"Blackford Oakes" series by William Buckley

[Phoenix98]

This series of eleven is set from 1951 to 2005. Blackford is CIA spy extraordinaire whose dealings abroad take him from the bedchamber of the Queen of England through personal crisis interaction with Kim Philby.

Those who remember Buckley's proficiency with elite forms of the English language are generally surprised at the easy reading style of his novels, which, by the way, are all based in fact and true to historic timelines.

Those who know the aftermath of WWII, the history of the Cold War, the overthrow of Cuba, etc., are never surprised at the outcomes. However, each plot continually builds with intriguing twists until an epilogue opens, and like mist burning off in the morning light, our hero fades, only to reemerge at another time.