Edgar Award Best Novel Winner

Eye of the Needle

by Ken Follett

Summary

During World War II a ruthless German spy known as the Needle uncovers the Allied deception masking the D Day invasion and races to carry the secret back to Berlin. The chase strands him on a remote Scottish island, where a lonely woman becomes the last obstacle between him and history. Follett built a taut wartime thriller that turns on character as much as suspense, and it made him an international bestseller.

Historical Context & Significance

Eye of the Needle was Ken Follett's breakthrough novel and won the 1979 Edgar Award, later becoming a 1981 film starring Donald Sutherland.