Night Flight To Paris is a second world war thriller.

The book opens in Paris, as members of the resistance are hunted and captured. Cell members have been working to smuggle an important informer out of France. However, it’s possible that there’s a traitor at work.

Ex-Parisian Harry Mitchell works in Britain as a code-breaker. He doesn’t have a military background, but he knows Paris and he was involved with setting up escape lines for refuges and stranded airmen early in the war. Now he’s asked to go back.  His incentive? The Germans have his daughter.

The British train Harry to be a competent secret agent, then they send him on his dangerous mission: he must find the valuable informant, investigate the Paris cell, flush out the traitor, and then find his daughter.

Books which feature the resistance in the second world war always attract me so I was looking forward to this one. I enjoyed the brief Bletchley Park section, then later I was pleased to see evidence of a number of resistance activities. The story gallops along at a fair pace with plenty of tension and action, another plus point. However, I did struggle with the huge cast of characters and I thought too many of them were given roles which muddied the tightening of the plot. I also wasn’t convinced, at times, with Harry’s military knowledge and how easily he morphed into a top secret agent. I thought he would have been stricter with all the coded messaging, given his background at Bletchley Park, which would have made his character more believable.

Overall a reasonable resistance-themed war story, but with a cast size more suited to the screen where visual recognition is easier than from the written word. Also, my enjoyment was marred by not finding the actions of the lead character, who I wanted to like, entirely believable.

Resistance adventure against the Gestapo

Harry Mitchell, from Paris, was the code-breaker at Bletchley Park. The people from Special Operations Executive (the forerunner of MI-6) asked him to return to the then-Occupied Paris from where he fled two years earlier after the Nazi overran France.

The Gestapo and the Abwehr fought each other for the dominance of France. The Gestapo captured some people, who were not seen again. They searched for the man – Harry Mitchell under his alias – after the plane, carrying him and his team from England, crashed in the rural part of France one night.

Paris had many informers for both sides, gangsters and collaborators and they were at each other’s throats.

Harry felt being condemned to death after returning to Paris for his mission to give information about the Nazi activities to the Allies. He also searched for his missing wife and daughter, who were captured by the Gestapo in the earlier years of the Nazi Occupation of France.

My breathing stopped towards the end of the novel! There was a great writing talent from David Gilman!

Caesar 13

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review

An author writing a book set in World War 2 featuring the French Resistance is entering pretty crowded – or should I say occupied (sorry) – territory. There’s Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale and Kate Mosse’s Citadel, to name but two. Thankfully, in David Gilman’s skilful hands, the reader will find plenty that is original and compelling in Night Flight to Paris.

What I particularly admired was the way the author convincingly portrayed the constant state of jeopardy in which those working undercover in occupied France or as part of the Resistance lived on a daily basis and its emotional and psychological impact on them. Imagine a situation where a word or gesture out of place – even something as simple as the way you order your coffee – can mark you out as a stranger or enemy agent, bringing you to the attention of the authorities. In addition, a situation where informers are everywhere and it can be difficult – actually, almost impossible – to know who to trust. I loved the detail of the tradecraft necessary to operate undercover, introducing me to concepts such as duress codes.

The cruelty and ruthlessness of the German authorities towards enemy agents and members of the Resistance they capture is graphically displayed. But, in time of war, as the author shows, there is a degree of ruthlessness required from everyone involved. Uncomfortable, potentially life-changing decisions and actions need to be taken in which personal feelings may come into conflict with mission objectives. Mitchell, in particular, faces this dilemma on numerous occasions. ‘What if his feelings threatened to get in the way of everything that still needed to be done? He could not afford to lose focus. Lives depended on him seeing the operation through and being sufficiently detached to make quick decision.’ But how can you remain detached when it’s family members, people you care about or who have come to depend on you who will be affected by the decisions you make?

The author describes the complex, and at times, baffling hierarchies and different political and military groupings that exist within the Resistance and within the French and German authorities in the occupied territories. As one character explains: ‘There were a lot of people operating in Paris. Different groups, different political persuasions. Mix that in with the criminal element and you couldn’t tell who was betraying whom.’ The distrust and rivalry between the different groups, and in some cases the personal rivalry, will play an increasingly important part as the story unfolds.

Night Flight to Paris immerses the reader in a world where danger, suspicion and fear is a constant companion. It’s populated with characters whose lives the reader comes to care about deeply – and others that one is pleased to see meet a sticky end! With its rich mixture of atmospheric period detail, dramatic action scenes and compelling story line, Night Flight to Paris is a must-read for fans of historical fiction.

I received a review copy courtesy of publishers, Head of Zeus, and NetGalley in return for an honest and unbiased review.

Hi Karen,

My Next review is:-

“Night Flight To Paris:A World War II Thriller From The Bestselling Author Of The Masters Of War Series””, written by David Gilman and published in hardcover by Head of Zeus on 9 Aug. 2018. 496 pages. ISBN-13: 978-1788544900

David Gilman’s new Book is absolutely superb, The best historical mystery that I has read all year. The plot is absolutely gripping and suspenseful and left me absolutely stunned at how everything turned out.

Paris and France in 1943 is German occupied and London Military intelligence is worried that they are not getting up to date information on troop movements and other intelligence. They had an allied intelligence cell broadcasting wireless in morse code but the signals have ceased. What has happened have the unit been captured?

