Sweet Tooth is a love story, a spy novel, and a book about literature itself.
Reason Magazine said that it "reads like a spy novel."
The arms industry here appears to be like no other, and stories about some of those reportedly involved resemble a spy novel.
It's like spy novels - what do they call that?
One thing the British do better than anybody is write spy novels.
Parts of it can be read as a takeoff on spy novels.
After working as a foreign correspondent until 1965, he started writing spy novels.
Lurk is a 2009 Chinese television series based on a spy novel.
"I decided it would be a perfect place to write a spy novel," he continued.
At its best, it could be like reading a spy novel.
He has taken them straight from the pages of a German spy story.
As in most spy stories, the details of this one are often incredible.
Some have offered circumstantial evidence to support the spy story.
Venona's spy stories are now seen by much of the public as the key to America's cold war experience itself.
"The best spy story I have ever read," were his brief but inspiring words.
"In all the spy stories you read, the spies are just ordinary people."
"It is a bit difficult to characterize my books because I don't write spy stories anymore," he said.
Asked why the reports persist, he replied, "I guess people really like spy stories."
All of which is acceptable for starters; it must be or so many spy stories would not start that way.
"I'm not entirely sure that I buy this spy story," he decided.