Under Occupation
The Times thriller of the month, from the master of the spy novel
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THE TIMES '100 BEST SUMMER READS'
'Magnificent' Sunday Times
'Gripping... the twists and intrigue keep coming' Observer
'As ever, Furst vividly evokes a sense of time and place' Mail on Sunday (Must-Read Books of the Year)
Occupied Paris, 1942.
In the dark, treacherous city, the German occupying forces are everywhere-and so are French resistance fighters, working secretly to defeat Hitler.
Just before he dies, a man being chased by the Gestapo hands off a strange-looking document to the unsuspecting novelist Paul Ricard. It looks like a blueprint of a part for a military weapon - one that might have important information for the Allied forces - and Ricard realizes he must try to get it into the hands of members of the resistance network.
As he finds himself drawn deeper and deeper into anti-German efforts, Ricard travels deep into enemy territory and along the escape routes of underground resistance safe houses, spying on Nazi maneuvers. And when he meets the mysterious and beautiful Leila, a professional spy, they begin to work together to get crucial information out of France and into the hands of the Allied forces in London.
ALAN FURST - The master of the historical spy novel
'Alan Furst is in a class of his own' William Boyd
'Furst is an addiction' The Times
'If you are a John le Carre' fan, this is definitely for you' James Patterson
'Furst's ability to recreate the terrors of espionage is matchless' Robert Harris
'America's preeminent spy novelist' New York Times
'Furst never stops astounding me' Tom Hanks
'How I envy anybody who has not yet discovered Furst's writing' Telegraph
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Furst (A Hero of France) sets his latest espionage thriller in occupied Paris during the early 1940s. Paul Ricard, a spy novelist, witnesses an altercation between the Gestapo and a mysterious man, who hands Ricard a hand-drawn detonator schematic before being shot dead. Recognizing the importance of the document, Ricard uses his contacts to ferry the drawing to the English, and in the process becomes an agent for the resistance. Working with his friend Kasia, and under the direction of the alluring Leila, Ricard takes on assignment after assignment, the danger for his life ever increasing as he travels throughout France and Germany. Ricard's profession as a writer makes for a metafictional treat, as he pens a new spy novel while working for the Resistance, complete with story beats that echo his own journey. As always, Furst writes at breakneck speed, thrusting Ricard into adventure. This moves the action along, yet frequently sacrifices emotion, particularly when everyman Ricard is tasked with violent acts. While sure to please the author's many fans, the novel, replete with curvy women for Ricard to romance, nevertheless misses opportunities to dig deep within its protagonist, making for an exciting, if shallow, romp.
