Here are 100 books that Shadow Operative fans have personally recommended if you like Shadow Operative. Book DNA is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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The Twelfth Imam

By Joel C. Rosenberg , #1 of David Shirazi series

Book cover of The Twelfth Imam

Luana Ehrlich Author Of One Night in Tehran

From my list on international espionage intertwined with faith.

By Luana Ehrlich Author

Why am I passionate about this?

I was eleven years old when I read my first adult spy novel. I was only able to get my hands on it after receiving permission from my father, who brought home three to four espionage books from the library every week. By the time I was halfway through the book, I was hooked on the genre forever. Since faith plays an important role in my life, I’m always delighted to discover authors whose books reflect a strong belief system yet who can tell a compelling, action-packed adventure without sounding preachy.

Luana's book list on international espionage intertwined with faith

Book cover of Lion of Babylon Book cover of The Warrior Spy Book cover of Shadow Operative Book cover of Operation Joktan Book cover of The Twelfth Imam

Luana Ehrlich Why Luana loves this book

I love thrillers that make me think, keep me on the edge of my seat, and put me in the very center of the action. This book did all of these and more.

This book is the first book in a three-book series by an author who is well-qualified to write about the Middle East and the threat Iran poses to Israel. Rosenberg speaks regularly with both Israeli and American government officials, and one of the things I enjoyed most about this book was the knowledge I gained about Iran’s nuclear capabilities, information that I couldn’t read in a newspaper. In addition, his protagonist is a man of faith, which I found very inspiring. 

The Twelfth Imam

By Joel C. Rosenberg ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Twelfth Imam as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Book 1 in the best-selling 3-book espionage and spy thriller series that has sold 700,000 copies!

“Rosenberg is the go-to novelist for Christian political fiction.”
―Publisher’s Weekly

The Twelfth Imam is the first novel of a new political thriller series by Joel C. Rosenberg, the New York Times bestselling author of the award-winning Last Jihad series. Rosenberg takes you inside a world few will ever enter. Hold on to your seat―the twists and turns never stop coming.

Tensions are rising in the Middle East. Iran’s president vows to annihilate the United States and Israel. Israel’s prime minister says someone must…

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Book cover of Fire Mountain

Fire Mountain by Dana Mentink,

Fire Mountain is a Christian, high-energy romantic suspense set in the shadow of an erupting volcano.

Operation Joktan

By Amir Tsarfati , Steve Yohn ,

Book cover of Operation Joktan

Luana Ehrlich Author Of One Night in Tehran

From my list on international espionage intertwined with faith.

By Luana Ehrlich Author

Why am I passionate about this?

I was eleven years old when I read my first adult spy novel. I was only able to get my hands on it after receiving permission from my father, who brought home three to four espionage books from the library every week. By the time I was halfway through the book, I was hooked on the genre forever. Since faith plays an important role in my life, I’m always delighted to discover authors whose books reflect a strong belief system yet who can tell a compelling, action-packed adventure without sounding preachy.

Luana's book list on international espionage intertwined with faith

Book cover of Lion of Babylon Book cover of The Warrior Spy Book cover of Shadow Operative Book cover of Operation Joktan Book cover of The Twelfth Imam

Luana Ehrlich Why Luana loves this book

I love thrillers with in-depth character development and realistic situations involving clandestine operations, and this book hits both of those marks.

This is the first book in a three-book series featuring the Mossad, the Israeli foreign intelligence service. I’ve always been fascinated by books that give me a behind-the-scenes look at how an intel agency operates and the tech gadgets that make the business of spying possible, and these authors describe both extremely well while giving me insights into how a Messianic Jew lives out his faith. 

Operation Joktan

By Amir Tsarfati , Steve Yohn ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Operation Joktan as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A USA Today and Publishers Weekly Bestseller
#1 Fiction (ECPA) Christian Bestseller

"It was the perfect day-until the gunfire."

Nir Tavor is an Israeli secret service operative turned talented Mossad agent.

Nicole le Roux is a model with a hidden skill.

A terrorist attack brings them together, and then work forces them apart-until they're unexpectedly called back into each other's lives.

But there's no time for romance. As violent radicals threaten chaos across the Middle East, the two must work together to stop these extremists, pooling Nicole's knack for technology and Nir's adeptness with on-the-ground missions. Each heart-racing step of…

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The Warrior Spy

By Dony Jay ,

Book cover of The Warrior Spy

Luana Ehrlich Author Of One Night in Tehran

From my list on international espionage intertwined with faith.

