Mr. Furst knows history and Europe--especially Eastern Europe. He is the best.
I'm a huge fan of Alan Furst and I devour his novels the minute they are released. But I fear we're getting to the point where my adoration is being exploited by his publisher. This book is one of the recent ones that reads more like a chapter of a larger unfinished novel than an actual fully realized book. It's an adventure, it's educational, it's a peek at one of the lesser-looked at aspects of WWII. But the writing feels rushed and the plot doesn't resonate. The characters are engaging but seem more like sketches rather than the cast of some of the earlier books that were peopled with far more memorable characters. If I didn't think Furst had it in him to write a better novel than this, I'd take what I could get without complaining. But I think his publishers are rushing him so they can keep the cash registers busy with people like me so eager for a new Furst concoction that we accept something half-baked.
