by Alan Furst
Part of Night Soldiers, book 13
First published 2014
Paris, 1938. Cristián Ferrar works as a lawyer at a prestigious international firm when the Spanish Republic's embassy approaches him with a dangerous request. They need someone to help smuggle weapons to Republican forces fighting fascists in Spain. Ferrar agrees, knowing the mission could cost him his life. He joins a motley group of allies: Max de Lyon, a former arms dealer now hunted by the Gestapo; the Marquesa Maria Cristina, a thrill-seeking aristocrat; and Stavros the Macedonian, a gangster who learned violence fighting Bulgarian bandits. There is also Eileen Moore, the American woman Ferrar cannot forget. Their operations take them from shadowy Parisian nightclubs to New York law offices, from Istanbul brothels to Polish dockyards. Hitler and Franco's secret agents hunt them at every turn. As Europe slides toward war, Ferrar must navigate a world where idealists work alongside criminals, where love and duty collide, and where one wrong move means death.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, adventure, mystery, espionage, political-thriller
Vibes: atmospheric, fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Europe, Istanbul, New York, Paris, Poland, Spain
Period: 1938
272 pages · Hardcover · Random House Publishing Group
Content warnings: violence