Ben Calix experiences many problems after he is given severance. Throughout all the trouble, he maintains his loyalty and duty. He also learns that there is more at play in life than he expected.

Starting with page one, the action grabs you and doesn’t let go. Each page makes you want to turn to the next, and reading one chapter quickly turns into reading as many as you can. The characters are well described and there is a good mix of action and time to catch your bearings on what has happened. However, that doesn’t mean you can guess how the book ends. There are plenty of twists that keep you from settling on who is who.

This was a great book and well worth reading.

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this suspenseful ride! I appreciate that the author uses his background to create a realistic story full of twists and turns.

I'm ready to read more of his books!

The Paris Betrayal is a very well written spy thriller with a bit of romance. This kept me on the edge of my seat and guessing the entire read. I highly recommend this book.

This was an intense book! I had a little bit of a hard time following everything that was happening throughout the story. The story was definitely intriguing but there were so many characters involved.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc. The opinions are my own. .

If espionage and burned spies are your thing, then this is the book for you. Ben Calix is that burned spy. The problem is that he doesn't realize it until it is too late. If something can go wrong it's going to. Every step of the way Ben is thwarted in his attempts to clear his name and return to good graces with the Company.

But why? What has Ben done to deserve this? That my friend is kept a mystery until the very end. It is a mystery that the reader isn't privy to, which makes the suspense become almost unbearable. I loved it! I stayed up way too late reading it because I just needed one more chapter. Then of course that chapter led into another chapter and another chapter. My advice, let this be a Friday night read when you have nothing urgent on Saturday.

I loved every bit of this story. It reads like a Jason Bourne movie (or book), with quick action scenes, great dialogue, and more twists and turns than a winding mountian road. I highly recommend it for those who love supense with a hint or romance. The stakes are high and kept the pages flying.

The Paris Betrayal is so well written I couldn't put it down! I loved it! It feels so real, that the author has to say in the notes he has never been a spy. Could've fooled me.

The Paris Betrayal is a fast-paced spy novel that is light on Christianity. Very light. It has great characters, non-stop action and an easy to follow plot line. The main character is spy Ben Calix. He is one of the best in his field and was trained by the best. He works for the good guys called The Company. But after a mission goes sideways, Ben finds that everyone he knows and trusts has turned on him. He has to rely on his own whits and his go bag to survive another day.

I would definitely recommend any fans of exciting, clean fiction read this book. You won't be disappointed.

I only have two words for The Paris Betrayal by James R. Hannibal: HOLY SMOKES. This novel kept my heart jumping into my throat and my gut twisting. The Paris Betrayal was my thirty-third book of 2021. Out of those thirty-three, I awarded two five-star reviews. Without hesitation, The Paris Betrayal received my third. For the first time this year, a book demanded I stay awake until I finished it. And when I did, adrenaline coursed through me for another hour, and I couldn’t go to sleep. My hands trembled, and my voice rose barely above a whisper when I expressed my vocal reaction: “HOLY SMOKES.”

As a spy enthusiast, I appreciated everything about The Paris Betrayal by James R. Hannibal. I grew up watching TV shows like Alias and 24. I’ve dissected numerous documentaries about declassified missions and read countless books on espionage, as well—both fiction and nonfiction. In graduate school, I took classes in intelligence, terrorism, and nuclear threat assessment. My favorite museum in Washington, D.C. when I lived there? You can probably guess: The International Spy Museum. When I read many spy/crime thrillers, I react with “THIS IS ALL WRONG” multiple times. Not once did that happen with The Paris Betrayal. The plot engrossed me too much to contemplate it. From the second I read about Ben Calix conducting an SDR—a surveillance detection route—I grinned, because that’s a term with which I am well acquainted.

This book had the perfect amount of wit. In high-intensity situations—especially in the public service sector—we can have…very dry senses of humor. Hannibal portrayed this wonderfully, and I chuckled aloud. I even went back and read passages multiple times, just because of the cleverness. Granted, I had to read other segments more than once because I swallowed without chewing, so to speak. I raced through it, as The Paris Betrayal was an easy read. But I wish I hadn’t because I think I missed things. It’s one of the many reasons why I’m planning to read the novel again. And recommending it to every friend I know who enjoys spy thrillers…and even those that don’t.

Ben Calix never gave up, even when all the odds stacked up against him. He endured, and he never turned against his moral code. I loved his character, and the fact he went to Rice University. As a native Houstonian, it made me smile to see my hometown represented. Clara was a great character, too. And Otto. And Tess. I wouldn’t say The Paris Betrayal had any particularly memorable life lessons, but goodness, was it entertaining. As I read it, I couldn’t stop talking about it. And when I finished it, I still wouldn’t shut up. Hannibal did leave me with some questions, but they only make me want to reread the novel to find the answers.

The Paris Betrayal by James R. Hannibal is easily one of the best books I’ve read all year, if not the best. I loved every minute I spent in its pages, and I can’t wait to read more of Hannibal’s work.

*Note: I received a free copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for my honest review. All views expressed are my own.

I really wanted to like this book. Thrillers, suspense, and mysteries are some of my favorite genres to read. A good book to me will have the suspense with moments of doubting myself as I try to figure out who the bad person who is and the motive is. Usually I can figure out the person and watch the clues pile up before the end of the story. But in The Paris Betrayal by James R. Hannibal, the novel does start with an exciting mission and incident, which I really liked. A good thriller novel should capture my attention within the first moments, or my attention can wander away. But from this moment, the main hero, Ben, is on the run. Bullets are flying. People dying. Which normally, I would praise and be happy to see. BUT I had a hard time staying focused. Ben was always on the run. Not that many moments to breathe. Too many other characters to account for. What were they there for? Why were they there? Are they important to the solution to the story? In those moments, I read the story and followed what happened, but I needed more depth. I do not feel like I grew a connection with Ben. I didn’t really care what happened to him. What was the issue that Ben was running from? This was not shown until almost the end of the novel. The scenery was nice since I have never traveled to Europe, but I can’t wait to visit. Hopefully, sometime. Overall, The Paris Betrayal did not really capture my attention like I wanted it to. The story needs more personal connection to the reader.

I received a complimentary copy of The Paris Betrayal by James R. Hannibal from Revell Publishers, but the opinions stated are all my own.

Suspenseful, intriguing, and spellbinding all wrapped up into one amazing book!!

Great job in making this a believable story. I was invested from the beginning in Ben’s character. As the remaining characters surfaced the reader demonstrated exactly what I believe it wanted out of the reader - distrust, disliked, etc. Some characters I despises while others I enjoyed getting to know.

There were parts that were frustrating, but they were meant to be and so I found myself yelling at the them throughout the story.

Overall, it was an excellent novel. I hope to see more of Ben and Clara in the future.

Highly recommend this book for anyone who enjoys a good spy book.