Three Hours in Paris by Cara Black #bookreview #audiobook #series

I purchased this book for my own personal collection. I borrowed the audiobook from the library.

Publisher: Soho Crime / Recorded Books

Published: April 7, 2020

 

Summary:

In June of 1940, when Paris fell to the Nazis, Hitler spent a total of three hours in the City of Light-abruptly leaving, never to return. To this day, no one knows why.

The New York Times best-selling author of the Aimee Leduc investigations reimagines history in her masterful, pulse-pounding spy thriller, Three Hours in Paris.

Kate Rees, a young American markswoman, has been recruited by British intelligence to drop into Paris with a dangerous assignment: assassinate the Fuhrer. Wrecked by grief after a Luftwaffe bombing killed her husband and infant daughter, she is armed with a rifle, a vendetta, and a fierce resolve. But other than rushed and rudimentary instruction, she has no formal spy training. Thrust into the red-hot center of the war, a country girl from rural Oregon finds herself holding the fate of the world in her hands. When Kate misses her mark and the plan unravels, Kate is on the run for her life – all the time wrestling with the suspicion that the whole operation was a set-up.

Cara Black, doyenne of the Parisian crime novel, is at her best as she brings Occupation-era France to vivid life in this gripping story about one young woman with the temerity – and drive – to take on Hitler himself.

 

My thoughts:

I picked this book up on a whim a while back because it sounded so interesting…historical thrillers are my new favorite subgenre, especially when it involves female spies. When I saw that the second book in the series was coming out this March, I knew I needed to get to get to this one soon and so it became a priority read for January and I’m so glad I finally read it…it was good!

Set in Paris during Nazi occupied France, this book kept me engaged all the way through. The opening hooked me right from the start and I loved that the heroine really was just an ordinary citizen thrown into an impossible situation. Kate Rees might be a skilled markswoman, but she doesn’t have adequate training to become a full-fledged spy and this made for an even more exciting story in my opinion, especially as we see things don’t quite go to plan. Was she set up?

This book is fast-paced and completely captivating. And the character-development is top notch! I loved watching as Kate changes throughout the book due to the circumstances she finds herself in. She is definitely not the same person she was at the beginning of the book when we first meet her.

I’ve read a few books about female spies, and even one about a female sharpshooter – The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn, which is one of my favorite books! – and so of course this one caught my eye and I’m happy to say I thoroughly enjoyed it. And I’m thrilled that it’s the start of a new series…I can’t wait to see what’s in store for Kate Rees next!

 

Audio thoughts:

I was thrilled to see that Elisabeth Rodgers was narrating this…she is one of my favorite narrators and I thought she did a fantastic job! Her pacing is spot on and she was able to infuse just the right amount of suspense and tension into her voice as needed. And I’m so excited to see that Elisabeth is also narrating the second book, Night Flight to Paris – I love when there is consistency with narrators in series!

 

Books in this series:

1. Three Hours in Paris
2. Night Flight to Paris – due out March 7th