CHECK IT OUT:

John Le Carré has been writing elegant, literary spy fiction since the release of “The Spy Who Came in from the Cold” in 1963.

This grim realistic portrayal of a British secret agent undone by duplicity on both sides of the Iron Curtain stood in marked contrast to the popular conception of the glamorous world of espionage based on James Bond novels.

In his latest work, “A Most Wanted Man,” Le Carré has taken aim at the way in which the war on terror has been conducted, including the alleged use of dubious practices such as torture and extraordinary rendition.

Set in Hamburg, the story concerns a Russian-speaking Muslim from Chechnya, who may or may not be a terrorist. Issa Karpov has escaped from a prison in Turkey, eluded authorities in Sweden, and entered Germany illegally in search of a safe haven. Hamburg, home to three of the 9/11 hijackers, is a place of heightened awareness toward its Muslim-immigrant population.

Thus, Issa is soon pursued by intelligence operatives from three countries.

He enlists the help of Anna, a fiercely idealistic civil rights attorney, and a British investment banker named Tommy, all of whom quickly become enveloped by powerful forces beyond their control.

Events proceed at a taut pace, and, by the conclusion, the reader may share the author’s anger at the kind of injustice depicted here.

Alan Furst has virtually created his own sub-genre of historical spy fiction. His richly atmospheric narratives, which are set in Europe just prior to the start of World War II, contain great amounts of period detail.

His protagonists are usually bored intellectuals with a whiff of aristocracy and a taste for fine wine and alluring women.

The intricate plots revolve around clandestine activities designed to stave off the inevitable war with Germany.

The pleasure in reading Furst, though, comes from visualizing the particular world he so ably recreates.

“The Spies of Warsaw” is Furst’s 10th novel. Jean Francois Mercier, a military attaché at the French embassy in Warsaw, oversees a network of spies.

When he learns of German plans for an invasion of France that would bypass the Maginot Line, the country’s primary fortified system of defense, Mercier tries to alert the French general staff to this gathering danger.

Readers versed in WWII history will surmise that he was ultimately unsuccessful.

In “The Lost Spy,” former Time Moscow correspondent Andrew Meier uncovers the true story of Cy Oggins, an American intellectual in the service of Joseph Stalin. Oggins, who was educated at Columbia University, joined the Communist Party in 1920.

He later traveled abroad, ostensibly as an academic, but in reality as a Soviet spy.

Oggins inevitably ran afoul of Stalin, was arrested, and sent to the gulag.

He was eventually murdered out of fears that his story would become known after his release.

The author’s extensive research in both Soviet and FBI archives forms the backbone of this remarkable story.

Readers interested in these and other tales of intrigue will find them on the shelves of the Newport Beach Public Library.

CHECK IT OUT is written by the staff of the Newport Beach Public Library. All titles may be reserved from home or office computers by accessing the catalog at www.newportbeachlibrary.org. For more information on the Central Library or any of the branches, please contact the Newport Beach Public Library at (949) 717-3800, option 2.