Will I love Eye of the Needle?

Ken Follett’s breakthrough novel is a taut and thrilling wartime espionage tale set during World War II. But there is sufficient naval action to include it in this list. I felt it was a wonderfully atmospheric novel.

It centres on Henry Faber, a ruthless German spy nicknamed “The Needle” for his deadly stiletto. Faber uncovers the Allies’ deception surrounding the D-Day invasion and races to deliver the intelligence to Nazi command. His journey leads him to Storm Island, where he encounters Lucy Rose, a lonely Englishwoman whose emotional entanglement with Faber becomes pivotal. As MI5 closes in, the novel builds… show more.

This book taught me how to write a thriller. I’ll admit I’m obsessive. I’ve not only read this book—and watched the movie—many times, but I read everything I could find about how Follet wrote this novel, his method of writing, etc. 

As I do in my novels, he breaks some of the so-called rules. His “bad guys” are real and engaging characters. He paces his novels, intertwining characters and storylines. He builds tension. And he mixes real history and real locations with his fictional characters in a way that brings them to life. 

Most of all, as do I, he… show more.

This is a classic WW2 spy thriller by a master. Faber, a German spy, is on the run with information that will turn the course of the war in the Nazis’ favor when he is shipwrecked on Storm Island, where Lucy lives with her paraplegic husband, David, and young son.

She and Faber have an affair, during which David and then Lucy discover in the most horrifying manner who and what Faber really is. Despite the fact that Faber and Lucy are deeply in love, Lucy must stop him, no matter the cost. A not-to-be-missed page-turner.

WWII era-based stories always fascinated me. Eye of the Needle is perhaps one of the most absorbing among such thrillers. While the antagonist’s military/spy mission forms the necessary, persistent backdrop throughout the story, it’s the human drama that kept me on the edge of my seat.

I loved the staggering tale of a woman protagonist’s transformation from initial attraction to fear to gathering courage and ultimately taking on the enemy spy in the final duel. 

Follett is a master at writing compelling page-turners, and this is one of my all-time favorite spy thrillers.

The story is about a Nazi spy in England during World War II who learns some vital information about D-Day. He is unable to transmit this information back by radio, and he has to make his way to Scotland for a rendezvous with a U-boat, with MI5 on his heels.

One of those books you can read in one or two sittings, so gripping is the development of the plot. A great read!

I have read this novel twice and will undoubtedly read it again. It’s captivating because of the suspenseful plot and the perfect story structure, which is my favorite part of writing books.

The reality of the WWII challenges that the main players must face is gripping. It’s a reminder of how courage springs forth when fear is so overwhelming that there is no other choice but to be brave and do things you never believed you could do.

That is true for the Nazi spy who usually killed anyone who got in his way and for the woman who risked… show more.

Leave it to Follett to keep you in suspense from one chapter after another when a German agent operating in England discovers that the barracks and equipment on the coast are fakes and needs to get the information to German Intelligence.

The book’s title comes from the agent’s code name, The Needle, who uses a long needle to kill anyone. The book later became a movie in 1981. Ironically, only Hitler had the right guess where the invasion would take place. He was ignored by his generals.

I admire Follett’s great writing style. It’s fast-paced, with almost every chapter filled… show more.

I have been transfixed by this novel for as long as I can remember. It describes in compelling detail the complexities of global politics and the human cost of war. Follett sets this novel during World War II and presents the intrigue of spies trying to outwit spies, as well as ingenious people using remarkable survival skills to stay alive. The characters are as compelling as the storyline, and the prose catapults the reader forward. Eye of the Needle was the book that made me want to write political thrillers.

No subject in history has ever been more raked over than World War Two. And the trope of hunter and prey is standard thriller fare. Yet with this book, Ken Follett reinvented the WW2 thriller. How’d he do it? First, by making his protagonist not the good guy, but the Nazi spy. Second, by writing it so compellingly, you can’t put it down. Faber, a deadly German spy codenamed “the Needle,” uncovers the biggest secret of the war: clues that will let Hitler know where the D-Day invasion will take place. Can Professor Godliman and ex-copper Bloggs stop him before… show more.

Sometimes romance is even more romantic when it’s tragic. Another story set against real events of WWII, this story is a classic cat-and-mouse that attributes the outcome of the war to a single, accidental event: love. Well-researched and brilliantly describe, this is a setting that cleverly weaves the fictional with the real.