Espionage and Murder

So here's my first point. If you love reading and books, check out identitytheory - especially the great collection of author interviews.

And here's the second point (and the third as well). There are interviews with two of my favorite authors.

Alan Furst writes what he terms 'historical espionage fiction' and what one critic has called the closest thing to seeing Casablanca for the first time. His novels are set in the Europe of the 1930s and 1940s; Paris looms large in all his writing, especially the Brasserie Heinenger. His characters are denizens of the twilight world of espionage and resistance - members of the French Resistance, NKVD, the OSS, the Rotte Kappelle. While all of Furst's novels stand alone, characters from one often make brieef appearances or are referenced in others. You can start with any of them, personally Dark Star was the one that hooked me.

Geroge Pelecanos writes what many would categorize as crime fiction. Others might call his writing noir, or hard boiled as his characters are much closer to the street than the drawing room. What he's really written are some damn fine novels, filled with a lot of shrewd and telling observations. Start with The Big Blowdown and then move on to King Suckerman. You won't be able to stop after that.

Here are the interviews:

First Alan Furst interview

Second Alan Furst interview

First George Pelecanos interview

Second George Pelecanos interview