ranking diplomat who mysteriously disappears, sending shockwaves through the intelligence community. The novel follows Magnus Pym's sudden disappearance,...

A beautifully designed new Clothbound Classic of le Carré's masterpiece, published to celebrate the novel's 50th anniversary. A mole, implanted by Moscow Centre, has infiltrated the highest ranks of the British Intelligence Service, almost destroying it in the process. And so former spymaster George Smiley has been brought out of retirement in order to hunt down the traitor at the...

A perfectly plotted, cosy detective story from Seicho Matsumoto, Japan's master of mystery. In a rocky cove in the bay of Hakata, the bodies of a young and beautiful couple are discovered. Standing in the coast's wind and cold, the police see nothing to investigate—the flush of the couple's cheeks speaks clearly of cyanide, of a lovers' suicide. But in...

The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John le Carré was Le Carre's breakthrough work of 1963; an award-winning number one global bestseller that brought him international renown. It redefined the spy story as a gritty and terrible tale of men who are caught up in politics beyond their imagining. Alex Leamas is tired. It's the 1960s, and...

In this classic novel—adapted into an Academy Award-nominated film in 2011 and new to Penguin Modern Classics—George Smiley faces his greatest challenge yet. George Smiley, who is a troubled man of infinite compassion, is also a single-mindedly ruthless adversary as a spy. The scene which he enters is a Cold War landscape of moles and lamplighters, scalp-hunters and pavement artists,...

A beautiful clothbound edition featuring some of the famous detective's most famous cases. Part of Penguin's beautiful hardback Clothbound Classics series, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith, these delectable and collectible editions are bound in high-quality, colourful, tactile cloth with foil stamped into the design. This collection includes many of the famous cases - and great strokes of brilliance -...

Controversial and compelling, In Cold Blood reconstructs the murder in 1959 of a Kansas farmer, his wife and both their children. Truman Capote's comprehensive study of the killings and subsequent investigation explores the circumstances surrounding this terrible crime and the effect it had on those involved. At the centre of his study are the amoral young killers Perry Smith and...

The first novel in the Bernard Samson series is a dazzling return to Deighton’s world of Cold War espionage. Embattled agent Bernard Samson is used to being passed over for promotion as his younger, more ambitious colleagues—including his own wife Fiona—rise up the ranks of MI6. When a valued agent in East Berlin warns the British of a mole at...

Ambler's electrifying Istanbul-set thriller from 1962, and the basis for the classic film Topkapi. Arthur Abdel Simpson is a failed journalist and soon-to-be failed thief, embittered by memories of his unhappy childhood in England and eking out a living in Athens. When he spots a newly arrived tourist at the airport, he offers his services as a private driver and...

A rediscovered diabolical slice of great American noir. The Night of the Hunter is one of the great chase novels, centred on the ferocious, unforgettable figure of Preacher, a psychopath who relentlessly pursues two children who may or may not know the secret of where the money from a bank raid is hidden. Set in a brilliantly rendered Depression-era American...

46 new books in the bestselling Little Black Classics series, to celebrate the first ever Penguin Classic in 1946 He is fond of enigmas, of conundrums, hieroglyphics; exhibiting in his solutions of each a degree of acumen which appears to the ordinary apprehension praeternatural.

The story of two friends whose dubious relationship spans West Berlin in the 1960s through the Cold War to the age of present-day terrorism is new to Penguin Modern Classics. The friends of the title are Ted Mundy, a British soldier's son born in 1947 in a newly independent Pakistan, and Sasha, the refugee son of an East German Lutheran...

A new translation of this novel set in a tranquil town on the Dutch coast, part of the Maigret series. A Crime in Holland presents a scene reminiscent of a picture-book town, with everything in its place, like ornaments on the mantlepiece of a careful housewife. 'Just take a look,' Duclos said in an undertone, pointing to the scene all...

A high-octane story from the great Eric Ambler, of a journalist on the run in the south of France. Lucia Bernardi was last seen driving a car at top speed away from a villa—and the body of her murdered Iraqi lover—in Switzerland. Now, disgraced journalist Piet Maas has been sent to find her in the south of France. When he...

A gritty, hilarious detective novel from Harlem's master crime writer. A golden Cadillac big enough to cross the ocean has been seen sailing along the streets of Harlem. A hit-and-run victim's been hit so hard she got embedded in the wall of a convent. A shootout with three heistmen dressed as cops has left an important politician in a coma—and...

