Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Second Midnight | 1987 | Andrew Taylor | Buy |
| 2 | Blacklist | 1988 | Andrew Taylor | Buy |
| 3 | Toyshop | 1990 | Andrew Taylor | Buy |
The Blaines trilogy by Andrew Taylor is a set of three espionage thrillers published between 1987 and 1990. The books are connected through the Blaines family, whose members become entangled with intelligence services and Cold War politics across different time periods. The series begins with The Second Midnight, set during World War II, and continues through Blacklist and Toyshop as the consequences of wartime choices echo into later decades.
Taylor uses the family connection to explore how espionage affects ordinary people pulled into extraordinary circumstances. The books are less concerned with spy tradecraft than with the moral compromises and personal damage that come with living double lives. This psychological focus sets them apart from more action-oriented thrillers of the same period.
Written during a productive stretch of Taylor’s career in the late 1980s, the Blaines books show his range beyond straight crime fiction. Readers who enjoy Cold War thrillers with a strong literary quality and an interest in how history shapes individual lives will find these books rewarding.