By Luana Ehrlich Author

Why am I passionate about this?

I was eleven years old when I read my first adult spy novel. I was only able to get my hands on it after receiving permission from my father, who brought home three to four espionage books from the library every week. By the time I was halfway through the book, I was hooked on the genre forever. Since faith plays an important role in my life, I’m always delighted to discover authors whose books reflect a strong belief system yet who can tell a compelling, action-packed adventure without sounding preachy.

Luana's book list on international espionage intertwined with faith

Book cover of Lion of Babylon Book cover of The Warrior Spy Book cover of Shadow Operative Book cover of Operation Joktan Book cover of The Twelfth Imam

Luana Ehrlich Why Luana loves this book

I love thrillers that tell the story of a group of operatives who must work together under the leadership of a strong central figure in order to accomplish a difficult mission, and from the opening chapter, I knew this novel would be exactly that.

This is the first book in the Warrior Spy Thriller Series. While I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the hero of the story, Delta Force operator, Reagan Rainey, who is temporarily assigned to a CIA entity, I was also fascinated by the other members of his special ops team, not only because of their unique personalities, but also by the way Rainey was able to share his faith with them without sounding preachy and to remind me of how grateful I am to live in America.

The Warrior Spy

By Dony Jay ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Warrior Spy as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The CIA has a problem. Its best clandestine operatives keep turning up dead. And now, as if things couldn't get any worse, a Defense Department scientist, specializing in high-energy lasers, has gone missing. America needs answers. And fast. Delta Force operator Reagan Rainey, on temporary duty assignment with a secret CIA entity known as Directorate Twelve, is tasked to do just that--get answers. But to do so, he not only has to outwit and outmaneuver a dangerous cabal of foreign actors believed to be at the center of it all, he must contend with a deadly assassin who is bent…

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If you love Christy Barritt...

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Book cover of Fire Mountain

Fire Mountain by Dana Mentink,

Fire Mountain is a Christian, high-energy romantic suspense set in the shadow of an erupting volcano.

Lion of Babylon

By Davis Bunn ,

Book cover of Lion of Babylon

Luana Ehrlich Author Of One Night in Tehran

From my list on international espionage intertwined with faith.

By Luana Ehrlich Author

Why am I passionate about this?

I was eleven years old when I read my first adult spy novel. I was only able to get my hands on it after receiving permission from my father, who brought home three to four espionage books from the library every week. By the time I was halfway through the book, I was hooked on the genre forever. Since faith plays an important role in my life, I’m always delighted to discover authors whose books reflect a strong belief system yet who can tell a compelling, action-packed adventure without sounding preachy.

Luana's book list on international espionage intertwined with faith

Book cover of Lion of Babylon Book cover of The Warrior Spy Book cover of Shadow Operative Book cover of Operation Joktan Book cover of The Twelfth Imam

Luana Ehrlich Why Luana loves this book

I love thrillers that teach me about the culture of the Middle East, but it’s rare to find a novel that also includes how Christianity can be shared with such cultures. However, both of these are present in this novel, which is what makes the story so enjoyable.

This is book one in the Marc Royce Thriller Series and features intel officer, Marc Royce who’s sent on a secret mission to Iraq. Since I don’t like too much description in a novel, I admire Davis Bunn’s ability to portray the setting in this story, while not neglecting the characters and dialogue. There’s also a faith element to the narrative, which adds a lot of depth to the plot.

Lion of Babylon

By Davis Bunn ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Lion of Babylon as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Marc Royce works for the State Department on special assignments, most of them rather routine, until two CIA operatives go missing in Iraq--kidnapped by Taliban forces bent on generating chaos in the region. Two others also drop out of sight--a high-placed Iraqi civilian and an American woman providing humanitarian aid. Are the disappearances linked? Rumors circulate in a whirl of misinformation.

Marc must unravel the truth in a covert operation requiring utmost secrecy--from both the Americans and the insurgents. But even more secret than the undercover operation is the underground dialogue taking place between sworn enemies. Will the ultimate Reconciler…

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  • Coming soon!

Masque

By W.R. Gingell ,

Book cover of Masque

Christina Baehr Author Of Wormwood Abbey

From my list on gaslamp heroines with tea and adventures.