Three seasonal stories set in Paris at Christmas, from the celebrated creator of Inspector Maigret. It is Christmas in Paris, but beneath the sparkling lights and glittering decorations lie sinister deeds and dark secrets. In the short story that lends its title to the volume, A Maigret Christmas, the Inspector receives two unexpected visitors on Christmas Day, who lead him...

A novel of tremendous political relevance, A Most Wanted Man was adapted into a critically-acclaimed film starring Philip Seymour Hoffman and is new to Penguin Modern Classics. A half-starved young Russian man in a long black overcoat is smuggled into Hamburg at dead of night. He has an improbable amount of cash secreted in a purse round his neck. He...

A Murder of Quality is Le Carré's ingenious mystery, featuring his most famous recurring character, George Smiley. Stella Rode has twice disturbed the ancient cloisters of Carne School—firstly by being the wrong sort, with her doyleys and china ducks, and secondly by being murdered. George Smiley, who has his own connection with the school, is asked by an old Service...

An unnamed spy is entangled in Paris's seedy underworld in a rollercoaster Cold War thriller. An Expensive Place to Die transports readers to Paris in the 1960s, a city that caters to every taste, especially at the private 'clinic' run by the enigmatic Monsieur Datt on Avenue Foch. This clinic supplies psychedelic drugs and sexual favours to the city's elite,...

Le Carré exposes the ugly face of international relations in this spy thriller, new to Penguin Modern Classics. West Germany, a simmering cauldron of radical protests, has produced a new danger to Britain—Karfeld, the menacing leader of the opposition. At the same time, Leo Harting, a Second Secretary in the British Embassy, has gone missing—along with more than forty Confidential...

A gripping tale of espionage and deceit from the master of the spy novel, new to Penguin Modern Classics. After a routine security check by George Smiley, civil servant Samuel Fennan apparently kills himself. When Smiley finds Circus head Maston is trying to blame him for the man's death, he begins his own investigation, meeting with Fennan's widow to find...

The final novel featuring Bernard Samson, one of Deighton's most enduring characters, who must return to Berlin for one last case. Bernard Samson returns to Berlin in the final novel in the classic spy trilogy, Faith, Hope and Charity. Bernard continues to chip away at the mystery of his sister-in-law Tessa Kosinski's death in Berlin on the crucial night when...

The race is on to find a German agent, hiding somewhere in the maze of wartime Cairo. January 1942. Rommel's seemingly invincible Afrika Korps is at the gates of Egypt – perhaps soon to threaten Cairo itself. And Rommel has a spy in the city – a source so well-informed that the German commander knows in advance every movement of...

The first novel in the celebrated Faith, Hope and Charity trilogy finds Bernard Samson in rural Germany, trying to deliver a Russian defector to London Central. Bernard Samson returns to Berlin in the first novel in the classic spy trilogy, Faith, Hope and Charity. Bernard has known that he is not getting the full picture from London Central ever since...

Funeral in Berlin is a vintage spy thriller and part of The IPCRESS File series, where a Russian scientist defects to the West. The setting is the dark and dangerous Berlin of 1963. The anonymous hero of The IPCRESS File is tasked with arranging the defection of a leading Soviet scientist, orchestrated through an elaborate mock coffin. However, he quickly...

Hope by Len Deighton immerses Bernard Samson in the complicated dissolution of the USSR in the second novel of the Faith, Hope, Charity trilogy. Bernard Samson makes his return to Berlin in this instalment of the classic spy trilogy, Faith, Hope, and Charity. In this narrative, Bernard is striving to readjust his life amidst uncertainties regarding his wife Fiona and...

The unnamed spy of The IPCRESS File uncovers a secret buried deep in a Nazi U-Boat. A sunken U-Boat has lain undisturbed on the Atlantic ocean floor since the Second World War—until now. Inside its rusting hull, among the corpses of top-rank Nazis, lie secrets people will kill to obtain. The sequel to Len Deighton's game-changing debut The IPCRESS File,...

London Match by Len Deighton sees Bernard Samson becoming a pawn in a game played by the Kremlin in the final instalment of the Game, Set and Match trilogy. Long-suffering spy Bernard Samson has, against all the odds, enticed a Soviet agent to defect to London—but this proves to be the start of something even bigger. He learns that there...

A new translation in the Penguin Maigret series: Madame Maigret's Friend sees Madame Maigret take the lead in this disturbing investigation. When he got to his door, he was surprised not to hear any noise in the kitchen and not to smell any food. He went in, crossed the dining room, where the table had not been laid, and at...

