A spy thriller about a reluctant resistance fighter in occupied France. The twist is that the spy is really just a writer (of spy novels!) who would be just as happy (at first) to be left alone to write. As the assignments progress, however, he gets more and more involved.

I wanted to like this book since I love historical fiction. I've read several (many) novels about WWII and the Resistance movement. Perhaps that's the problem. There are so many that have more compelling and engaging characters, so many that have more suspense & thrills & action, I was just bored. Not a bad book, just so-so.

Sorry could not finish this one. Thank you for the opportunity. I hope to re-read another time, but did not have time.

Dull, cliched, and not particularly well written. Not much to recommend it. Don't bother with this one

The book was good, not perfect. It kept my interest till the end. I usually like WWII stories, but this one would appeal more to men than woman. It was well written, detailed and a very interesting read, but for me it was a bit too dry at times.
Good solid 4 stars.

A novel of intrigue set during WWII. Although this has been a common theme, in books, lately. Alan Furst draws readers in and develops his characters and settings vividly. A thrilling look at what people acrificed to fight for freedom during the war.

Interesting characters, and a very exciting tale- suspense, drama and romance! Well-written, with clear explanations about what is happening. You may not understand why something has happened, but you will easily be able to visualize who did what to whom, and how. Well paced.

This is a series of vignettes with Ricard as the main character. Ricard is a Parisian who writes detective/spy books but finds himself soon involved in the underground resistance in France. He helps with one 'job' and soon is involved in another and then another. Ricard and Kasia are entangled in these adventures. An easy read.

This book was okay. I wasn't much for the writing style, but I did enjoy the plot line. A writer gets thrust into working to fight the Germans in occupied France during WWII. This book was okay. While I love WWII books this one was not among my very favorites. I would reccomend it however to fans of WWII historical fiction.

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy free of charge. This is my honest and unbiased opinion of it.

My enjoyment of this audio book was literally slowed by my accidentally listening to the first half at 0.75 speed. Despite this, I did not enjoy this as much as the Downing books I read over the past couple of years. Ricard was kind of flat.

Under Occupation is my first novel by Furst, so without expectations or prior experience, I learned about the French resistance to the Nazi occupation of France. The protagonist is Paul Ricard, a novelist who specializes in crime sagas.

Ricard lands in the world of espionage by accident and teams up with a young Polish woman, Kasia, who is a friend working in a bookstore. Together, the couple complete easy assignments that get more difficult and dangerous as the allied involvement gears up to beat the Nazis.

AF has penned a short novel that packs much danger and excitement that kept me reading. I had to find out what happened to each person brave enough to fight the horrific acts of Nazi aggression.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the opportunity to read this ARC (December 3rd).

Another great book from Alan Furst. I have enjoyed every book he has written about events before and during World War II and his style of writing. This book is centered in Paris and built around a writer who is pushed into fighting against the Germans although he is more than willing to participate. The target of his efforts is the German submarine fleet in Kiel and the torpedo systems the Germans are developing. Really a series of vignettes that build to the inevitable conclusion, either death or a quick escape.

Under Occupation by Alan Furst is a very inteeresting novel about the German occupation of France and the strong men and women who fought them. I felt that I was living iwith them n Paris and could feel their struggles against the Nazis. The book is well written and ALan Furst has created strong major characters

I have enjoyed some of Furst’s prior novels. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for this one.

The writing is very simplistic, with not much depth to the characters, plot, setting, or action. The Resistance fighters featured perform quite a few jobs for the cause, but Furst just skims over them. He notes what they were and that the were carried out, but we get no details, no drama, no action. I also thought the story could have been written without all the salaciousness and gratuitous sex spread throughout it.

This is the sixth novel of Alan Furst's that I've read, and it is my least favorite. The book reads like a draft which would be improved by further rounds of editing for character development (everyone is a cardboard cutout), location description (sometimes you can picture in your head where the events are happening, other times it's very disconnected), and weeding out goonish ogling at the bodies of all the female characters. I realize this is spy noir, but it's not told in the first person--the lasciviousness doesn't come off as a personality trait of the protagonist, rather the sexism of the narrative voice.

It's unfortunate; i loved Dark Star and The World at Night, but if this is what passes for a Furst novel now, I'll content myself with the backlist.

I received an ARC of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a short fast read. I would suggest paying attention to the first of the book so you don’t get lost, it was sometimes confusing when Ricard would start talking about his book he was writing when you were thinking the events were really happening.
There were several scenes that were very well done and the descriptions were excellent, one was the train ride when the RAF were bombing, you could easily envision it happening. On the other hand, unfortunately, I could not get completely pulled into the story, I felt that some of the events were way to convenient. I found that Ricard and Kasia were pulled into situations they were not trained for and they were lacking the expertise to be spies. I also felt the sex scenes seemed out of place and didn’t really add much.
All and all, it had its moments but I don’t consider it a remarkable story.
I was given the opportunity to receive this book from Random House Publishing Group through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. This one gets 3 stars.

Paul Ricard, a Paris-based crime novelist, becomes enmeshed in the resistance against France’s Nazi occupiers almost by accident. A man is shot on the street and manages to give Paul what appears to be a technical drawing and asks him to get it to the British.

Once Ricard tracks down a resistance contact and passes on the document, he is recruited to act as an agent. He starts by traveling to Germany as a journalist reporting on a bridge opening, but that’s just his cover. His real purpose is to make contact with Polish slave laborers working on the Germans’ torpedo technology so that he can pass on additional intelligence to the British. He brings along his friend Kasia to communicate with the Poles, and she becomes another Resistance regular.

As usual, Furst’s focus is on a bit player. This gives us the on-the-ground view, and personalizes the story. In so many books, the Resistance members are portrayed as fearless warriors, but that’s never the case with Furst. Ricard wants to rid his beloved France of the occupiers and he’s willing to help the Resistance, but he feels real fear and reluctance. And yet, along with Kasia and his principal contacts Leila and Adrian, he keeps going, step by step, until he’s doing things he would never have imagined.

This is a short novel, written sparely, with Furst’s usual atmospheric evocation of the wartime underworld. It’s a good read, though I would have liked to have a more detailed story.

I'm a huge fan of Alan Furst. This is the latest installment. Most of his books deal with spies in Europe use before or use as World War 2 is starting, This one takes place in 1942, in the darkest days of World War 2. It's exceptionally written as are all his books. My only minor complaint is that it ends rather abruptly. It felt like it was missing another 50 pages or so describing how the characters extricate themselves from a their situation.

Not my favorite Furst book. I found it very atmospheric -- which he does very well. But overall, full of too many characters and extremely confusing and hard to follow as it jumps around. And I got tired of the gratuitous lechery of the main character.

Good pretty quick read. More character depth, development would have been satisfying, but historical settings and plot were well rendered.

I really love historical mysteries, especially those based around WWI or WWII. Alan Furst’s, Under Occupation, delivers another solid historical thriller during the German occupation of Paris during the early 1940’s. As with all of Furst’s books, the book is meticulously researched and paints a very vivid portrait of living under a Nazi heel, difficult for anyone but especially challenging for free thinking Parisians. The characters of Ricard and Kaisa are very engaging and let’s hope we’ll see them reappear in future books!