Bernard Samson Series
A trilogy of trilogies with an epic thrown in for good measure, this is the second best known series of Len Deighton ("Harry Palmer" comes first).
It stars a British spy called Bernard Samson, who discovers that his wife, also a spy, is working for East Germany.
The books in the series, divided by their trilogy:
Trilogy 1: In which Fiona Samson turns out to be an East German agent and defects. Bernard acquires a girlfriend called Gloria.
- Berlin Game
- Mexico Set
- London Match
Adapted into a TV series in 1998. It was a ratings failure and Len Deighton disowned it. He has since bought the rights and has prevented it being re-released on DVD.
The Epic:
- Winter- The story of two brothers living in Germany from 1900 to 1945. Background to the series.
Trilogy 2: In which Fiona Samson turns out to actually be a triple agent. Her sister ends up dead and buried in an East German roadworks.
- Spy Hook
- Spy Line
- Spy Sinker- Hook and Line from points of view rather than that of Samson.
Trilogy 3: Written after the fall of the Berlin Wall, but set before it.
- Faith
- Hope
- Charity
- Berlin
- Bookends: Each book in the 'Game, Set and Match' trilogy begins and ends inside a car.
- Clear My Name: Fiona's defection throws suspicion on Bernard too.
- Fake Defector
- The Mole
- Oxbridge: Bernard has a chip on his shoulder over those who owe their advancement to their connections as opposed to his field experience.
- The Stale Beer approach to Spy Fiction
- World War Two (Winter)
- Ugly Guy Hot Girlfriend: Bernard and Gloria
- Unreliable Narrator