From the bestselling master espionage writer, hailed by Vince Flynn as “the best in the business,” comes a riveting novel about the French Resistance in Nazi-occupied Paris.
1941. The City of Light is dark and silent at night. But in Paris and in the farmhouses, barns, and churches of the French countryside, small groups of ordinary men and women are determined to take down the occupying forces of Adolf Hitler. Mathieu, a leader of the French Resistance, leads one such cell, helping downed British airmen escape back to England.
Alan Furst’s suspenseful, fast-paced thriller captures this dangerous time as no one ever has before. He brings Paris and occupied France to life, along with courageous citizens who outmaneuver collaborators, informers, blackmailers, and spies, risking everything to fulfill perilous clandestine missions. Aiding Mathieu as part of his covert network are Lisette, a seventeen-year-old student and courier; Max de Lyon, an arms dealer turned nightclub owner; Chantal, a woman of class and confidence; Daniel, a Jewish teacher fueled by revenge; Joëlle, who falls in love with Mathieu; and Annemarie, a willful aristocrat with deep roots in France, and a desire to act.
As the German military police heighten surveillance, Mathieu and his team face a new threat, dispatched by the Reich to destroy them all.
Shot through with the author’s trademark fine writing, breathtaking suspense, and intense scenes of seduction and passion, Alan Furst’s A Hero of France is at once one of the finest novels written about the French Resistance and the most gripping novel yet by the living master of the spy thriller.
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“Furst’s…mastery of both the era and his craft is so complete that the book proceeds with a nonchalant ease….The romantic heart of the book lies in the way it extols what, under the Occupation, remains of the sensual pleasures of life…This daydream of life under the Occupation is something rare: a suspense novel that offers the pleasures of relaxation.”
— Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“A master of the historical spy novel, Furst scores again with…this excellent spy thriller is set in Paris, March to August 1941…A tense, well-crafted tale of courage, sacrifice, and wartime espionage. ”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review)“Furst is recognized among the greatest contemporary spy novelists, and…this title retains the trademarks that bring fans back: realistic characters, meticulous historical knowledge, and superb storytelling.”
— Library Journal“Narrator Daniel Gerroll’s strong, cultured British voice leads us through the newest of Furst’s richly atmospheric tales of occupied Europe during the Second World War…Gerroll’s pacing is excellent. His French pronunciation is faultless…Listening to the Night Soldiers series is always deeply satisfying as ordinary people fight the darkness.”
— AudioFileAlan Furst is widely recognized as the master of the historical spy novel. He is the author of Night Soldiers, Dark Star, The Polish Officer, The World at Night, and others. He has written for a number of magazines and news publications, including Esquire and the International Herald Tribune. Before becoming a full-time novelist, he worked as a copy writer for ad agencies in Seattle; he has also lived in New York and France. Currently, Furst lives on Long Island, New York.
Daniel Gerroll is an award-winning British actor who has many Broadway productions to his credit. He studied law and philosophy at Nottingham University and trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London and has won an Obie Award for sustained excellence in theater. He has also won five AudioFile Earphones Awards.