Book Log 2015 #7: Midnight in Europe by Alan Furst

So in juxtaposition to the previous book we have the latest from Alan Furst, who has developed a solid framework on which to build his war novels. In this outing, our protagonist is a Spanish lawyer working in Paris for a firm that often sends him to New York, where he has a regular, if not particularly committed, girlfriend. His comfortable and quiet world changes when he agrees to work for his homeland to acquire weapons for use against the well-supported Nationalist forces who are on the offensive. This leads him down a dangerous path where he puts his life in danger on a long-odds attempt to turn the tide of Europe's slide into fascism.

And then there's the required romantic entanglement, this time in the guise of a woman who claims she is a link to the aristocratic heritage that the lawyer's mother continues to try to prove is her family's right. But there's something not quite right about this new lover, and if it's what he suspects, she's in as much danger as he is.

I tend not to like novels where the author is working off of a well-worn formula, but the quality of the writing in Furst's books helps to get past what problems might arise (though there is a certain level of predictability with the romantic story lines that I'm beginning to find troubling). Anyway, another solid outing worth a read if you like wartime thrillers.

(Popsugar Reading Challenge: A book you can finish in a day. Read quickly.)