Spies of the Balkans

Long drive down to Devon and back was an opportunity to listen to the unabridged version (9.5hrs) of Alan Furst's book Spies of the Balkans.

This is an historical spy novel based in Salonika in 1940. The lead character is a special police officer who handles sensitive cases. As war grows nearer he becomes involved in the events that will lead to the Italian invasion and then the German occupation of Greece. In between he helps run an escape route for Jews fleeing Germany and his travels take him all over the Balkans.

The author weaves the history of the period into the story like an historical novel and puts elements of the detective thriller in as well. It was a great listen and really made the miles fly past. Recommended.