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A review by jacki_f
The Polish Officer by Alan Furst
3.0
Alan Furst has written fourteen books set in Europe in the 1930s and 1940s. They form the "Night Soldiers" series and they are loosely inter-connected but can be read in any order. This is the third book in the series and it centres on Alexander de Milja, the eponymous Polish Officer who works for the Intelligence Service in Poland, France and the Ukraine. Alan Furst was my Dad's favourite author (well, equal with John le Carre) and I like reading his books and thinking about how much he must have liked them.
The series is incredibly rich in detail and atmosphere. Even minor characters who only appear for a page or two have back stories and come vividly to life. You feel like you're living in that time and you absorb all the tension and danger.
There isn't really a coherent plot to The Polish Officer. It's just a linear progression as we follow de Milja from September 1939 through to late 1941. Much like being a spy would have been, there are times when you're on the edge of your seat and other times when the pace slows right down. Sometimes intense danger comes without warning and at other times there are breakthroughs that lead nowhere. It wasn't my favourite of the series but there truly isn't a dud among them.
The series is incredibly rich in detail and atmosphere. Even minor characters who only appear for a page or two have back stories and come vividly to life. You feel like you're living in that time and you absorb all the tension and danger.
There isn't really a coherent plot to The Polish Officer. It's just a linear progression as we follow de Milja from September 1939 through to late 1941. Much like being a spy would have been, there are times when you're on the edge of your seat and other times when the pace slows right down. Sometimes intense danger comes without warning and at other times there are breakthroughs that lead nowhere. It wasn't my favourite of the series but there truly isn't a dud among them.