These are the adventures of 'Richard Sharpe and the Occupation of Paris, 1815'.

The story opens after the Battle of Waterloo, when Wellington sends Sharpe on two very dangerous missions - in France, but in advance of the British army.

I enjoyed Sharpe's Assassin very much and am now in the process of acquiring and absorbing all the previous books in this outstanding series.

A colorful read that had me precisely in the moment, breathless and wanting more!

I’m a huge Richard Sharpe fan. Helped along by first meeting Sharpe as a tv program years ago. The rifleman from the dregs of society who took the kings shilling and went off “over the hills and far away” to fight Napoleon from one end of the European peninsula to the other, “ ‘From Portugal to the heart of France,” and now onto Paris. It’s 1815 and post Waterloo.
Sharpe has been tasked as he so laconically puts it, to “ ‘Get first into France, capture a fortress, release some prisoners, and then rejoin the army.’ “ And that’s just the beginning of Sharpe’s current enterprise.
Cornwell is just so descriptive! I was in the thick of battles, I came into Paris, held my anger in and honed it, as I channeled Richard Sharpe. And the old friends well met…even the memories evoked.
Sharpe is tasked to hunt down an organization La Fraternité bent on assassinating Wellington, under the cover of restoring stolen paintings housed in the Louvre. (read Cornwell’s historical notes for more info.)
If like me you love Cornwell’s writing and you’re attracted by the underdog who wins through, the irreverent scamp with a solid sense of integrity, who can cut through to the chase with no holds barred, then Richard Sharpe, a ‘forlorn hope’ survivor is your man. So many memories tied up in this novel.
The gems of historical information Cornwell drops enlighten. Like Sharpe insisting men pay the conquered populace properly for supplies and not with worthless metal buttons hammered down to look like “genuine coinage.”
Historical writing that truly engages!

A Harper ARC via NetGalley
Please note: Quotes taken from an advanced reading copy maybe subject to change
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)

Sharpe’s Assassin is the twenty-first historical novel in the Richard Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwell prisoner ll. It is set in June 1815, immediately after the Battle of Waterloo, and during the occupation of Paris. Now a Lieutenant Colonel, Sharpe needs to free an English spy being held prisoner, then get him to Paris. The book is filled with history including Napoleon Bonaparte, King Louis XVIII,the (fictional) Loyalist group La Fraternitie (the Brotherhood), and more. As in the other Sharpe books, this book features a corrupt senior officer who wants to eliminate Sharpe rather than be caught out for his misdeeds.

Although part of a series, the book stands alone nicely and can be enjoyed on its own. Cornwell is my husband’s favorite author, and he grabbed this book as soon as it arrived. He was glued to his Kindle until he finished it, and joins me in thanking Harper and NetGalley for providing the copy in exchange for this honest review. Four stars.

Once again, Bernard Cornwell takes us off to the Napoleonic Wars and the exploits of Richard Sharpe. But this is an older, wiser (perhaps), experienced soldier. This Sharpe seems to be looking to his future, to a life without constant warfare, a more nuanced man who does not always reduce his foes to pure villain status. Cornwell continues to be a skilled writer of the battlefield, to engage the reader with good (new and returning) characters, and emotionally authentic growth, and interaction. Seems like the coda for Richard Sharpe, from gutter to farm, infantry grunt to decorated veteran, angry fighting machine--to perhaps less angry retiree.

"Sharpe’s Assassin" follows Cornwell’s Richard Sharpe, the hero of twenty-five books and by now advanced to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, from Waterloo to Paris. Sharpe’s job is first to free an English spy being held in the town of Ham, then keep that spy safe as they travel to Paris, full of sullen citizens who still support the emperor (the return of the Bourbons in the form of King Louis XVIII pleases no one in this book) but are tired of fighting for him. Yet a small (fictional) secret group of loyalists known as La Fraternité (the Brotherhood) has sworn to protect Bonaparte in life and avenge him in death or defeat. Does the group exist in fact as well as in name? Does it really plan to assassinate the Allied leaders, starting with Wellington? Can Sharpe discover the members in time to prevent any such plot? And what will Sharpe himself do once the war that has consumed so much of his adult life finally staggers to its end?

Although the Sharpe series is Cornwell’s longest-running, the previous installment appeared in 2007. In the interim, we have made the acquaintance of Uhtred of Bebbanburg, the Saxon lord raised by Danes and adamant rejector of Christianity as a proper faith for warriors. Lord Uhtred has become the star of thirteen novels and a hit Netflix TV series, now entering its fifth (and final) season. For those—like me—who first encountered Cornwell’s work through Uhtred, two things about this latest novel are important to know. First, you need not have read any of the previous Sharpe books to enjoy this one. Selected parts of the hero’s past are presented as needed, and the whole is easy to follow.

Second, Sharpe is not Uhtred, but he does resemble Uhtred in certain ways that should appeal to readers of the Last Kingdom series. Sharpe goes his own way, whatever orders he receives from the military brass. He has risen through the ranks from a disadvantaged background, making him both prickly about being given the respect he deserves and fiercely loyal to his men (most of whom come from the same social class that he does) and strong in their defense. He is smart and experienced, a man who fights hard when fighting becomes necessary but doesn’t embrace violence for its own sake.

Sharpe doesn’t quite have the complexity of Uhtred, the split loyalties that force the Saxon lord into constantly questioning what matters to him most. That makes Sharpe a little less interesting as a character to someone like me, who skims through the war scenes in search of interpersonal conflicts and development. But Sharpe has his friends and foes, his loves and losses, his own version of split loyalties more appropriate to the early nineteenth century, which draw readers into his story. And the writers among us will appreciate Cornwell’s note at the end, where he mentions that Sharpe got to pick his own ending, which proved as much a surprise to the author as it perhaps does to the character. Sharpe’s story may not yet be over, but it does come to a place of rest—and the war-torn nations of Europe find a respite from their struggles as well.

It has been a long time since Bernard Cornwell gave fans a new Sharpe adventure and he does not disappoint with this new entry, which begins right after Waterloo in 1815 and takes Richard Sharpe and Patrick Harper to Paris. It is wonderful to re-visit familiar and well-loved characters like Sharpe and Harper and to meet new ones, and the author's detailed descriptions of skirmishes and battles is second to none. Highly recommended.