Spies of the Balkans

New
Paperback
2014
$11.69

Salonika, 1940. To the bustle of tavernas and the smell of hashish, a secret war is taking shape. In the backrooms of barbers, envelopes change hands, and in the Club de Salonique the air is thick with whispers.
Costa Zannis is the city's dashing chief detective - a man with contacts high and low, in the Balkans and beyond. And as unknown ships and British 'travel writers' trickle through the port, he is a man very much in demand. Having helped defeat Italy in the highlands of Macedonia, Zannis returns to a city holding its breath. Mussolini's forces have retreated - for now - but German sights are fixed firmly on the region. And as the situation in Germany worsens, Zannis becomes involved in an audacious plot - smuggling Jews to Istanbul, through the back door of Europe. The British hear he can penetrate the continent's closed borders, and soon Zannis is embroiled in the resistance, and in a reckless love affair that could jeopardise everything.
With a remarkable cast of operatives, SPIES OF THE BALKANS is a brilliant espionage novel from Alan Furst.

Synopsis

Salonika, 1940. To the bustle of tavernas and the smell of hashish, a secret war is taking shape. In the backrooms of barbers, envelopes change hands, and in the Club de Salonique the air is thick with whispers.

Costa Zannis is the city's dashing chief detective - a man with contacts high and low, in the Balkans and beyond. And as unknown ships and British 'travel writers' trickle through the port, he is a man very much in demand. Having helped defeat Italy in the highlands of Macedonia, Zannis returns to a city holding its breath. Mussolini's forces have retreated - for now - but German sights are fixed firmly on the region. And as the situation in Germany worsens, Zannis becomes involved in an audacious plot - smuggling Jews to Istanbul, through the back door of Europe. The British hear he can penetrate the continent's closed borders, and soon Zannis is embroiled in the resistance, and in a reckless love affair that could jeopardise everything.

With a remarkable cast of operatives, SPIES OF THE BALKANS is a brilliant espionage novel from Alan Furst.

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 304
Edition: Pbk edition
Publisher: W&N
Published: 19 Jun 2014
ISBN 10: 1780228910
ISBN 13: 9781780228914
Book Overview: 'One of the best novels of the year ... brilliant' ROBERT HARRIS. Reissued behind Alan Furst's new novel, MIDNIGHT IN EUROPE.

Media Reviews

The spy writer Alan Furst's mastery of the passions and politics of the Second World War is again in thrilling evidence here. * SUNDAY TELEGRAPH *
A wonderfully atmospheric and satisfying book * CATHOLIC HERALD *
This is a brilliant book and highly recommended. Furst's novel set in 1940s Salonika is a wonderful, captivating, spy thriller with a keen sense of place and history. * TELEGRAPH & ARGUS *
Furst is surely a unique voice and talent in the mystery field -- Mike Ripley * DEADLY PLEASURES *

Author Bio

Alan Furst is widely recognised as the master of the historical spy novel. Now translated into eighteen languages, he is the author of novels including MISSION TO PARIS, SPIES OF THE BALKANS - a TV Book Club choice - THE SPIES OF WARSAW, which became a BBC mini-series starring David Tennant and THE FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT.

Born in New York, he lived for many years in Paris and travelled as a journalist in Eastern Europe and Russia. He has written extensively for Esquire and the International Herald Tribune. He now lives in Long Island.