Member Reviews
The stage is set …. June 1940 and France has fallen to the Nazis … they swarm the streets of Paris like an invading hoard of locusts. Kate Rees is strangled with grief after a Luftwaffe bombing has killed her husband and beloved daughter, Lisbeth. At the height of her despondency she's offered a chance at revenge. British intelligence recruits her for a dangerous mission …. the assassination of the Fuhrer. The British have researched her past …. she is an excellent markswoman with the rifle …. not only a winner of multiple awards but also a "cowgirl" in the true sense …., being raised on a ranch in rural Oregon amongst five brothers.. She readily accepts the assignment and is thrust into a grueling crash course of spycraft..
In cinematic fashion we're treated to the insurmountable plight of Kate in occupied Paris. In astounding detail she sets up for the coup de grace shot at Hitler … only to be foiled by the unexpected presence of a child... who bears a striking resemblance to Lisbeth. Her momentary delay in taking the shot results in the inadvertent kill of a different high ranking Nazi ( the ramifications of this are unknown to Kate and the reader). Kate is suddenly running for her life through the streets and historically accurate locals of Paris. She is pursued and hounded by not only the Wehrmacht and Gestapo but a Munich police detective, Gunter Hoffman. Gunter is highly scrupled and is only interested in seeking justice … and certainly not a proponent of Gestapo techniques or even the Nazis in general. His presence and actions are reminiscent of the famous literary detective, Bernie Gunther … who flowed from the notable pen of Philip Kerr.
Cara Black weaves an atmospheric cat-and-mouse chase across occupied Paris. The pace of this page-turner is both relentless and exhilarating. It is brimming with intrigue and artful characterizations and escalates into an unexpected thrilling denouement. Thanks to both NetGalley and Soho Books for providing an electronic ARC of this gem in exchange for an honest review. Although this is my first foray into the genius of Cara Black, it certainly won't be my last. (readersremains.com)
I unfortunately didn't enjoy this book very much. I thought the writing was somewhat confusing, and it just didn't interest me very much, That being said, I think the premise is really interesting, and I believe this is a case of me just not being the right reader for this book!
RADA Read the situation, assess options, decide, act
Kate, her husband and her daughter were stationed in Britain. A freak bombing hit the car her husband and daughter were in killing both of them. She vowed that Hitler would pay. She was assigned by British Intelligence to an assignment in Paris to assassinate Hitler when he visited Paris for 3 hours. She was given this assignment because she was an award winning marksman.
She fails at her assignment in Paris and takes on the Admiral standing next to Hitler instead. Now she is a hunted woman in Paris. She must try to find a way back to London before the Nazi's catch her.
This is a book filled with suspense, excitement, spies and betrayal. There is an informer in the resistance and it almost costs her, her own British countrymen, caught and tortured give her up to the Nazi's. She is almost caught so many times and escapes. Philippe vow to help, but who can she trust. Several times her meeting points have been compromised. She can trust no one. It is a crazy race through Paris and her different disguises that saves her.
It is a page turner trying to figure out what will happen next. Will she get away...will she be caught. It keeps you wanting to read until the last page. This book did not disappoint, it was very well written, it kept you interest every second and I would highly recommend it.
Thanks to Cara Black, Soho Press, and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review an advance copy of the book.
3.5 stars.
First off, I love the cover. It was the first thing that got me interested in the book. I love historical fiction about World War 2, so this seemed right up my alley. Truth be told, this wasn't exactly what I was expecting. It turned out to be a wild game of cat and mouse, with a Nazi policemen without much personality (who therefore engendered no real feelings from me) chasing a woman who shot at Hitler. The woman was recruited by an old world spy guy, and she was pretty naive about the whole mission. What I liked reading about was the workings of this resistance group and how they had to pass information along. The story was entertaining, but not what I would read if looking for an emotional or thought-provoking World War 2 story.
Cara Black knows contemporary Paris from her Aimee Leduc series, but in Three Hours in Paris she tackles German occupied Paris of the 1940s. American Kate Rees is dispatched by the British secret service in a bold plot to assassinate Hitler, and soon finds herself on the run with no safety net. This is a tightly woven story that I read in a day, desperate to see how Kate would extricate herself. Highly recommended for fans of Maggie Hope.
I enjoyed this charged story of Kate. She was a sharp shooter, trained by her father in the US. She married an Englishman and had a daughter. They were killed and she blamed the German bombings. She wanted revenge and was hired to assassinate Hitler in Paris. She missed, and went on the run, knowing that there was a traitor among the resistance...
As a long-time devotee of Clara Black, I was looking forward to the new direction of this series. The beginning is a bit choppy but as it gathers steam - boy, does it gather steam! I was wrung out by the end of her trip to Paris. Although complicated by World War II, her usually detailed descriptions of the City of Lights do not disappoint. If you are a fan of Black's previous books or enjoy historical wartime fiction about female spies, you will definitely enjoy this departure from her Aimee Leduc mysteries.
Thank you NetGalley and Soho Press for this digital copy in exchange for an honest review.
Description
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 bestselling author of the Aimée 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 Führer. 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.
Well written! Keeps you guessing until the very end! Love the cat & mouse experience and how occupied Paris was described; made one feel as if they were there! Well done!
I would like to thank Netgalley and Soho Press for the opportunity to read Three Hours in Paris, in exchange for an honest review.
This is the perfect read for Veteran's Day. Cara Black has created a well crafted World War II spy novel. I couldn''t read it fast enough.
Three Hours in Paris has authentic and irresistible charm. Full of interesting and meaningful details, I found myself incessantly thinking or talking about it when I had to put it down. Cara Black made me feel as if I were on the streets of occupied Paris, delighted in the enduring culture while also rushing with suspense and gravity. She masterfully pans between the quick thinking, tough woman on the move and the brilliant policeman on her trail, while giving the reader enough clues to to make decisions or conclusions for themselves before revealing actual happenings. I rarely find a book that imbues in me such orchestrated and genuine sadness, hope, and emboldened resolve within its same pages. I absolutely loved it!
"Sacrifice the one for the many". A female sharpshooter is caught in a cat and mouse game with a German policeman. The end was just the beginning
A truly thrilling read, Very different from most thrillers. Set in 1940’s Paris. A female sniper is sent to shoot Hitler. Her story of her escape from the Nazis is exciting and a real page turner. I struggled to put the book down, I loved following her close encounters.
I have read the entire Aimee Leduc series and somehow thought this would be in that vein. Love Cara's stories and the way she mixes up history and how they are set in a time without smartphones and they bring in a bit of fashion and light romance.
I ws just not in the mood for another WW2 book.
Best of luck
This is a period of time I find enormously interesting, but I could not connect with the characters in this story
This was almost unreadable. Something in the layout of the book made it nearly impossible.
Also there were some clear factual errors in the book. Some of the things mentioned in the early pages were not even around in 1940!
I stopped reading at 5% into the book because it was just very poorly written and very confusing
This is one of the best books I've read this year. A thriller, this book kept the suspense going to the conclusion. In fact, the suspense just keeps building through plot twists and revelations. Adding to the suspense is the sense of historical accuracy and geographical detail. Hopefully, the author will provide an other book featuring Kate and possibly a romance with Phillipe.