A new translation of this devastating tale of a young woman whose new life in Paris is tragically cut short, part of the Maigret series. Maigret and the Dead Girl follows Maigret and fellow inspector Lognon as they clash in their investigations into the murder of an unknown young woman in Paris. Maigret endeavours to piece together the story of...

When a man is found dead at home, Maigret must look past the seemingly good intentions of the victim's family to figure out just who the culprit is. A retired manufacturer has been shot dead by his own pistol, last seen alive by his son-in-law. In this seemingly motiveless murder, Inspector Maigret must rely on his famous intuition to discover...

The discovery of a dismembered body leads Maigret into one of his strangest cases yet. When a man's headless body is pulled from the Canal Saint Martin, Maigret and his colleagues are puzzled. In a chance encounter at a local café, Maigret uncovers the truth behind this disturbing murder in an intriguing story of an estranged family, adulterous affairs, and...

In the penultimate novel in the series, Maigret investigates a crime in Paris's seedy red light district. The body of a well-known Parisian restaurateur turns up on Avenue Junot in Montmartre, seemingly having been killed elsewhere. Inspector Maigret is on the case and soon discovers that the murder may be gang-related after a colleague working in the red-light district receives...

Maigret and the Killer involves Inspector Maigret on a compelling investigation following the stabbing of a young man. When a tape recorder is discovered on the murder victim, Maigret sees it as a potentially crucial clue, which could lead him to the killer.

Maigret and the Lazy Burglar features Maigret's relentless pursuit of justice as he tracks down the murderer of a burglar he had known for thirty years. Set against a high-profile hunt for the latest criminal gang to hit Paris, Maigret is determined to uncover the truth behind the death of a quiet crook for whom he cannot help feeling affection...

A homeless loner haunted by his past is found murdered in this murky tale. When a socially isolated vagrant is found dead in the condemned building where he had been sleeping in Les Halles, Paris, Maigret must delve into the victim's mysterious past to discover who could have killed him.

Maigret and the Man on the Bench draws Inspector Maigret into the poignant story of a man trapped in the monotony of everyday life. Were these yellow shoes part of the reason Maigret was so interested in this man? He would never admit it, but for years he too had longed to wear olive-green shoes. They were fashionable at the...

A gripping novel about the corrupt and avaricious world of politics, newly translated as part of the Maigret series. Was Maigret wrong? From one point of view, certainly, because he had nothing to gain but everything to lose in confronting as powerful and wily a man as Mascoulin. The latter, on his feet, was proffering his hand. In a flash,...

When a professional gambler is shot dead, all except Maigret suspect his mistress is to blame. Maigret is called to the home of professional gambler, Felix Nahour, who has been found shot dead by his chambermaid. Maigret is shocked to recognise a photo of the man's wife, who becomes the main suspect. All signs point to her guilt, but Maigret...

A new translation in the Penguin Maigret series – the inspector uncovers some poisonous family politics. The moon must have risen above the mist, which was now faintly incandescent, and, when Arlette stopped, he saw the pale shape of her face, with the wide line of her mouth... Then, still standing there in front of him, she said in a...

Maigret and the Old People explores the intriguing investigation of a murder involving an esteemed official. Maigret is called to the home of Armand de Saint-Hilaire, a highly respected official who has been found shot dead in his study by his housekeeper. After interviewing everyone concerned, Maigret is at a loss regarding the identity of the perpetrator until he comes...

Maigret and the Reluctant Witnesses follows Maigret as he struggles to break through a victim's uncooperative family to uncover the truth behind a murder in book fifty-three of the series. Maigret is called to the home of the Lachaume family, where the eldest brother has been found shot dead. Upon his arrival, the family close ranks and claim to have...

Maigret and the Saturday Caller introduces us to a tense encounter where Inspector Maigret finds himself face-to-face with a visitor who openly admits his intentions to commit murder. However, when this visitor goes missing, Maigret is left to worry that he himself may have become the victim. The story unfolds one evening when Maigret is followed home by a man...

An old acquaintance of Maigret's reappears on the streets of Paris, and the inspector finds himself caught up in her fate once more. Maigret's attitude came as a surprise to those who were working alongside him in Rue de la Ferme. Ever since the morning, there had been something unusual in the way that the inspector had been directing operations....

Maigret and the Tramp by Georges Simenon follows Inspector Maigret as he investigates an attack on a Parisian tramp. When a tramp is recovered from the Seine after being badly beaten, Maigret must delve into the man's personal circumstances to figure out just who wanted to kill him.