By Christina Baehr Author

Why am I passionate about this?

I grew up surrounded by a library of dusty vintage novels, so perhaps it wasn’t that surprising that I went on to write my own gaslamp fantasy influenced by English folklore and Victorian heroines. I love historical novels that provoke wonder, and magical novels that are rich with history, and (blame it on being an only child?) most of all I love a female protagonist I’d want to have tea with.

Christina's book list on gaslamp heroines with tea and adventures

Book cover of Rain Through Her Fingers Book cover of Burning Bright Book cover of The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 1 Book cover of Masque Book cover of The Werewolf of Whitechapel

Christina Baehr Why Christina loves this book

Isabella Farrah is one of the funniest, most exasperating leading ladies in literature. I was surprised and delighted by this loose retelling of Beauty and the Beast with murder, cake, pretty dresses, magic, intrigue, and Isabella’s hilarious brand of ladylike mayhem.

I would probably choke on my cake laughing if I ever had tea with Isabella (and maybe she’d slip something into my tea), but it would be worth it.

Masque

By W.R. Gingell ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Masque as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"...an inventive and funny mystery with a dynamic lead, which will make you want to pick up the next book in the series." Self-Publishing Review, 4½ Stars Beauty met the Beast and there was . . . Bloody murder? It’s the Annual Ambassadorial Ball in Glause, and Lady Isabella Farrah, the daughter of New Civet’s Ambassador, is feeling pleasantly scintillated. In the library is Lord Pecus, a charming gentleman whose double mask hides a beastly face, and who has decided that Isabella is the very person to break the Pecus curse. In the ball-room is young Lord Topher, who is…

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  • Coming soon!

Leaving Berlin

By Joseph Kanon ,

Book cover of Leaving Berlin

Joe Kilgore Author Of Misfortune’s Wake

From my list on expat adventures.

By Joe Kilgore Author

Why am I passionate about this?

In a previous career, I traveled extensively to many parts of the world. I always found new cultures, old traditions, strange languages, and exotic environments fascinating. Perhaps even more fascinating, were the expats I found who had traded in their home country for an existence far from where they were born and different from how they were reared. In many instances, I’ve attempted to incorporate—in Heinlein’s words—this stranger in a strange land motif in my work. It always seems to heighten my interest. I hope the reader’s as well. 

Joe's book list on expat adventures

Book cover of The Sun Also Rises Book cover of The Age of Water Book cover of Leaving Berlin Book cover of The Master of Rain Book cover of A Burnt-Out Case

Joe Kilgore Why Joe loves this book

It’s Berlin, 1949. The second world war has ended but the geopolitical intrigue hasn’t. Russia, the U. S., Great Britain, and France engage in cold war espionage as disparate citizens of the German city struggle to survive. A young Jewish writer who fled the Nazis for America is caught up in Joseph McCarthy’s communist witch hunt. For the sake of his family and to keep from being deported, he agrees to help the CIA by returning to Berlin for a secret assignment. Kidnapping, murder, and more ensue, as he’s forced to keep tabs on the woman he left behind. Then he himself becomes the hunted. After returning to a city trying to rise from the ashes, this expat may or may not wind up ever being able to leave Berlin. 

Leaving Berlin

By Joseph Kanon ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Leaving Berlin as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

* Don't miss THE ACCOMPLICE, the next heart-pounding and intelligent espionage novel from 'master of the genre' (The Washington Post), Joseph Kanon *

'Up there with the very best . . . Kanon writes beautifully, superbly . . . He is the master of the shadows of the era' The Times

From the author of The Good German (made into a film starring George Clooney), Leaving Berlin is a sweeping post-war story and an international bestseller.

Berlin is still in ruins almost four years after the war, caught between political idealism and the harsh realities of Soviet occupation. Alex Meier…

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Stalin's Englishman

By Andrew Lownie ,

Book cover of Stalin's Englishman: Guy Burgess, the Cold War, and the Cambridge Spy Ring

Helen Fry Author Of The Walls Have Ears: The Greatest Intelligence Operation of World War II

From my list on deception in WW2.

By Helen Fry Author

Why am I passionate about this?

