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kelly_e's review against another edition
emotional
informative
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Title: The Paris Agent
Author: Kelly Rimmer
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: 3.75
Pub Date: July 11, 2023
T H R E E • W O R D S
Courageous • Fresh •
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Twenty-five years after the end of the war, Noah Ainsworth is still preoccupied with those perilous, exhilarating years as a British SOE operative in France. A head injury sustained on his final operation has caused frustrating gaps in his memories --in particular about the agent who saved his life during that mission gone wrong, whose real name he never knew, nor whether she even survived the war. Moved by her father's frustration, Noah's daughter Charlotte begins a search for answers that resurrects the stories of Chloe and Fleur, the code names for two otherwise ordinary women whose lives intersect in 1943 when they're called up by the SOE for deployment in France. Taking enormous risks to support the allied troops with very little information or resources, the women have no idea they're at the mercy of a double agent among them who's causing chaos within the French circuits, whose efforts will affect the outcome of their lives...and the war.
But as Charlotte's search for answers bears fruit, overlooked clues come to light about the identity of the double agent--with unsettling hints pointing close to home--and more mysteries are unearthed from the dangerous, dramatic last days of the war that lead to Chloe and Fleur's eventual fates.
💭 T H O U G H T S
After absolutely loving The German Wife, Kelly Rimmer's 2023 release The Paris Agent was a no brainer to add to my most anticipated releases of the year. I even ended up choosing it as my July release for my personal book of the month project.
I appreciate Rimmer continuing to shed light on women's involvement during the war years, this time choosing to focus on the SOE, through fictionalized stories. There's power in learning about aspects of WWII I know little about through books. The author certainly does her homework, and I really liked how this one had a focus on the lingering effects of war and war secrets.
Typically, dual timelines/dual POVs are among my favourite historical fiction reads, however, this one caused some issues for me. There are enough characters to keep track of, but I think it was the fact there are code names that made me struggle. Several times I had to go back and connect the dots, which simply disrupted the flow of everything. Additionally, I was expecting a little more of an emotional punch than what I was served.
A solid story, but definitely not my favourite from this author. The story was intriguing, there was just a little lacking when it came to the character execution. I do look forward to checking out more of her backlist, and awaiting what she writes next, as she'll continue to be a favourite author of mine.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• fans of dual timeline historical fiction
• readers wanting to learn about the SOE
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"Some things are easier to forget than to confront."
"You will not bring any one of your loved ones back for even a moment by refusing to live your own life."
Author: Kelly Rimmer
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: 3.75
Pub Date: July 11, 2023
T H R E E • W O R D S
Courageous • Fresh •
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Twenty-five years after the end of the war, Noah Ainsworth is still preoccupied with those perilous, exhilarating years as a British SOE operative in France. A head injury sustained on his final operation has caused frustrating gaps in his memories --in particular about the agent who saved his life during that mission gone wrong, whose real name he never knew, nor whether she even survived the war. Moved by her father's frustration, Noah's daughter Charlotte begins a search for answers that resurrects the stories of Chloe and Fleur, the code names for two otherwise ordinary women whose lives intersect in 1943 when they're called up by the SOE for deployment in France. Taking enormous risks to support the allied troops with very little information or resources, the women have no idea they're at the mercy of a double agent among them who's causing chaos within the French circuits, whose efforts will affect the outcome of their lives...and the war.
But as Charlotte's search for answers bears fruit, overlooked clues come to light about the identity of the double agent--with unsettling hints pointing close to home--and more mysteries are unearthed from the dangerous, dramatic last days of the war that lead to Chloe and Fleur's eventual fates.
💭 T H O U G H T S
After absolutely loving The German Wife, Kelly Rimmer's 2023 release The Paris Agent was a no brainer to add to my most anticipated releases of the year. I even ended up choosing it as my July release for my personal book of the month project.
I appreciate Rimmer continuing to shed light on women's involvement during the war years, this time choosing to focus on the SOE, through fictionalized stories. There's power in learning about aspects of WWII I know little about through books. The author certainly does her homework, and I really liked how this one had a focus on the lingering effects of war and war secrets.
Typically, dual timelines/dual POVs are among my favourite historical fiction reads, however, this one caused some issues for me. There are enough characters to keep track of, but I think it was the fact there are code names that made me struggle. Several times I had to go back and connect the dots, which simply disrupted the flow of everything. Additionally, I was expecting a little more of an emotional punch than what I was served.
A solid story, but definitely not my favourite from this author. The story was intriguing, there was just a little lacking when it came to the character execution. I do look forward to checking out more of her backlist, and awaiting what she writes next, as she'll continue to be a favourite author of mine.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• fans of dual timeline historical fiction
• readers wanting to learn about the SOE
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"Some things are easier to forget than to confront."
"You will not bring any one of your loved ones back for even a moment by refusing to live your own life."
Content Warnings
Graphic: War and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, Medical trauma, Torture, Physical abuse, Confinement, and Death
Minor: Suicide, Car accident, and Infertility
death of partneraggrano's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Chronic illness, Confinement, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Torture, War, and Injury/Injury detail
yvo_about_books's review against another edition
4.5
Finished reading: June 27th 2023
"Maybe history is powerful not just for the lessons it can teach us, but for the perspective it can bring."
*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and Graydon House in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***
I absolutely loved my first experience with Kelly Rimmer's writing when I read The German Wife last year, and I've been looking forward to read more of her work ever since. I've been meaning to tackle her backlist, but somehow time slipped away and before I knew it a new historical fiction title was about to be published. I couldn't resist adding The Paris Agent straight away, because the premise sounded simply fascinating. I have been looking forward to dive in, and it turned out to be another excellent piece of historical fiction!
The Paris Agent uses a dual timeline, which can go both ways for me as I usually tend to much prefer one over the other. In this particular story, I could really appreciate how the two timelines complemented each other though. Part of the story is set during WWII and uses two POVs: Josie and Eloise (codenames Chloe and Fleur), two woman SOE (Special Operations Executive) agents working in France. Then we have the part set in 1970, where we see the events through Charlotte's POV. She is the daughter of former SOE agent Noah, helping him to track down the man who saved his life during the war. While I slightly preferred the war chapters, the 1970 timeline had a lot to offer as well and I enjoyed seeing past and present being slowly connected.
This is a story of brave women facing extremely dangerous situations with sometimes only a short time of training to prepare them. I enjoyed learning more about the SOE agents, how they worked and what dangers they faced... Both while they work and what happens if/when they are captured. I loved that this story focused on female spies, and both Josie and Eloise make for fantastic characters. Both have different backgrounds and reasons for doing what they do, and I loved spending time with both. Their characters give more dept to the story; their bond and even the romance incorporated into Josie's POV help balance out some of the darker moments in the plot.
I don't want to give away too much of the plot to avoid spoilers, but there is no doubt that The Paris Agent has some surprises in store. I did see most of them coming, but I still liked what they added to the plot and how everything came together in the end. There is a lot of focus on the SOE work, giving this story that spy thriller vibe with lots of secrets, intrigue and even double crossing. There is also focus on what happened to SOE agents after they are captured and the way they were treated... There is no doubt that there are certain scenes that can get pretty dark, so make sure to brace yourself.
All in all The Paris Agent turned out to be a very successful dual timeline story and the perfect balance of war, espionage, romance, family, hope and danger. The different elements just all came together splendidly, and it's a story that will stay with me for quite some time. I can't wait to read more of her backlist soon! If you like WWII fiction, The Paris Agent is a must-read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Grief, Death, Torture, Confinement, Suicide, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Abandonment and Car accident
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