THE TIMES ''100 BEST SUMMER READS''''Magnificent'' Sunday Times''Gripping... the twists and intrigue keep coming'' Observer ''As ever, Furst vividly evokes a sense of time and place'' Mail on Sunday (Must-Read Books of the Year)Occupied Paris, 1942. In the dark, treacherous city, the German occupying forces are everywhere-and so are French resistance fighters, working secretly to defeat Hitler.Just before he dies, a man being chased by the Gestapo hands off a strange-looking document to the unsuspecting novelist Paul Ricard. It looks like a blueprint of a part for a military weapon - one that might have important information for the Allied forces - and Ricard realizes he must try to get it into the hands of members of the resistance network. As he finds himself drawn deeper and deeper into anti-German efforts, Ricard travels deep into enemy territory and along the escape routes of underground resistance safe houses, spying on Nazi maneuvers. And when he meets the mysterious and beautiful Leila, a professional spy, they begin to work together to get crucial information out of France and into the hands of the Allied forces in London. ALAN FURST - The master of the historical spy novel ''Alan Furst is in a class of his own'' William Boyd''Furst is an addiction'' The Times''If you are a John le Carre'' fan, this is definitely for you'' James Patterson ''Furst''s ability to recreate the terrors of espionage is matchless'' Robert Harris''America''s preeminent spy novelist'' New York Times''Furst never stops astounding me'' Tom Hanks''How I envy anybody who has not yet discovered Furst''s writing'' Telegraph