NEW 2025 SPY FICTION (2): By MICK HERRON, JACK BEAUMONT and PAUL VIDICH

Over the past couple of weeks I have been catching up on some 2025 spy novels that I really should have read earlier!

The latest ‘Slow Horses’ novel from spy maestro Mick Herron, Clown Town (9 September 2025), was probably the book I was most looking forward to reading this year. Set in his usual world of discarded spies, dodgy politicians and deadly bureaucratic machinations, it was a a treat from beginning to end.

I won’t go into the details of the story, other than to say that the plot involves Herron’s usual mix of old secrets, blackmail and behind-the-scenes political manoeuvring.  At its centre is a missing book from the library of River Cartwright’s grandfather, the legendary spymaster David Cartwright. It seems like a minor matter to River, but when it turns out that the missing item provides blackmail material for a group of old spies the ‘Slow Horses’ find themselves in a whole lot of trouble, especially when Regent’s Park’s First Desk, Diana Taverner, gets involved .

As with the previous books in the series, the plotting is superb and Herron adroitly brings together his various strands in a clever and idiosyncratic manner. There are the requisite twists and turns, and the ending produces the sort of shocks that we have come to expect. The story is a little slow to get under away, but the final quarter is highly suspenseful and darkly amusing at times. The dialogue sparkles, Lamb is in brilliantly repulsive form, and there is also timely reflections on political expediency, the British Government, and the state of the world. High class spy fiction.

Not the best of the series, but still streets ahead of most of the competition.

Also exceedingly good, is Paul Vidich’s The Poet’s Game, (No Exit Press, 29 July 2025).

I have been a fan of Paul Vidich’s spy novels for some time and thought that his The Matchmaker was one of the best spy novels of 2022. In my opinion, The Poet’s Game is even better.

The plot involves some of my favourite spy-fi elements: an old spy called out of retirement, suggestions of a mole on the loose, the intersection between the personal and the professional, lots of machinations and some exciting chase scenes. The bare bones of the story are that former CIA spymaster Alex Matthews is asked a favour by the Director of the CIA. One of Matthews’ old assets, a Russian agent known as Byron, claims to have something of great interest to the CIA, but will only hand it over once he is extricated from Russia by Matthews. Risking everything, he goes back into the field, even though nothing feels right about it.

This is an intelligently plotted and very exciting spy novel. The story proceeds at a good pace and the twists and turns are well handled. Matthews is a well nuanced and interesting character, and his relationships with the other characters are well handled and credible. As with any good spy novel, the tradecraft is believable and the background detail on politics, economics, Russian tunnel systems and yachting are interesting and add good texture to the story. There is also a good contemporary feel to the plot devices and the central item at play in the story.

In all, a very good spy novel that builds to an exciting conclusion, even if some of it is guessable.

Jack Beaumont, purportedly the pseudonym of a former operative of the clandestine operations branch of the French foreign secret service (DGSE) who now lives in Australia, has made a good foray into the world of fictional spies with his books about the French spy Alec de Payns.

De Payns is an operative in the secretive Y Division of the French foreign intelligence service, and the first two books, The Frenchman and Dark Arena, involved him in credible operations on behalf of his country. Now with Liar’s Game, (Allen & Unwin, 29 July 2025), de Payns returns in his most significant mission:

“While recruiting a Russian human source embedded in the shadows of illicit financial networks, French spy Alec de Payns is abruptly pulled from the field. His new mission: exfiltrate a North Korean walk-in from Beijing who claims to know the details of a massive cyberattack that could destroy the world’s economy. But before the defector can utter a word, he dies in de Payns’ arms on the journey home.

The failure of such a routine job enrages France’s new prime minister, who views the covert actions of the DGSE – the French external spy agency – as a political liability. When de Payns’ next mission mysteriously collapses, the Company has no choice but to disavow him.

Now exposed, hunted across South-East Asia and cut off from official support, de Payns must survive alone, untangle a deadly conspiracy and protect his family. But in a world of deception, who can he trust? And who is truly pulling the strings in this deadly liar’s game?”

As with the first two books, Liar’s Game excels in its detailed descriptions of spycraft, the politics of French Intelligence operations, their relationships with other intelligence agencies, and the security measures taken by elite DGSE agents. The missions that de Payns becomes involved in all have a patina of credibility about them, and Beaumont’s seemingly convincing insider grasp of spy techniques really adds to the believability of the stories. He is also very good at describing the various locations through which de Payns passes, particularly Kaliningrad and the Russian Baltic coast region in this latest book.

Beaumont’s characters are well crafted and are not the one dimensional, gun-toting super heroes to be found in some spy fiction. He is also very good at articulating the personal cost of spying, both on the families of the French agents and the foreign assets that they use. De Payns’ awkward relationship with his wife is well described and believable, and even the minor characters are nuanced and interesting.

Liar’s Game generally moves along at a good pace, and there are some very tense scenes in Beijing, Kaliningrad and Vietnam. The finale at a Chinese base may stretch credibility, but overall it is a very engaging spy story with a nice sting in the tail. The unexpected return of a minor character from Dark Arena is also welcomed and signals a potential interesting change in direction for the series.

Beaumont is not quite in the same class as Herron or Vidich, but his books are certainly very worth reading! And very entertaining!

Unfortunately, Liar’s Game is not currently available in the United Kingdom or the United States, but the first two books are. It is possible to get Liar’s Game from online bookshops in Australia.