John Le Carre's life was as interesting as his books. His novels, written over the last 60 years, are consistently good. After the end of the cold war his spies may have changed location but his books were equally compelling.  

The first ten books in this list are the George Smiley novels, though not all books contain Smiley they are set in this environment. It is not necessary to read them in order, most people start with "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold", or "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy".

The later books in the list are stand alone and are listed in order of publication. "The Constant Gardener" and "The Tailor of Panama" (his most light-hearted work) both stand out. His most recent novel, published in 2019, is "Agent Running in the Field" and will not disappoint.

The list ends with Le Carre's excellent memoir "The Pigeon Tunnel", published in 2016 , Adam Sisman's biography of him, published in 2015 and lastly the forthcoming book of letters due in November 2022.

Some of these titles are available as audio books, read by Le Carre himself.