For Alan Furst, writing about European history in the 1930s and 1940s is like exploring “a room with a thousand corners.” His latest World War II book, “Spies of the Balkans,” is his 11th in a series of espionage novels set in Europe after Hitler’s ascent to power and seeks out yet another corner of the conflict.

The novel takes place in Greece, but not its sunny, picturesque islands or great ancient cities like Athens. Instead, the setting is the darker, colder northern port city of Salonika in the Balkans, and described as a place known for its raucous underbelly. The time is the early 1940s. The war has begun, and spies from England, Turkey and Bulgaria — as well as fugitives — swarm the city. Greece has decided to oppose the Axis powers, and everyone awaits the Nazi response.

By Daina Beth Solomon
Los Angeles Times
June 23, 2010

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