Book Log 2011 #30: The Spies of Warsaw by Alan Furst


Liking The Spies of the Balkans, I picked up this previous book set in Poland in 1937. The French military attache finds himself stuck in the middle of events, paying lip service to his country's commitment to Poland while acknowledging that in the case of a German invasion, Poland will need to stand on its own. The attache does work to help the Poles (and the French) understand German capabilities and Polish defenses, all in the face of the onslaught that everyone knows is coming.

As with the other book, the man in the middle also gets into a personal entanglement, as he develops a relationship with a Polish attorney who is herself mixed up with a Soviet reporter who may or may not be in trouble with the folks at home.

And, as with the other book, Furst creates a great story that balances the plot lines skillfully and uses period detail to great effect. While I am concerned that all of his books use the same template and thus will become less interesting the more of them I read, it's a chance worth taking.