Spies of the Balkans

Shshshshsh. Don’t tell anyone. It is 1939. In the strategic Greek port city of Salonika, rumblings of war can be heard as Nazi Germany gains allies by threat and force. People wonder only when the invasion will come. Costa Zinnis is the head of a special political branch of the police, charged with......more

Review to come soon!What a deeply satisfying read! I am giving this one a rating of 4.5! This was my first book by Alan Furst and I will be on the lookout for more of his books. The story takes us back in time to the 1940s to the ancient Greek port city of Salonika. This is the time of the WW2, and in......more

Furst set a very high standard for himself early in his career. He clearly owns the period from 1933-45 in Europe and is a very fine writer of historical fiction filled with intrigue and likeable characters. Over the last few years, however, he has slipped into a formulaic pattern that takes few ris......more

No, these are not the Eric Ambler Balkans, though both series of books are set around the same time, and both involve spying. Spies of the Balkans is another of Alan Furst's looks at the inevitable start of World War Two. In this book, the hero is Constantine Zannis, a highly placed police officer in......more