Cover image of "Spies of the Balkans," a book by Alan Furst

In the long, tense years of the Cold War, spy stories and films about the rivalry between East and West appeared in such profusion that the genre degenerated into self-parody, eventually giving birth to bawdy satires. There were exceptions, of course, notably in the work of John le Carré, Graham Greene, and Len Deighton. But much of the reading public, it appeared, had long since ceased taking spy novels seriously. It took a great new book by Alan Furst to change minds.

A superb historical novelist

In 1988, Alan Furst brought out Night Soldiers, cultivating fresh ground with its wickedly insightful and historically accurate portrait of European espionage in the time between the wars. With each successive novel, Furst broadened his view of the period, setting his tales in such far-flung cities as Warsaw, Prague, Berlin, Paris, Madrid, and Salonika, the Greek setting of Spies of the Balkans. In these complex and tightly written stories, Furst came across as not just a talented writer but an able historian as well.

Spies of the Balkans (Night Soldiers #11) by Alan Furst (2010) 288 pages ★★★★★

Map of the Balkans in World War II, where this book by Alan Furst is set
During World War II, the map of the Balkans looked like this. It’s far different from today’s. Then, the region saw some of the fiercest and most protracted fighting of the war, much of it by partisans. Image: National Army Museum

For centuries, the Balkans have been a center of intrigue

Spies of the Balkans delves into the world of Costa Zannis, a senior police official in Salonika in 1940-41 as Hitler’s war machine lurches south toward Greece. Zannis, heir apparent to the police commissioner, becomes caught up in the characteristically Byzantine political affairs of the Balkans while juggling overlapping love affairs with two extraordinary women. An anti German military coup in Yugoslavia, an “underground railway” for Jews escaping Nazi Germany, and the British Secret Service all figure prominently in the story. It’s a gripping tale.

Spies of the Balkans is Alan Furst’s 15th novel and the 11th of his superb historical espionage stories. Like most of the others in the series, it’s set immediately before and during the Second World War in Europe. Each of the spy stories—I’ve read them all—reflects the author’s seemingly insatiable appetite for in-depth research. The characters in Furst’s novels are so authentically European in attitude and outlook that it’s a surprise to learn that he was born and lives in New York.

About the author

Photo of Alan Furst, author of this book
Alan Furst. Image: Shonna Valeska – WAMU

Alan Furst is 85 years old as I write, three months older than me. We were born in 1941, months before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor launched our country into World War II. He is the author of 19 historical spy novels, 15 of them in the widely acclaimed Night Soldiers series. Furst was born in NewYork City in 1941 and educated at Oberlin College (BA) and Pennsylvania State University (MA).

This book is included in The evocative Night Soldiers series from Alan Furst.

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