Five great spy novels set in small towns

Ryan Britt is the author of the non-fiction books Luke Skywalker Can’t Read, The Spice Must Flow, and Phasers on Stun! His writing has appeared with Esquire, Den of Geek, and Inverse, where he is an editor. Britt teaches for the Maine Writers and Publisher’s Alliance, and is a guest instructor at Colby College.

At CrimeReads he tagged five top spy novels set in small towns, including:

The Spy Coast (2023) by Tess Gerritsen

The most recent smash-hit small-town spy book is perhaps the best so far in this quiet subgenre. Retired spy “Maggie Bird,” is living a fairly secluded life in a snowy town in Purity, Maine, until an operative tries to pull her back into the game after sixteen years. Soon, we learn that Maggie isn’t the only retired spy in this town, she regularly hangs out with others who have forged a new life for themselves, and are known as “the Martini Club.”

Purity, Maine might not be a real small town in the Pine Tree State, but Gerritsen makes it feel as real, if not more real, than many of Stephen King’s faux-Maine locations like Castle Rock or Salem’s Lot. From the way the population sees itself, to local police chief, Jo Thibodeau, trying to deal with meddling spies in her town, all the elements of The Spy Coast mix together into a riveting cocktail. But, what makes this book so grounded, is that within that cocktail, Gerritsen is always reminding us of what kind of booze the local bars and stores have, and exactly how much it costs. The life of a spy is sometimes thought of as glamorous, but The Spy Coast makes it seem not only real but affordable, too.

Read about another novel on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue