Midnight in Europe

By: Alan Furst

Narrated by: Daniel Gerroll

Length: 8 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

Paris, 1938: As the shadow of war darkens Europe, democratic forces on the Continent struggle against fascism and communism, while in Spain the war has already begun. Alan Furst, whom Vince Flynn has called "the most talented espionage novelist of our generation", now gives us a taut, suspenseful, romantic, and richly rendered novel of spies and secret operatives in Paris and New York, in Warsaw and Odessa, on the eve of World War II.

Cristián Ferrar, a brilliant and handsome Spanish émigré, is a lawyer in the Paris office of a prestigious international law firm. Ferrar is approached by the embassy of the Spanish Republic and asked to help a clandestine agency trying desperately to supply weapons to the Republic’s beleaguered army - an effort that puts his life at risk in the battle against fascism.

Joining Ferrar in this mission is a group of unlikely men and women: idealists and gangsters, arms traders and aristocrats and spies. From shady Paris nightclubs to white-shoe New York law firms, from brothels in Istanbul to the dockyards of Poland, Ferrar and his allies battle the secret agents of Hitler and Franco. And what allies they are: There’s Max de Lyon, a former arms merchant now hunted by the Gestapo; the Marquesa Maria Cristina, a beautiful aristocrat with a taste for danger; and the Macedonian Stavros, who grew up "fighting Bulgarian bandits. After that, being a gangster was easy." Then there is Eileen Moore, the American woman Ferrar could never forget.

In Midnight in Europe, Alan Furst paints a spellbinding portrait of a continent marching into a nightmare - and the heroes and heroines who fought back against the darkness.

©2014 Alan Furst. All rights reserved. (P)2014 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

Good book, worth a listen

Any additional comments?

I can't rave too much about this book but it was a worthwhile read. I thought the piecing together of the plot was a little loose.

Disappointing

Could not get into this book. I enjoyed Dark Star so thought this one could be another great read but no. The story seemed silly and the characters were not compelling.

Similar to LeCarre---Lots of Discussion and Slow

Well-written and for fans of LeCarre, this will be a good book. There is lots of discussion and little action. Unfortunately, I am a fan of books full of suspense and the tension that comes with it. So this book was not for me.

Great Reader. Some of the other Furst reade Great Reader to Match a Great Story

Furst writes terrific stories to listen to. This is one of the best as it’s read by someone who can actually narrate different characters.

I wish someone would re-record those of Furst’s books that are presently read so badly. They sound like the narrators were recruited from the men’s room of an Idaho truck stop. I know the stories are good, but the narrators are such rank amateurs that even getting through the audio samples is a chore.

If they are ever re-recorded, I’d gladly buy all of tMr. Furst’s other stories. He is an action writer of great subtletyt. Unfortunately , many of his best books are enigmas lost to the “Ram Tough” School of Broadcasting.

Slow Book....

What disappointed you about Midnight in Europe?

Boring. Moved very slow.

Would you be willing to try another book from Alan Furst? Why or why not?

No

What didn’t you like about Daniel Gerroll’s performance?

Narrator was fine.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Story was fair.

Any additional comments?

Do not recommend this book.

Not his best work

I ha e two other books of his. I like them much better.

Not interesting.

Good insomnia treatment

But if you want a compelling novel go elsewhere. The performance was ok. I just did not get into this book.

Here we go again....

I love Alain Furst , a truly good writer with an incredible insight into the years preceding the second world war and the capability to beautifully describe characters and atmospheres... But , this time again, the plot is weak with no momentum and clear direction. So the reader get lost (or bored) and loses gradually interest for the story.
Daniel Gerroll is by far not fitting the bill and his narration is at time embarrassing.

All in all, a deception!