Helen is an ambassador for the Museum of Military Intelligence, a trustee of the Friends of the Intelligence Corps Museum, and a trustee of the Medmenham Collection. Her latest book Spymaster: The Man Who Saved MI6 about one of the greatest spies of the 20th century, was a Daily Mail best biography for 2021. Her history of MI9—the first such history for over 40 years—was shortlisted for The Duke of Wellington Medal for Military History. 

Helen's book list on deception in WW2

Book cover of Stalin's Englishman: Guy Burgess, the Cold War, and the Cambridge Spy Ring Book cover of Diversion and Deception: Dudley Clarke's a Force and Allied Operations in World War II Book cover of The Secret War: Spies, Ciphers, and Guerrillas, 1939-1945 Book cover of The Double-Cross System: The Classic Account of World War Two Spy-Masters Book cover of Operation Mincemeat: How a Dead Man and a Bizarre Plan Fooled the Nazis and Assured an Allied Victory

Helen Fry Why Helen loves this book

This biography of Guy Burgess has been selected because of the sheer impressive material which Lownie brings together as a result of 20 years of research. He has provided an illuminated and extensively researched biography that does not shy from laying out the full extent of Burgess’s deception and hedonistic behaviour, as well as the real risks he posed to Western intelligence services and State Secrets. The publicly educated and privileged Cambridge Five, who betrayed their country for ideological motives, arrogantly believed that they had the right to pass Western secrets to Russia. In spite of the brutality of the Stalinist regime, they believed in the communist cause and deceived everyone around them in Britain—their work colleagues, families, and friends. That deception ran dangerously into the Cold War and led finally to the defection of Burgess and his friend Donald Maclean to Moscow in 1951. Their defection caused huge ramifications…

Stalin's Englishman

By Andrew Lownie ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Stalin's Englishman as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Winner of the St Ermin's Intelligence Book of the Year Award.

'One of the great biographies of 2015.' The Times

Fully updated edition including recently released information.

A Guardian Book of the Year. The Times Best Biography of the Year. Mail on Sunday Biography of the Year. Daily Mail Biography of Year. Spectator Book of the Year. BBC History Book of the Year.

'A remarkable and definitive portrait ' Frederick Forsyth

'Andrew Lownie's biography of Guy Burgess, Stalin's Englishman ... shrewd, thorough, revelatory.' William Boyd

'In the sad and funny Stalin's Englishman, [Lownie] manages to convey the charm as well…

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Dark Invasion

By Howard Blum ,

Book cover of Dark Invasion: 1915: Germany's Secret War and the Hunt for the First Terrorist Cell in America

Paul Willetts Author Of King Con: The Bizarre Adventures of the Jazz Age's Greatest Impostor

From my list on twenty-first century true-crime.

By Paul Willetts Author

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m an English nonfiction writer who is, I suppose, best-known for Members Only, my biography of the London strip club owner, theatre impresario, property magnate, and porn baron Paul Raymond, which was adapted into a big-budget movie called The Look of Love. Like many of my books, Members Only strayed into true crime, a genre that has, for all sorts of reasons, been attractive to me as a writer. Probably the most important of those is that it provides the opportunity to tell inherently dramatic stories and to convey a vivid picture of the past, thanks to the wealth of documentation associated with major crimes. 

Paul's book list on twenty-first century true-crime

Book cover of Dark Invasion: 1915: Germany's Secret War and the Hunt for the First Terrorist Cell in America Book cover of Tinseltown: Murder, Morphine, and Madness at the Dawn of Hollywood Book cover of Fall and Rise: The Story of 9/11 Book cover of Titanic Thompson: Card-Sharking, Gun-Slinging, Fast-Living American Legend Book cover of The Case of the Murderous Dr. Cream: The Hunt for a Victorian Era Serial Killer

Paul Willetts Why Paul loves this book

It’s become an irritating cliché for dustjacket blurbs on nonfiction books to claim that the book in your hands “reads like a thriller”.

More often than not, I only have to read a couple of dozen pages before realising that the book in question merely reads like the raw material for a thriller. But Howard Blum has the rare, almost alchemical knack of transforming mountains of historical research into nonfiction that really does feel like the most exciting of thrillers.

You can see why so many of his books—Dark Invasion among them—have been optioned by movie producers. 

