A Question Of Blood — Ian Rankin

Another from the Rebus series.

The Poet's Game — Paul Vidich

A spy thriller that's a few good notches above the average.

The one thing I find, though, is that most American spy thrillers are all about handsome, wealthy, genius, admired protagonists with perfect teeth working to protect the system — ready to be played in the movies by the biggest stars — while most British spy thrillers are about cynical, downtrodden, public servants fighting the system. I kind of prefer the latter.

The Asset — Saul Herzog

Another spy thriller that's well above average. And what I liked about this one is where it went slightly against the grain of my complaint about American thrillers above. It becomes a kind of American-British cultural crossover.

The action and bravado of the US, with a dash of the world-weariness and fighting the system of the Brits. But yes, the main character is still the handsome one the women seem to want to jump into bed with, so no Smiley here.

This one has a great plot and lots of action.

The Englishman — David Gilman

Another solid action thriller. Well plotted, good characters.