Alan Furst and Spies of World Ward II

Alan Furst is the official expert of the World War II spy novels that are being written currently. While he spent a long time living in Paris writing for The International Herald Tribune, he honed his expertise by traveling around Europe and getting the terrain accurate. Most of his novels contain the average male worker who becomes involved with espionage only as the force of evil makes it apparent he must. This hero is usually independent and courageous. In Spies of the Balkans, it is Constantine "Costa" Zannis, of the police force in Greece. Greece is facing the inevitable invasion of the German forces and he has clearly decided whose side he is on, and he will do anything to protect the innocent and the ones he loves. He meets a beautiful Jewish woman from Germany who recruits him to help her smuggle German Jews out through the Balkans and on to Turkey. The British spies know everything and soon they want, no demand, his help also. His work takes him to Paris where he once lived with his family. Danger lurks at every turn and he is forced to rely on ancient friends and family. The book is a fast paced thriller with romance and intrigue to spice it up. I am a long time fan of Alan Furst and I never tire of his novels. All are stand alone stories, similar in the style of Eric Ambler who wrote spy novels starting in the years prior to World War II, writing from 1937-1963.