You can’t say ‘war’ because no one – with the possible exception of Berlin – knew if there’d be a war or not. On both sides of the yet to be declared, but every one knows is coming, conflict. Not just to the party, wining and dining, cocktail and cafe-society, but also to the intelligence agencies. He is ‘hot property’ in more ways than one, as he soon finds out. Hollywood sent him to Paris to make a movie. A ship took him to America, then his looks took him to Hollywood. Anyway, Stahl is a movie star in America now, but began his life in Vienna, born into ‘intelligentsia,’ though at the age of 17 he ran away to sea. Though, and as you might have guessed from the spelling of his name, Stahl isn’t your typical American movie star. Of course, we know now that that probably wasn’t the best idea the studio, or he, ever had, but it was back then.

The perfect place to start, the perfect place to carry on from.Ī deceptively simple story – all the best are – and American movie star, Frederic Stahl agrees, at his studio’s prompting, to make a movie.

It really is a summation of all his strengths, all his subtitles. Though, as this is so good, maybe it would be better to start elsewhere and save this pleasure? Hard to decide how to recommend it best. I think if you’re going to start reading Alan Furst novels (and if you haven’t, why not?), you could do no better than start here.

Mission to paris by alan furst