Kelly Rimmer is one of my favorite historical fiction authors. She brings stories to life and weaves together timelines so beautifully. I loved learning more about spies during WW2. It was fun trying to figure out who was connected in the timelines and piece together the story. I need to read more of Kelly Rimmer’s books!

Kelly Rimmer does thorough research on her subject matter and brings history to life. I absolutely loved this novel about women serving as resistance operatives during World War II. The story is told from multiple points of view which are equally interesting and move the narrative forward. It's always nice to see how the characters will connect and come together. I would highly recommend this to anyone!

"The Paris Agent" by Kelly Rimmer is a gripping historical novel that intertwines espionage and personal drama against the backdrop of World War II. The story follows two women—one a wartime spy in Nazi-occupied Paris and the other her granddaughter uncovering her grandmother’s secrets decades later. Rimmer’s narrative is richly detailed, offering both a suspenseful plot and an emotional exploration of courage and sacrifice. With its well-drawn characters and engaging dual timelines, "The Paris Agent" is a compelling read that blends historical intrigue with heartfelt storytelling.

I really really love Kelly Rimmer. She tells such beautiful and poignant stories. This one was no exception.
It took me a few chapters to get comfortable with going back and forth in the timeline and figuring out which girl had what codename. But once I was in a rhythm it was easy.
I highly recommend this novel to anyone who loves good WWII historical fiction. I especially love that she keeps her stories clean.
I would have liked Theo's story to resolve with more than a few paragraphs but it was still a great way to bring the story full circle.
I was riveted from beginning to end. Loved it!

I loved this book! It's well-written, enjoyable, and a great read. The author did a great job of writing in a way that captures the readers attention, and makes you not want to put it down until you're finished! Kelly Rimmer can do no wrong when it comes to her writing! I would highly recommend it!

This was a fantastic WWII novel. I always love reading things from the perspective of people who fought in the resistance, but even more so from the female perspective. I love how all the stories were intertwined and how there were different time periods tying the whole story together. Thank you to Netgalley and Graydon House for the ARC.

Again with the not thinking that Historical Fiction is for me. I just don't think I can truly get behind and this book was no different

This was my top book of the year. Kelly Rimmer is officially one of my favorite authors. She gives such life to history and makes me want to go learn more about this time period. What women (and men) went through was hard to read at some points but that’s exactly why we have to read it. Such sacrifice has been made for our freedoms.
Loved it and I will encourage others to pick it up. The Paris Agent will stick with me.

2.5 stars.

It makes me sad to give this low rating to one of my favourite authors. But I have to be honest in my ratings otherwise it makes no sense to review books. I had expected this to be a 4-5 star book.

1970: a daughter and her father are researching the Special Operations Executive (SOE), the secret British WWII organization that her father was a part of. Her father is looking for the man who saved his life but he can only remember his undercover name. The novel moves between 1970 and WWII.

I enjoyed learning about this important time in history. The brave men and women who were part of the SOE were an immense help in relaying important information back home as well as rounding up locals to join the Resistance, planning and completing acts of sabotage and more.

Unfortunately I didn’t connect with any of the characters which is very surprising for me with this author. I usually connect immediately and find myself more invested in the characters lives than anything else. Several times, I found myself confused between characters which likely had to do with undercover names and none of the characters feeling unique or memorable.

The pace was very long and drawn out yet the time jumps seemed to cut out a lot of back story. The storyline didn’t have enough intrigue to have me invested in any part of it. There were also a few unrealistic elements that this author never usually includes which had me feeling less than eager to pick this up.

While this story included a lot of loss and hardship, it lacked the grit and heavy impact that this author usually pulls me in with. It failed to touch my heart or impact me on an emotional level. Romance was a strong theme that also turned me off. I don’t mind subplots of romance but having it as a main focus made the book take on a lighter tone and is not something I enjoy.

This novel reminded me of the issues I have with some Pam Jenoff historical fiction novels. Some of them are gritty and impactful, while others are too cutesy and romance focused which loses any sort of appeal or interest for me.

Overall, this was a miss for me but I continue to be a fan of this author and will read whatever she comes out with next. I highly recommend her historical fiction novels, The Things We Cannot Change, The Warsaw Orphan and The German Wife. Also highly recommend her contemporary fiction Before I Let You Go which is one of my All Time Favourite books.

Thank you to the publisher for my review copy!

I absolutely love Kelly Rimmer and will continue to read all of her books, but unfortunately this one did not wow me. I was bored throughout and confused by the characters and timelines. It was interesting to hear about the SOE agents, but overall this one was just okay to me.

I enjoy The Paris Agent by Kelly Rimmer for the history it introduces me to. It is my understanding that the female characters are based on real women like Cecily Lefort, Lilian Rolfe, Diana Rowden, and Violette Szabo. Some of the events like the destruction of the factory are based on historical events. I appreciate learning about the strength and courage of women who fought in the war.

Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2023/12/the-paris-agent.html

Reviewed for NetGalley.

So I have really enjoyed everything that I have read by Kelly Rimmer before this. She is one of my top authors. For some reason, this one fell flat for me. I DNF'd at about 25% in. Not sure if it was the copy I got that made it hard to read/enjoy, it had some weird spacing in words. It felt disjointed and confusing. Thanks to NetGalley and the publsiher for the ARC.

Another winner from Kelly Rimmer. She just outdoes herself with every tome she writes.
I loved learning about the spies from the SOE and of course that they were based on real women!! Love her books. She's an auto-buy author for me.

Link coming soon.

I'm a big fan of historical fiction and Rimmer always writes it well. This story was fast paced and you could not help feel for many of the characters. Emotional and gripping, recommended!

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick.

I decided to give WWII historical fiction another try. I normally do not enjoy reading about this period in time, but this book definitely changed my mind. The characters were fleshed out nicely and I adore duel timelines in stories. I will be searching out more books by this author in the future.

We love Kelly and this was another fabulous historical fiction novel! I apologize for my delayed review! We were lucky enough to have Kelly Zoom with our bookclub and we adore her and her writing!

There is nothing I love more than WWII fiction and Kelly Rimmer is the queen of it. This dual timeline story set in the 1970s that follows two former WWII spies as they navigate their post war experience.

The author weaves between past and present in a beautiful way. I was completely caught up in the story and found the characters to be fantastic. This story slowly unravels and reveals twists along the way that added to the plot in a fantastic manner. I love this author and find her writing to be perfection! Loved this one so much and look forward to the next by one of my favorite authors!

Secret agents? Spies? Especially female undercover operatives? This stuff is like catnip for me. I eat it up.

Add in Kelly Rimmer’s ability to tell a story with depth, plot and character and it’s sure to be a winner for me.

And, for the most part it was.

Rimmer crafts a story in two timelines around the little known arm of British Intelligence during WW2, the Special Operations Executive or SOE. There is intrigue, drama, betrayal, a bit of a love story and, in the second storyline, dealing with the aftermath and trauma of the war nearly 30 years later.

Where this one fell a little short for me was in the telling. In the structure. We have two characters in the past who go by both their given names and their code names. Our present day character is featured in the past timelines by both names as well and then we have a new cast that joins him in the present day. Maybe I just wasn’t in the right frame of mind but I struggled keeping everyone straight and felt like the story was a bit disrupted by the structure.