A review by stevenk
Spies of the Balkans by Alan Furst

4.0

A novel of espionage that starts on the fringes of WWII and ends with the German Invasion of Greece. Furst does a great job of setting the scene, Greece right before Italy invades, and establishing the mindset of his main character. In this book it is Constitine Zannis a Greek police official in the town of Salonika, who helps Jewish refugees out of Germany. I enjoy Furst's books because they give you a window into the mindsets of ordinary people doing extra-ordinary things in the face of war, and they are often set on the fringes, the places that don't come to the forefront of your mind when you think about WWII. This book is another enjoyable trip into the world of espionage that took place in and around WWII. The writing and realistic characters give you a sympathy for the situations that they faced that really brings the events of the story, and the era in which they are set, to life