Maigret at Picratt's delves into the sordid world of Montmartre nightclubs in this new translation. Through the half-open door, Dr. Pasquier could be seen putting his overcoat back on and replacing his instruments in his bag. On the white goatskin rug at the foot of the untouched bed, a body was stretched out—black satin dress, chalk white arm, auburn hair....

Maigret at the Coroner's sees Maigret grappling with the American justice system on a trip to Arizona. The FBI man was convinced, in short, that Maigret was a big shot in his own country but that here, in the United States, he was incapable of figuring out anything. The more Cole watched him thinking things over, the more it amused...

When Maigret becomes the accused, he must rely on his investigative skills to prove his innocence. For the first time in his career, Inspector Maigret receives a written summons to the Prefect's office, where he learns that he has been accused of assaulting a young woman. With his career and reputation on the line, Maigret must fight to prove his...

During a much-needed holiday, Maigret pulls a prank on colleague Janvier. When Maigret's holiday plans go awry, he and his wife spend their vacation in Paris, on the condition that he has nothing to do with work. However, a case involving the death of a doctor's wife intrigues Maigret and he assiduously follows its development in the papers. He cannot...

Maigret Goes to School follows the renowned detective as he heads to a small seaside town where the residents are closing ranks to hide the truth. When a school teacher from near La Rochelle seeks Maigret's help to defend his innocence, Maigret accompanies him back to a small coastal town. There, he confronts the insular community in order to uncover...

A series of letters set Maigret up for a peculiar case. Maigret Hesitates features Inspector Maigret as he receives a series of letters warning of a murder that is going to take place. The letters do not reveal who will die, when it will happen, or who will do it. Maigret must trace the letters back to their source before...

Maigret in Court sees Maigret called to testify in court, where he reveals his doubts about the guilt of the accused. Maigret receives an anonymous phone call concerning the brutal murder of a woman and a young child. The tip-off points to the woman's nephew, a mild-mannered man by the name of Gaston Meurant. Maigret, however, remains unconvinced of the...

While on holiday Maigret gets involved in a local murder case. Maigret and his wife take a much-needed holiday to Vichy, where they quickly become accustomed to the slower pace of life. When a woman, whom they regularly pass by on their daily strolls, is murdered, Maigret can't help but offer his assistance to the local Inspector, a former colleague...

An impromptu visit to an old school friend in the Vendee draws Maigret into a disturbing local investigation. The mood of the town was still jittery. It was all very well for people to go about their day-to-day activities as usual, but there was a certain anxiety in people's eyes, and they seemed to be walking faster, as if they...

Maigret, Lognon and the Gangsters sees Maigret getting tangled up with some notorious American gangsters in this new translation. Maigret was less angry, in fact, than he seemed. Pozzo was a tough customer, but he didn't mind that. Nor did he mind dealing with characters who had sent the American police packing—genuine hard men who played for keeps. Maigret hadn't...

Maigret's Anger is a gripping tale where Maigret loses his composure when a suspect plots to tarnish his reputation. During a quiet spell in June, Maigret is called to investigate the disappearance of a reputable businessman. When a body is discovered near the famous Père Lachaise cemetery, Maigret struggles to find any clues to the perpetrator. He loses his temper...

A visit from an old school-friend leads Maigret to a murderous affair. When a long lost friend pays a visit to Maigret's office, he is shocked to learn that the man's roommate has been murdered. With the help of his old friend, Maigret delves into the life of the victim and finds a complex web of relationships that leads him...

Maigret's Dead Man plunges into the murky Parisian underworld in the latest addition to the Penguin Maigret series. Without the injuries, the man's face would have been unremarkable, fairly young and probably quite cheerful. Even in death, there were traces of something open and honest in his expression. That shoeless foot looked incongruous lying on the pavement next to another...

When a toy salesman confides in Maigret, he quickly becomes caught up in a poisonous feud between husband and wife. An unusually quiet day for Maigret at the Quai des Orfèvres is disturbed by a visit from a mild-mannered toy salesman, Xavier Manton. Maigret is puzzled by Manton's admission that he suspects his wife of plotting to poison him, and...

With Paris under siege following a series of murders, Maigret must hatch a cunning plan to lure the murderer out. High up in Montmartre, there was a festive atmosphere, people were crowding round the little tables where rosé wine was being served... Yet a hundred metres further on, the little alleyways were deserted, and the killer might find it easy...

