The cold war era is full of secrets, intrigues, spies and conflicts; things that can inspire great stories in the historical fiction genre. And because the cold war lasted for such a long period of time and involved so many different countries, the depth and variety of stories is immense. I selected ten novels set in this time period that focus on various countries and people. I hope you enjoy them!
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the secrets we keep by lara prescott
the secrets we keep is a fascinating story about the role of the united states in the publication and distribution of dr. Zhivago, and the effects of this book on Pasternak’s family and lover in the Cold War era Soviet Union. Prescott’s descriptions of Soviet-era politics and state gulags (where Pasternak’s mistress was sent for several years because of her book) will make readers appreciate her freedom.
american spy by lauren wilkinson
fbi agent marie mitchell is extremely qualified and highly competent, but she’s constantly being assigned jobs that no one else wants and is passed over for high-profile cases. The FBI of the 1980s is a man’s world, and Marie is delegated to push paper. Ultimately, however, the CIA assigns her a case in West Africa, where she is tasked with approaching the young president of Burkina Faso and helping the United States promote her interests over a communist country. Marie accepts the mission and begins her job of seducing the target and participating in the hit that will bring him down. however, she soon realizes that this mission could change her life forever.
dropouts by joseph kanon
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Deserters is a fascinating glimpse behind the Iron Curtain, specifically the Soviet Union, in the 1960s. Simon Weeks makes an unprecedented visit to the U.S.S.R. to visit el’s brother el frank, an individual who defected from the united states. to the soviet union in the early 1950s. frank has received permission from the soviet government to publish his memoir, and his brother simon de him is a big shot at the publishing house who has agreed to handle the publication. Since Frank cannot leave his adoptive country, Simon must travel to Moscow to interview Frank and complete his memoirs. As soon as Simon arrives, he realizes that Frank has bigger plans afoot, and the betrayal and betrayals begin.
I must betray you by route sepetys
This historical thriller is set during the run-up to the 1989 Romanian revolution and the overthrow of its charismatic but brutal leader, Nicolae Ceausescu. Isolated and living in constant fear, Romanians must survive under the oppressive regime that rules their country. there is little food, the electricity turns off and on randomly, no outside media is allowed, and everyone worries about who they can trust and who they can’t, even family members are suspicious. sepetys vividly describes life there during this period of time, a period many will not be familiar with, and how one man managed to fool the world for far too long.
miss graham’s cold war cookbook by celia rees
Set in Germany after World War II, this story follows Brit Edith Graham as she joins the Control Commission, an entity that hires civilians to rebuild war-torn Germany. Edith is tasked with establishing schools in devastated German cities. Before leaving London, she is recruited by OSS to spy while she is in Germany and send intelligence information through recipes she collects while she travels. However, when Edith arrives, she realizes that many of the people in occupied Germany are not what they seem.
stephanie marie thornton’s smartest girl
Based on the true story of Cold War double agent Elizabeth Bentley, a highly intelligent girl recounts Bentley’s life through her own eyes, told to a young woman who appears at Bentley’s door demanding answers. to a secret that she herself has discovered family. from her recruitment by the american communist party to the creation of the largest russian espionage network in the us. USA, Bentley details her story and what happens when ideologies change.
our wife in moscow by beatriz williams
When the Digby family vanishes from their London home without a trace, the world debates whether they were eliminated by Soviet intelligence or whether the family defected to Moscow with American diplomat Sasha Digby’s access to top-secret Western information. four years later, ruth macallister receives a letter from her twin sister iris digby, asking her to come to moscow for a visit. Ruth travels to Moscow to help the Digbys defect to the United States, but instead discovers that she may not be all that she seems.
safe houses by dan fesperman
Safe Houses is a dual-timeline story that delves into the CIA’s operations in Berlin during the final years of the Cold War. In 1979, Helen Abell oversees the CIA safe houses in Berlin. one night he accidentally overhears a strange conversation in one of the houses and then stumbles upon another dangerous encounter. Abell decides to expose those responsible, leading to a decade-long vendetta that has dire consequences in 2014 when a son is arrested for the double murder of his parents. As the story progresses, the two stories slowly intersect and weave together into a powerful conclusion.
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a train to moscow by elena gorokhova
In a small town in the Stalinist Soviet Union, Sasha longs to be an actress. When she is old enough, she heads to Moscow to train and pursue her dreams, leaving behind a family full of secrets. Before leaving, she stumbles upon her uncle’s diary, which narrates what it was like to fight for Stalin’s ideology and the brutality hidden from ordinary people. She eventually lands in Leningrad where she is reunited with an old flame who helps her uncover a long-buried secret that changes her life. Inspired by the author’s own family stories, A Train to Moscow is an inspiring story about the ways people overcome adversity.
kate atkinson transcript
juliet armstrong works in a shadowy department of the mi-5 during the second world war that monitors and records the activities of a pro-german group. Although the work is initially boring and monotonous, an event occurs that drastically alters the work of the department and Juliet’s work. Fast forward a decade later, and Juliet now works for a BBC radio station, believing that his past is behind her. However, as Juliet soon learns, actions almost always have consequences, whether the effect is immediate or doesn’t surface for a decade or more. atkinson touches on some current issues, such as nationalism versus patriotism, and the threat of those who will sacrifice everything for a belief.
when we left cuba for chanel cleeton
when we leave cuba opens in the 1960s, and beatriz and the perez family live in florida after the cuban revolution forced them to leave everything behind in cuba. The novel follows Beatriz Pérez and her desire for revenge against Fidel Castro and her cronies who forced her family to leave Cuba. Cleeton brings to life the politics of the time and focuses on the United States’ involvement in the attempt to overthrow Castro, while describing historical events of the 1960s, such as the Bay of Pigs, the missile crisis in cuba and the assassination of kennedy through the lives of its characters.
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