• The Spies of Warsaw

  • By: Alan Furst
  • Narrated by: Daniel Gerroll
  • Length: 9 hrs and 30 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (487 ratings)

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The Spies of Warsaw  By  cover art

The Spies of Warsaw

By: Alan Furst
Narrated by: Daniel Gerroll
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Publisher's summary

Autumn 1937: War is coming to Europe, and French and German intelligence operatives are locked in a life-and-death struggle on the espionage battlefield. At the French embassy, the new military attaché, Colonel Jean-François Mercier, a decorated hero of the 1914 war, is drawn into a world of abduction, betrayal, and intrigue in the diplomatic salons and back alleys of Warsaw.

At the same time, the handsome aristocrat finds himself in a passionate love affair with a Parisian woman of Polish heritage, a lawyer for the League of Nations.

Colonel Mercier must work in the shadows, amid an extraordinary cast of venal and dangerous characters: Colonel Anton Vyborg of Polish military intelligence; the mysterious and sophisticated Dr. Lapp, senior German Abwehr officer in Warsaw; Malka and Viktor Rozen, at work for the Russian secret service; and Mercier's brutal and vindictive opponent, Major August Voss of SS counterintelligence. And there are many more, some known to Mercier as spies, some never to be revealed.

The Spies of Warsaw is Furst's finest novel to date - exciting, atmospheric, and erotic.

©2008 Alan Furst (P)2008 Brilliance Audio

What listeners say about The Spies of Warsaw

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
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  • 4 Stars
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Story
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  • 4 Stars
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

The Real Deal in Espionage Stories Fascinating

Lt. Col. Mercier is a complex yet loveable man, who is highly intelligent and thrust into a benign role as handler prior to WWI in Warsaw. The plot which draws him into an ever tightening circle of intrigue dovetails unexpectedly and omniously with the feel of a true story prior to the invasion of Poland during WWII. What is best about Alan Furst's books, especially this one is that you are immediately in Warsaw and Paris in Springtime, at that time at that moment, every detail, every nuance enriches the story.

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23 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

If not 1st among spy rivals, a decent place/show

A robust, tight and occasionally frisky Furst novel. I am quickly approaching the end of my Furst 'Soldiers of the Night' jag and thus far it has been a fascinating experience. His character-driven novels could easily be bound into one gigantic prewar novel. They all swirl and fugue with similar themes, many of the same characters, and the same dark ambiance. He is detail oriented, historically accurate, writes well AND is one of the best atmosphere writers around. He leaves you feeling the grit, the cold, and the tongue of the WWII night. He is a first-class genre writer that while not quite in the le Carré aristocracy, is certainly in the spy-Master ruling class.

'Spies of Warsaw' is centered around a French military attaché in Warsaw who is struggling with a growing sense of urgency about the inevitable crash of Nazi Germany tanks into France and Poland, while also dealing with a satchel filled with unreliable allies, reluctant spies and self-serving superiors.

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13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

What a shame!

What would have made The Spies of Warsaw better?

What a shame to ruin a GREAT series by changing narrators in mid-stream. I certainly hope it was not a money issue, because if so what a waste and what false economy. The story is as good as any, but when you can't tell the characters apart in such an intricate multi-plot story, it is ruined.

What did you like best about this story?

The story line was a good Furst intimate look at wartime Europe and the lives of the "ordinary" people who get caught up in extraordinary circumstance.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Daniel Gerroll?

Absolutely RUINED the story. George Guidall of course, no brainier, why ruin a great series?

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

Story great, hate that I won't be able to finish the series because of narration. Very sad

Any additional comments?

All authors should be very careful of who they get to narrate their works.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

B-o-r-i-n-g

I agree with Doug. If this book moved any slower, it would be moving backwards. Nothing happens, and I mean NOTHING. It's all "atmosphere." Listen at your own peril; you've been warned.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Atmospheric

This is as advertised: He takes you back into a very specific time. The narrative moves quickly and keeps you interested. The plotting is adequate but the atmosphere is the best part.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Spies of Warsaw

Very good. A typical Furst book. A lot of historical background and a leisurely pace with plenty of suspense.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

My favorite Alan Furst novel.

Exquisite balance of compelling plot and historical fiction. Captures the intrigue leading up to the fascist expansion of the thirties and forties. And to some, a cautionary tale for today.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Still in Draft but Has Great Potential

Would you consider the audio edition of The Spies of Warsaw to be better than the print version?

They're different? I listened to the audio version and the story line seemed rather disconnected.

If you’ve listened to books by Alan Furst before, how does this one compare?

Not yet, but I do like his writing.

Which scene was your favorite?

The journey to look at the german's military preparation and entering the area where the tank traps were buried.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It was full of moments of suspense. I held my breath in anticipation several times.

Any additional comments?

The sex scenes tended to separate the novel into two parts. Though they were well-developed and well written, they seemed obligatory and that made me cringe.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Suspenseful?

The historical background in this book was interesting, but it's not what you're looking for in a spy novel. The only suspense in this book was waiting for some plot to develop. I kept waiting for a point to be made, but it never materialized.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

A Matter of Taste

I stick to nonfiction and cross over to fiction when I can learn about historical context or aparticular topic (Ken Follett's Pillars of the Earth was my last venture into fiction). This book is interesting and well read. However, it is also a good example of description. The character studies, images of places and era are all good. The reading is excellent. The book will be worthwhile for those interested in such fiction.

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2 people found this helpful