Promotional Information

Alan Furst is internationally recognised as a thriller writer of first- class calibre Blood of Victory was a New York Times bestseller 'For connoisseurs of wartime thrillers, a new novel by Alan Furst has become a major publishing event' David Robson, Sunday Telegraph 'In the world of espionage thrillers, Alan Furst is in a class of his own' William Boyd 'How do people remain human when everyday life jumps from being maddeningly normal one moment to bringing death, separation, or danger the next? Furst has embraced that existential wrong-footing, and his skill in doing so is what makes him so pleasurable and rewarding to read' Michael Carlson, Spectator 'Jumps into the "good read" category, as ever with him' James Naughtie, Glasgow Herald

About the Author

Alan Furst has lived for long periods in France, especially in Paris, and has travelled as a journalist in Eastern Europe and Russia. He has written extensively for Esquire and the International Herald Tribune.

Reviews

"There are writers who so capture the feel of a particular historical time and place that, once youve read them, its impossible to look back to the period without sensing their presence. Alan Furst, with his novels of wartime Europe, is one of those authors." -- Simon Shaw MAIL ON SUNDAY "enjoyably gripping tale of spies and skulduggery" -- Christina Koning TIMES

"There are writers who so capture the feel of a particular historical time and place that, once youve read them, its impossible to look back to the period without sensing their presence. Alan Furst, with his novels of wartime Europe, is one of those authors." -- Simon Shaw MAIL ON SUNDAY "enjoyably gripping tale of spies and skulduggery" -- Christina Koning TIMES

Furst's reputation as one of today's best writers, in any genre, is further solidified by this gripping historical thriller with echoes of Graham Greene, which opens in Paris in December 1938. Journalist Carlo Weisz, an expatriate Italian who's half Slav, is fighting the Mussolini regime by writing for the Paris-based underground opposition newspaper, the Liberazione. When agents of the OVRA, the Italian secret police, murder the Liberazione's editor in the arms of his mistress, Weisz assumes greater responsibility for keeping the paper running. OVRA also targets Weisz and his surviving colleagues, forcing him to scramble to stay alive while continuing his subversive work. Furst (Night Soldiers) excels at characterization, making even secondary figures such as shadowy presences from British intelligence and Nazi minders more than cartoon stereotypes. Through the exploits of his understated hero, Furst presents a potent portrait of Europe on the eve of WWII. (June) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.