Tag Archives: Alan Furst

Olivia Manning, “The Balkan Trilogy”

Posted on January 3, 2014 by carolwallace

The Balkan Trilogy first came to my attention via the 1987 BBC series starring Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branagh. Did you remember that they were once married to each other? They met while playing husband and wife in the series. … Continue reading →

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Helen MacInnes, “Assignment in Brittany”

Posted on February 16, 2013 by carolwallace

Oh, so retro! These Helen MacInnes thrillers were everywhere when I was a teenager — she might even be comparable to the Lee Child of the era, which says a lot about cultural changes in the last 50 years. I … Continue reading →

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William Boyd, “Waiting for Sunrise”

Posted on June 4, 2012 by carolwallace

Oh, the tyranny of the public library’s reserve system! Having read William Boyd’s Any Human Heart just a couple of weeks ago, I should probably not have embarked on another Boyd novel so soon but Waiting for Sunrise is popular in … Continue reading →

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Alan Furst, “Spies of the Balkans”

Posted on July 4, 2011 by carolwallace

I had a disconcerting moment early in my reading of Spies of the Balkans. “‘The Nazis,’” says a character, “‘are vicious and criminal but, thank God, they are also venal. The ideology, for many of them, is only skin-deep — … Continue reading →

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Andrew Taylor, “Bleeding Heart Square”

Posted on July 26, 2009 by carolwallace

It’s a really good day when you find a new writer who publishes clever, literate murder mysteries. It’s an especially good day when this writer has been at it for a while and there’s a backlog of titles for you … Continue reading →

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Alan Furst, “The Spies of Warsaw”

Posted on January 30, 2009 by carolwallace

So maybe it’s not a formula. Maybe it’s a recipe, which implies, to me at least (cook rather than chemist), more latitude. Ingredients include likable melancholy hero, redoubtable Nazi villain(s), a modest dose of spycraft, several discreet but circumstantial sex … Continue reading →

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