by Alan Furst (Author)
Andre Szara, survivor of the Polish pogroms and the Russian civil wars, is a journalist working for Pravda in 1937. War in Europe is already underway and Szara is co-opted to join the NKVD, the Soviet secret intelligence agency. He does his best to survive the tango of pre-war politics by calmly obeying orders and keeping his nose clean. But when he is sent to retrieve a battered briefcase the plot thickens and is drawn into even more complex intrigues. Szara becomes a full-time spymaster and as deputy director of a Paris network, he finds his own star rising when he recruits an agent in Berlin who can supply crucial information. Dark Star captures not only the intrigue and danger of clandestine life but the day-to-day reality of what Soviet operatives call special work.
Format: Paperback
Pages: 400
Edition: New e.
Publisher: Phoenix
Published: 21 Apr 2005
ISBN 10: 0753818124
ISBN 13: 9780753818121
Book Overview: First time in Phoenix paperback 'A rich, deeply moving novel of suspense that is equal parts espionage thriller, European history, and love story. The time frame was once the special property of Eric Ambler and Graham Greene; Furst has ventured into their fictional territory and brought out a story that is equally original and engaging' New York Times 'For connoisseurs of wartime thrillers, a new novel by Alan Furst has become a major publishing event' Sunday Telegraph 'The sophistication of Robert Harris or Sebastian Faulks with the undisguised boyish envy of Ian Fleming' Sunday Times Apart from Robert Harris and Sebastian Faulks, Furst has been compared favourably to Le Carre, Len Deighton and Graham Greene. His last book, Blood of Victory, was a New York Times bestseller