Where to start with le Carré's George Smiley

I accidently got introduced to le Carre when I watched the Night Manager on one of the OTT platforms. I liked it enough to sample one of his first’s ‘Tinker Tailor’ and immediately developed a liking for George Smiley, le Carre’s plot development and a general liking for mystery / thriller ;). Now I have read two of the entire series.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is the one to read first, and the one to read even if you never pick up another le Carré. It is a patient, meticulous hunt for a Soviet mole inside British intelligence, solved almost entirely through interviews and old files rather than chase scenes, and it is better for it.

A Murder of Quality is an earlier, smaller book: a straightforward murder mystery at an English boarding school, with Smiley called in as a favour to an old friend. It is a good second stop if you want to see le Carré before he became le Carré, still sharp but working in a much tighter frame.