| Re: Spy novels.
I've read Furst's Kingdom of Shadows, Blood of Victory and The Polish Officer and can recommend them. The plots don't revolve around Really Big Events (e.g., Assassinate Hitler! or Save D-Day!), which is refreshing, but instead focus on minor players in the war of espionage, working on minor plots but giving their all. Several of Furst's novels are loosely related in that they involve the same espionage network, and Kingdom of Shadows, set in the immediate pre-war period, gives some background on said network. However, while the novel is thick with period atmosphere, not a lot happens. Blood of Victory, set a few years later, is more satisfying, IMHO, and The Polish Officer is very good. Writing quirk: Furst knows period Paris very well, and likes to repeat anecdotes.
I'm currently working my way through Philip Kerr's Berlin Noir collected trilogy. So far: Good classic hardboiled private eye plot, kinda think on the private eye cliches. Kerr does seem to know his mid-'30s Berliner slang, though. At least, I assume it's authentic. Why else would he use so much of it? In any case, it's keeping me turning the pages. |