Having not read John Le Carre before I rather enjoyed the Secret Gardener which I read recently. Not normally the sort of thing that I go for but it was worth it. I have to say that I envy anyone who's reading Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird for the first time. A wonderful book. If you enjoyed that then try anything by Carson McCullers, another great writer from the Deep South, a good start would be The Ballad Of The Sad Cafe or The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter, which is a personal favourite.