An old woman's cries for help are left unanswered in this gripping story. A kind but seemingly paranoid old lady turns to Inspector Maigret for help. Against the judgement of his subordinates, he decides to pay a visit to her Parisian apartment to investigate, but is he already too late? Maigret's Madwoman is a tale of mystery and suspense that...

A well-to-do Paris surgeon and his down-at-heel neighbour become the focus of Maigret's investigation. Maigret had questioned thousands, tens of thousands of people in the course of his career, some occupying important positions, others who were more famous for their wealth, and others still who were considered the most intelligent of international criminals. Yet he attached an importance to this...

Maigret's Patience follows Inspector Maigret as he delves into the murder of a criminal he had known for twenty years. Maigret finds himself back on the Rue des Acacias just ten days after cracking another case there. This time, it is the murder of a criminal Maigret has known for over twenty years, someone he always suspected was behind a...

Maigret's Revolver follows Maigret as he travels to London on the trail of a young man on the run. The most exasperating of all was the head clerk at reception, dressed in an elegant morning coat and stiff collar, which did not wilt with a drop of perspiration. He treated Maigret in a cordial manner, possibly feeling sorry for him....

Maigret's Secret explores Maigret's internal struggle with an old case whose conclusion continues to haunt him. At a dinner party, Maigret recounts the case of Adrien Josset, who was found guilty and executed for the murder of his wife, Christine. Despite all clues pointing to Josset's guilt under the controlling influence of the magistrate, Maigret remains unconvinced following his one...

Maigret Takes a Room sees Maigret take on a complex undercover investigation in the heart of Paris. What he thought he had discovered, in place of the joyful candour that she usually displayed, was an irony which was neither less cheerful nor less childish, but which troubled him... He wondered now if his exultation wasn't down to the fact that...

Maigret Travels delves into the intriguing circumstances surrounding the attempted suicide of a countess and the mysterious death of a multi-millionaire. Both incidents involve seemingly unrelated individuals, yet they occur in the same hotel. When multi-millionaire David Ward is found dead just hours after the countess's suicide attempt, Maigret suspects a connection between the two cases. The investigation intensifies when...

The second novel in the Game, Set and Match trilogy is a gripping study in the art of spy enrolment. World-weary agent Bernard Samson is losing control of his personal and professional life. Sent to Mexico to aid the defection of a KGB agent to the West, he has a chance to prove his worth. Instead, he is torn between...

Le Carré's post-Cold War masterpiece, filled with suspense, betrayal, desire and drama. The Cold War is over and retired secret servant Tim Cranmer has been put out to pasture, spending his days making wine on his Somerset estate. But then he discovers that his former double agent Larry—dreamer, dissolute, philanderer and disloyal friend—has vanished, along with Tim's mistress. As their...

A brilliantly atmospheric and gripping portrayal of the dark heart of a killer, new to Penguin Modern Classics. At the Universal Advertising Agency on the Strand, London, a murder is being planned. Three men have been discovered taking bribes and face the grim prospect of the dole queue, unless they can get rid of the person who caught them. Their...

A new translation of this haunting tale about the lengths to which people will go to escape from guilt, part of the Maigret series. A first ink drawing showed a hanged man swinging from a gallows on which perched an enormous crow. And hanging was the leitmotif of at least twenty other etchings and pen or pencil sketches. On the...

'The greatest find in American crime fiction since Raymond Chandler' – Sunday Times Detectives Coffin Ed and Grave Digger Jones have lost two criminals. Pinky ran off – but it shouldn't be hard to track down a giant albino in Harlem. Jake the drug dealer, though, isn't coming back – he died after Grave Digger punched him in the stomach....

Enthralling and thought-provoking, The Little Drummer Girl is le Carré's only spy novel set in the Middle East, and is now published in Penguin Modern Classics for the first time. Charlie, a brilliant and beautiful young actress, is lured into 'the theatre of the real' by an Israeli intelligence officer. Forced to play her ultimate role, she is plunged into...

The British Secret Service turns their attentions to a linguistic prodigy in the Congo in this espionage thriller, new to Penguin Modern Classics. At a top-secret meeting between Western financiers and Congolese warlords, an interpreter finds his conscience re-awakening. Bruno Salvador has worked on clandestine missions before. A highly skilled interpreter, he is no stranger to the Official Secrets Act....

The Cold War plays out in the shadow of the Second World War as old loyalties collide. Sinister rumours link clandestine Arab arms dealing with a hero of the French resistance. Time to re-open the master file on Yesterday's Spy...