Looking: Recs for best depictions of clandestine agencies

I am looking for others' recommendations for the best Spec Fic stories centered around covert organizations and their dealings/activities. Intelligence agencies, special units, black operations, etc.

Some examples that spring to mind are Special Circumstances from The Culture series and Section 8 from Star Trek.

3 comments

Are you interested in slightly more fantastical yet still clandestine agencies? You can’t go wrong with Robin Sloan’s Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore! Erin Morgenstern’s The Starless Sea also gives me these vibes but it’s less heavy on the secret society bits.
- I'll take whatever I can get for the most part! Thanks for the recs!

The Laundry Files by Charles Stross, might satisfy.
I've never come across another writer that fills The Culture hole.