I came upon this book somewhat serendipitously, having found a free copy at work a while ago and was bringing it home when I finished City of Thieves on the train and needed something to tide me over for the rest of the ride. In some ways it touches upon similar turf as City of Thieves in that part of it covers the same time frame (as well as before and after WWII) and the NKVD figure quite prominently.

However, Night Soldiers is almost epic in scale and definitely panoramic in scope. A synopsis of the plot can be found via Goodreads, but the magic is in the details that Alan Furst utilizes in fleshing out his characters, primary and otherwise, as well as the various times and locations, such as Moscow in the early thirties, Spain during its civil war, Paris just before war is declared (and lost), southeastern France during the war, and finally southeastern Europe as the war is winding down and the Soviets are claiming large swaths of territory for themselves, particularly the countries and regions abutting the Danube (in all its incarnations and appellations).

The descriptions of training future Soviet spies, the endless and deadly purges enacted by Stalin and his minions, the fool's mission that brought many Americans and Europeans to Spain to fight Franco while Hitler sharpened his military tactics, and the clandestine warfare during WWII by various resistance groups, are all fascinating in their own right. But without the characters populating this narrative, the book would lack the emotional resonance these various tragedies evoked.

All in all, a great read and one that has me on the trail for more of Alan Furst's books.