[...].This is a work of fiction, which is usually required to grasp the reader so that he actually cares whether or not our hero lives or dies. In this case, on page 176 of 435, I'm voting for death all the way around. The characters in the book are Commie pinko bastards one and all. I may try and finish this book, but probably not. I didn't try, I took it back. This is one of three books I didn't finish in my lifetime. The first was War and Peace, again I didn't like the characters in the novel. I disliked the person that "our hero" was becoming.I like the way that Alan Furst writes, in this case I intensely disliked his subject. That's why it got up to a 2.