Eye of the Needle

⚖The case for it

A German spy called "The Needle" discovers the Allies' D-Day deception and must get the information to Hitler; only a lonely woman on a Scottish island stands between him and success. Follett's most cinematically pure thriller. Relentless pacing, a villain of genuine menace, a final confrontation of almost operatic intensity. Edgar Award winner, 1979.

— the canon

✕The case against

Follett builds a beautiful machine and writes it in machine prose. Characters receive exactly the traits the plot requires (Lucy's loneliness is a load-bearing wall), the storm that strands Faber on the right island is convenience wearing weather, and the sex scenes have not aged into charm. Efficient, gripping, and gone from memory in a week.

— the honest librarian