The Little Drummer Girl

The Little Drummer Girl is a spy novel by John le Carré, published in 1983. The story follows the manipulations of Martin Kurtz, an Israeli spymaster who is trying to kill a Palestinian terrorist named Khalil, who is bombing Jewish-related targets in Europe, particularly Germany, and the English actress Charlie, who becomes a double agent working on behalf of the Israelis. The novel does not feature le Carré's most famous character George Smiley.

Despite the plot, some reviewers thought it transcends the spy novel genre. "The Little Drummer Girl is about spies", said William F. Buckley, writing in the New York Times, "as Madame Bovary is about adultery or Crime and Punishment about crime."