Dark Invasion

By Howard Blum ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Dark Invasion as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Combining the pulsating drive of Showtime's Homeland with the fascinating historical detail of such of narrative nonfiction bestsellers as Double Cross and In the Garden of Beasts, Dark Invasion is Howard Blum’s gritty, high-energy true-life tale of German espionage and terror on American soil during World War I, and the NYPD Inspector who helped uncover the plot—the basis for the film to be produced by and starring Bradley Cooper.

When a “neutral” United States becomes a trading partner for the Allies early in World War I, the Germans implement a secret plan to strike back. A team of saboteurs—including an…

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Spies, Code Breakers, and Secret Agents

By Carole P. Roman ,

Book cover of Spies, Code Breakers, and Secret Agents: A World War II Book for Kids

Barbara Ann Mojica Author Of Little Miss History Travels to Mount Vernon

From my list on for all ages to enjoy.

By Barbara Ann Mojica Author

Why am I passionate about this?

As a parent, grandparent, retired educator, historian, and children’s book author, I am an avid reader and advocate for children’s literacy. My forty years of experience working with children and their families gives me the background and expertise to identify high-quality books and the types of subjects that children will want to read and adults in the family will enjoy sharing with them.

Barbara's book list on for all ages to enjoy

Book cover of Have You Ever Seen? Book cover of Best Ever You Book cover of Alicia And The Light Bulb People Book cover of The Underground Toy Society and the Annual Toy Drive Book cover of Spies, Code Breakers, and Secret Agents: A World War II Book for Kids

Barbara Ann Mojica Why Barbara loves this book

Carole P. Roman has hit a home run with this nonfiction book. It paints an intriguing picture of the life of spies during World War II. Roman details the training, weapons, and tools used in spy craft. I found the chapters featuring biographical portraits fascinating. Chef Julia Child and author Graham Greene operated undercover. Roman discusses double agents and the Native Americans who broke the Japanese code. I would recommend this book to children who love adventure, espionage, and history. It’s a perfect read for middle-grade students, but an eye-opener for adults as well.

Spies, Code Breakers, and Secret Agents

By Carole P. Roman ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Spies, Code Breakers, and Secret Agents as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

Uncover the secret agents of World War 2—an exciting history book for kids 8 to 12

Discover World War 2’s hidden heroes and villains. Spies, Code Breakers, and Secret Agents explores the intriguing world of spycraft and shows you what goes on behind the scenes in war.

From spy schools and ciphers to sneaky tools and secret armies, this guide takes you on a declassified tour of the undercover operations that helped decide the outcome of World War 2. There’s also more than a dozen short spy-ographies that cover some of the most famous (and infamous!) agents that were active…

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The Nazi Spy Ring in America

By Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones ,

Book cover of The Nazi Spy Ring in America: Hitler's Agents, the FBI, and the Case That Stirred the Nation

David A. Taylor Author Of Cork Wars: Intrigue and Industry in World War II

From my list on spies and espionage in WW2.

By David A. Taylor Author

Why am I passionate about this?

As a child I found the history and biography books in our school library, and was enthralled. When I got older and discovered historical archives, the tension between public history in books and the secret or forgotten histories tucked away was irresistible. Writing books has taken me to five continents on journeys into everything from medicinal black markets to the traces of a wartime commercial spy network. For my latest book, digging through classified OSS files showed me what amazing stories still lie waiting for us.

David's book list on spies and espionage in WW2

Book cover of Finks: How the C.I.A. Tricked the World's Best Writers Book cover of Lisbon: War in the Shadows of the City of Light, 1939-1945 Book cover of Sisterhood of Spies: The Women of the OSS Book cover of The Nazi Spy Ring in America: Hitler's Agents, the FBI, and the Case That Stirred the Nation Book cover of Nazi Spies in America: Hitler's Undercover War

David A. Taylor Why David loves this book

This is a sort of origin story for Breuer's characters, centered more tightly on a mid-1930s Nazi ring uncovered by the FBI's best investigator, Leon Turrou, and splashed across American newspapers’ front pages in 1938. Jeffreys-Jones' book, released in 2020, also shows why multi-stranded nonfiction has become a popular form.

The Nazi Spy Ring in America

By Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Nazi Spy Ring in America as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In the mid-1930s, just as the United States was embarking on a policy of neutrality, Nazi Germany launched a program of espionage against the unwary nation. Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones's fascinating history provides the first full account of Nazi spies in 1930s America and how they were exposed in a high-profile FBI case that became a national sensation.

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Book cover of The Twelfth Imam
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