FILE 02: Three Spy Thrillers That Shaped The Knox Files
Thursday 30th April 2026
Spy fiction has had a big influence on how I think about character development and building tension. Because of that, narrowing this list down wasn’t easy. The three selected here are from authors I greatly respect, and whose work played a key role in shaping Finlay Knox and the world of The Knox Files.
1. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – John le Carré (1974)
I’ve had the pleasure of reading many of le Carré’s novels and The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and The Honourable Schoolboy were both novels that I vividly remember reading for the first time. However, Tinker Tailor was the one that stood out the most due to its incredibly intricate and intelligent plot that rewarded readers’ attention in a way I had not seen before. The plot to uncover a Soviet mole at the top of British intelligence was largely based on the real-life example of Kim Philby, who was famously known as being part of the Cambridge Five spy ring. The patience, quiet paranoia, and tradecraft are masterfully written. What stayed with me wasn’t just the plot, but the restraint. Smiley doesn’t dominate a room. He reads it. That quiet control is far more dangerous, and it’s something I wanted Knox to reflect.
This novel certainly shaped The Knox Files, where intelligence is prioritised over action. Quiet rooms, conversations, and observation can build tension before any requirement for guns and explosions. The way Smiley observes small behavioural cues and micro-expressions also inspired some mannerisms and skills that my protagonist Finlay Knox possesses. Finally, le Carré was immensely skilled in offering moral ambiguity and the issue of how far a British government organisation can go without becoming the very thing they oppose is also explored in my first novel, The Controlled Identity.
2. Casino Royale – Ian Fleming (1953)
Fleming is another author that I’ve read widely, and some of my favourite novels are Thunderball, From Russia with Love, Dr. No, and Goldfinger. Yet, the first of Fleming’s Bond novels, Casino Royale, stands out amongst the others. The plot essentially revolves around an MI6 plan to bankrupt a Soviet-backed operative named Le Chiffre at a high-stakes casino in France. However, James Bond isn’t just gambling money in his baccarat showdown; he’s gambling national interests and his own survival. This early characterisation of Bond shows him as grittier and less polished in comparison to later novels. That version of Bond felt far more real to me. Not polished, not untouchable, but under pressure, and not always certain of the outcome. At around sixty-thousand words it’s a relatively short novel and I remember reading it over a weekend. I greatly admire the pacing of the novel, and the way in which Fleming utilised his journalistic experience to build tension with short sentences was expertly done.
In Casino Royale Bond is newly promoted within MI6 and is being evaluated as to whether he has the control and capability required for the role. That idea stayed with me, and it shaped how I wrote The Controlled Identity. The first half of my novel is essentially an origin story about how Knox was recruited and the selection, assessment, and training he had to complete. During this time, he is under constant evaluation and scrutiny and the psychological impact this has is explored. Moreover, the theme of performance and identity was examined by Fleming in the way Bond adopts roles of a gambler, gentleman, and operative. This is echoed with Knox who consciously constructs identities and learns to adjust his behaviour based on perception.
3. The Bourne Identity – Robert Ludlum (1980)
It was back in 2002 that I went to watch The Bourne Identity at the cinema and it’s one of the few times I’ve watched a spy movie before reading the novel. The plot is based around the protagonist Jason Bourne suffering from amnesia and seeking to discover his true identity. As the story develops Bourne slowly discovers that he possesses extraordinary combat skills and can speak fluently in several languages. As he uncovers that he’s a CIA black-ops assassin it becomes apparent that his own agency wants him dead. This journey of self-discovery is well written and plotted by Ludlum with the books cinematic style converting well to the big screen. The tension throughout is well crafted and comes from Bourne’s confusion, need for survival, and dangerous situations he finds himself. I found that far more unsettling than any action sequence. Not knowing who you are, or whether you can trust yourself, is a different kind of threat entirely.
The theme of identity is a central theme in my work where Knox actively constructs how he appears to others, in a deliberate and carefully managed way. Where Bourne is being hunted from unseen forces, Knox is being evaluated and experiences constant pressure from systems and expectations. Knox isn’t searching for identity. He’s constructing it. The Bourne Identity played a role in inspiring my own spy novels as I greatly enjoyed the way Ludlum built psychological tension and balanced this with moments of intense action.
Two Special Mentions
The Day of the Jackal – Frederick Forsyth (1971)
Forsyth’s The Day of the Jackal stands out for its procedural precision and clinical tone. The novel follows a professional assassin preparing for a high-profile operation to assassinate the French President Charles de Gaulle, with every step of the process detailed with meticulous care. What makes it compelling is not action, but preparation. The quiet, methodical construction of multiple identities, movement, and execution.
That emphasis on planning and restraint has influenced The Knox Files, particularly in how operations are approached. Success is not determined in the moment of action, but in the decisions made beforehand. The Jackal’s discipline, patience, and detachment reflect the kind of control that characters like Knox are expected to develop, and the cost that comes with it.
A Perfect Spy – John le Carré (1986)
The other le Carré novel to mention as an inspiration is A Perfect Spy. Unlike many spy novels that focus on operations, this story examines the psychological cost of living a divided life. It’s a semi-autobiographical piece and reflects the real-life experiences of the author. The protagonist, Magnus Pym, survives through adaptation and reshaping himself to meet the expectations of others. This continues until the line between performance and reality becomes almost indistinguishable.
You may have noticed by now that the theme of identity is a recurring thread throughout. Where Pym is shaped by past trauma and personal relationships, Knox operates with a greater degree of control, but both characters exist in environments where authenticity is uncertain and perception is everything.
Final Message
What draws me to the espionage genre is how it examines behaviour under pressure. How a person’s identity shifts, fractures, or is deliberately constructed when there’s no clear right answer.
To give you a taste of my first story, I’m offering the prologue and the first three chapters of The Controlled Identity as a free download. You can access it now by entering your email into the link on the main page of the site.
I’ll send new documents and updates roughly once a month. And if you have any questions, feel free to get in touch via email. I’d be interested to hear your thoughts.
Until next time,
James Burnett