Harry Mitchell is working on code breaking at Bletchley Park, when the British Special Operations Executive recruit him to return to Paris on their behalf. Mitchell knows Paris well having left there sometime before and becoming separated from his wife and daughter two years before. His wife and daughter were captured by the Gestapo and Mitchell is absolutely determined to locate and rescue them. He is a fluent French speaker but worked as a maths lecturer before the war which was why Bletchley were keen to use his services on breaking German codes. Now however, he has to train to kill Germans and lead a resistance group in France. He is taken to a centre in Scotland where British agents are put through full training.

He is taken to France on a night flight in a military plane but unfortunately it is shot down before it reached Paris and Mitchell is forced to parachute into rural France many miles from his original destination.

Mitchell has to fend for himself and persuade the ordinary French people that he meets to help him and he has many adventures in this extremely fast paced and suspenseful story.

The author writes in an extremely detailed way and his research is meticulously spot on it was extremely easy to feel one was in France in 1943. The authors search for realism was expressed in the completely barbaric way the Nazi occupiers of France ruthlessly killed people just because they could. They hanged men just to put the population in complete fear for their lives and whilst the occupying army were eating well the general population were generally kept very hungry.

The tension he is able to create with the reader really worrying what could happen to Harry was astonishing and I do hope he writes more books about World War 2. He has written, previously five historical mysteries in the “Master of War” series set in the Medieval 100 Years War period. I have not read any of his previous books but hope to remedy that soon.

This was an exceptionally good book that I recommend Very strongly. If you want a book that once started you won’t want to put down until the final paragraph then buy this one.

Best wishes,

Terry
(To be published in due course on eurocrime.co.uk)

I was drawn to award winning author and screenwriter David Gilman's 'Night Flight To Paris' as it sounded like a spy thriller uniquely mixed with Second World War history. I am so pleased I chose to read this - it wholeheartedly blew me away!

Set in Paris, France in 1943, during World War II, the story follows Bletchley Park cryptographer Henry Mitchell whose wife and daughter were separated from him as they tried to escape from the Germans, and remain in Paris. When he is offered a secret mission by the Special Operations Executive (SOE) he decides to accept it as it would mean him returning to Paris where he can search for his family whilst also completing his mission of locating a German scientist who holds critical information of use to the Allied Forces, he also has to find a traitor in the French Maquis who has apparently betrayed his country by helping the German. Will he make it out of the dangerous city alive or will he die trying?

What a book! The plot is complex, taut, tense, clever and emotionally resonant. Gilman's writing is a joy to behold and creates such an atmospheric novel that simply buzzes with suspense. A bracingly intelligent story with non-stop action, perfectly paced with lots of misdirection - this is a stunningly authentic spy thriller set around the French Resistance. The narrative flows incredibly well, and you can tell that Gilman has undertaken meticulous research in order to make the book as realistic and believable as possible. You really care about Harry as a character, and naturally his mission doesn't go to plan. I found myself hoping that everything would work out for him. What is abundantly clear is that noone can be trusted, and most people are not who they claim to be. The suspense is palpable throughout the story. An exquisite and exceptional read!

Many thanks to Head of Zeus for an ARC. I was not required to post a review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

I enjoy 2nd word war stories and spy thrillers so this book appealed to me as it covered all bases.
Set in ww2 France it is the story of Henry Mitchell, a Bletchley Park cryptographer whose wife and daughter are stuck in war torn Paris after they got separated from him when trying to escape.
When he is given the opportunity to go back to France on a secret mission for the SOE he jumps at the chance as he wants to find his family.
This book is full of thrills and double crosses. No one can be trusted as no character is truly as they seem.
The mission gets off to a bad start when Harry’s plane is shot down over France and then gets worse as he is forced to run with those that have helped him in tow.
His mission is to find a member of the German resistance who wants to defect to England with important information. He also needs to discover the traitor within the French Maquis who are supposedly helping him.
This is a well researched book full of excitement and thrills. The awfulness of war time France and Paris is conveyed well, the ever present fear of betrayal to the Nazis as well as the requirement for ordinary people to perform extraordinarily brave acts.
I couldn’t put this down and thoroughly recommend it to readers who enjoy this genre.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

A wonderful World War 2 thriller set around the French resistance with an English agent sent to discover a German scientist with vital information and a traitor within the organisation. Paris is brilliantly described with a taut heart stopping plot keeping one on edge throughout. Moments of startling action along with tensions abundant make this an excellent yarn!

Night Flight to Paris by David Gilman is a fantastic read.

It is set mainly in Paris during the Second World War as the main character tries to find out what had happened to his wife and daughter whilst avoiding the German forces.

The writing is strong and creates an authentic feeling of wartime Paris and not just the struggle for survival but the opposition to the Germans from the Resistance.

The twists are plenty and the pacing is excellent.

This book deserves to sell well.

Thoroughly recommended.

What a fantastic book.

I am sucker for well written and researched second world war spy thrillers and this one is well up there with the best of this genre.

Gilman is an excellent writer and he captures the atmosphere of war-torn Paris perfectly as well as the terror that lies just beneath the surface as he portrays a city where nobody is exactly who they pretend to be and death and betrayal are on every street corner.

The book flows effortlessly and he knows how to tell a story as the reader is drawn in from the beginning.

There are thrills and spills galore as well as the sensitive story of a man who has lost his family to the Germans and is prepared to do almost anything and risk all in order to find them.

This book merits its 5-star review and is an exceptional read.