by Alan Furst
Part of Night Soldiers, book 5
First published 2005
Jean Casson slips back into Paris in 1941 under an assumed name, the Gestapo hunting him through the occupied city. The former film producer cannot risk contact with his old sophisticated world. Instead he must navigate the grimy streets of Pigalle, sleeping in rundown hotels and learning the survival skills of Paris's criminal underworld. Casson wants to keep his head down and stay invisible. But as the German occupation tightens its grip on France, he discovers he cannot escape the pull of the resistance movement. The networks of sabotage and espionage draw him back in despite the mortal danger. Casson faces an impossible choice between safety in the shadows and the call to fight back against the occupiers.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, action, espionage
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, fish-out-of-water
Setting: Paris, Pigalle
Period: 1941
283 pages · Paperback · Phoenix