by Alan Furst
Part of Night Soldiers, book 8
First published 2005
Captain Eric DeHaan steers his rust-streaked freighter up the Tagus River toward Lisbon's docks at four in the morning. His ship flies the Spanish flag and carries papers identifying her as the Santa Rosa, but she is actually the Dutch vessel Noordendam. DeHaan works for British Naval Intelligence, and his cargo manifest listing cork oak and tinned sardines conceals detection equipment bound for a secret operation on Sweden's coast. His crew includes Polish engineers, a Greek stowaway, a Jewish medical officer, a British spy, Spanish Republicans who fought Franco, and Germans who opposed Hitler. None can return home to Nazi-occupied Europe. The mission unfolds against the backdrop of Britain's desperate struggle for survival as German U-boats sink merchant vessels faster than they can be replaced. Between September 1939 and March 1941, Britain lost nearly 1,600 ships to submarine attacks, mines, and maritime disasters. DeHaan's voyage becomes one more battle in the shadow war fought in North African souks, desert outposts, and port cities across Europe. His ship carries fugitives sailing toward an uncertain fate.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, military-fiction, adventure, world-war-ii, espionage
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, suspenseful
Tropes: found-family, unlikely-allies
Setting: Europe, Lisbon, North Africa, Sweden
Period: 1939-1941
264 pages · Paperback · Random House Publishing Group