Although I sometimes need a break from WWII-era fiction and nonfiction, I am amazed when another interesting story emerges such as this nonfiction account of two amazing women who did resistance work in Paris. Etta, an American and Kate, a British citizen were good friends living in Paris when the city was occupied by Germany. When they learned of Allied servicemen being held in prison hospitals, they courageously and creatively found ways to help the men escape and developed a network of like-minded individuals to assist them. The best part of their story, in my opinion, is that they were often overlooked because they were middle-aged in their 50s and 60s. This book describes some of their successes and some of their narrow escapes but unfortunately, they were eventually arrested and separated. The author did some amazing research about their lives and their trials while imprisoned and how they unbelievably survived. While I always appreciate such thorough research, the book was a little too detailed for my tastes but history buffs will really enjoy the story. And a large section of the book is devoted to research notes so it’s not as long as it appears. I plan to read the original book by Etta Shiber because it sounds controversial. No spoilers but the end of the book was bittersweet.
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own.

Well researched and well written, the story of Etta Shiber and Kate Bonnefous is one everyone should read. The author’s desire to capture the reader’s interest is obvious as he meticulously researched these amazing women, along the way gave historical context to places and events not commonly known. The bravery and dedication of Kate, her willingness to put her own life in peril to save her home and adopted country, remains a steadfast testament to the triumph of the human spirit. Without her and the many others who stared down evil, we very well may be living in a completely different world. Excellent book!

I have long been a fan and reader of historical fiction specifically World War II and the connection between activities in France and Nazi occupation. This book was a beautiful representation of how relationships were manipulated, sustained, or changed as a result of this war. Great read!

This was a throughly researched account of Etta Shiber and Kate Bonnefous World War II efforts to help out with whatever they could do. Kate was said to be always in motion where Etta was more shy and subdued. Their efforts were tremendous and they travelled all over France helping where they could. They were quite a pair and I don’t know if I could have been as strong as these two women.

I want to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for- Ballantine for this advanced reader copy and this is my honest review of the work.

Paris Undercover
by Matthew Goodman
The historical look at the French resistance during world war 2. The disheartening struggle of social and political resistance to the Nazis occupations. Just talking was an offense. Trying to get the Germans to leave seemed impossible. The nostalgic look at the memory of the war give a personal context to the violent and dangerous events.

A documentary/memoir of the lives of Etta Shiber and Kitty Bonnefous, two women who helped British soldiers escape occupied France during WWII. The story is a blend of fact and fiction, told from Etta's perspective and interlaced with supporting documentation.

I read this book using my Kindle but feel that having the physical book would have been more enjoyable. I really enjoy books that encourage me to do further research and found the blend of fiction and non-fiction to be very well done.

Etta was headed back to New York and away from Paris, where she had been a visitor, a citizen and an eventual inmate. Her liberation from Nazi captivity took over a year, but a compassionate release due to her failing health combined with diplomatic maneuverings finally free her.. While free from the spartan conditions and harsh treatment, she thought of Kate and wonder how she was doing. Etta met Kate in 1926 while on vacation in Paris with her husband. The pair became friends. Kate was a source of emotional support when Etta suffered the dual loss of her husband and a close cousin. She encouraged Etta to relocate to Paris, where the two resided until 1940. Kate was born into an affluent English family but was forced to cope with misfortune when she lost both her parents in two years. Kate could be bold, but Etta was timid and often beset by crippling anxiety. Kate was the initiator of the decision to aid in the escape of captive Allied soldiers in the early days of World War II. She would visit a convalescent soldier and make her proposal to go in their flight for freedom. Etta was anxious when Kate would visit a convalescent soldier and make her proposal to flee in their flight for freedom. Etta would be fraught with anxiety when Kate informed her of this, but her loyalty to her friend outweighed her nerves. This operation would be unraveled within six months of its initiation as Kate, Etta and others.

Their story was meant to be told, but foolhardy decision-making coupled with greed led to a whitewashing of the truth. The compelling nature of the narrative is consistent, from the women’s path into each other’s lives to their subversive activities in a locked-down city to their awful incarcerations. This nonfiction book is one ñot to forget.

Paris Undercover is well-researched and contains a lot of interesting facts about Nazi-occupied Paris and the dangers that two women went through during WWII. While the historical information and the personal accounts are descriptive, I did feel as though this book leaned toward a history lesson instead of drawing me into the story.
Readers who enjoy fact-based narrative will love this book. If you’re expecting something that reads more like historical fiction and a narrative story, then you may be disappointed. I would say this is a book that is suited toward readers who love biographies and strict non-fiction.
With that said, I loved the photographs throughout the book and felt they really brought life to the people in the story. Seeing their eyes and getting a sense of their features gave me insight into who they were, and. I often found myself imagining how their expressions would change as the events of the book continued.
If you are a WWII buff and want to learn more about some untold events in Paris, try “Paris Undercover”!

Goodness, not sure what I was expecting but this was a winner! I tend to drift more to female authors for historical fiction but this had more of a feel like a feneral fiction to me. Suspenseful but fully developed. Not scary. Pleasant surprise!

This compelling account of women assisting Allied soldiers during World War II reads like a novel. At times heartbreaking and difficult to stomach, I appreciated learning about these ordinary women working as resistance fighters and making a difference in others' lives. This would be a engaging book to discuss in a book club. I intend to suggest it for the group I facilitate. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

Paris Undercover by Matthew Goodman was eye opening, informative and right down appalling. What started as a story of two older friends helping escaped French/British prisoners of war find their way back to unoccupied France - ended in being prisoners themselves and a broken friendship. I once went on a WWII historical tour, our historian said many times, the Russians in the liberation were every bit as terrible as the Germans. This book is absolutely proof of that statement. The Russian soldiers raped over two million women all while “saving” them from the German prisons. Their atrocities consisted of many disturbing acts. This non-fiction book was an eye opener for me regarding the liberations.

Paris Undercover
By Matthew Goodman

This book is hard for me to review, because there were things I liked very much, and things I wasn't happy with. It is the true story of two women – a French divorcee named Kate (Kitty) Bonnefus and an American widow named Etta Shiber. These women, so totally different temperamentally from each other, met in Kitty's Paris dress shop in 1936 and became best friends. When Etta's cousin, and then her husband, both passed away, Kitty convinced her to come live with her in her Parisian apartment.

Etta was a somewhat withdrawn, often anxious woman. Kitty on the other hand, was outgoing and adventurous. When the Nazis invaded France, Kitty and Etta (following her friend's lead) became heroines, helping many downed airmen to escape and make their way home. The Nazis eventually caught up with the two women and imprisoned them. As an American, Etta was expatriated to her home country in a relatively short time. Kitty was not so lucky. She spent years in isolation in a Nazi prison, enduring much suffering.

What happened after their separate incarcerations is a sad tale of misunderstandings and good intentions gone awry. The author has done exemplary research here, and the writing is very well done. The reader feels every bit of the two friends' pain.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC.

Paris Undercover is the very well searched, factual account of two women who otherwise may have been lost in history. It is a good reminder that heroes are not always young and glamorous. These mature widows both left a mark and the book does an amazing job of giving detailed information and letting the reader decide how they perceive Kitty and Etta. The book doesn’t shy away from the horrors of war and imprisonment and may be too graphic for some readers.

If this sort of story was taught in history classes, people would never say the subject was boring. This is the kind of story that inspired the historical fiction books on the New York Times best seller lists. It’s an incredible story of human survival, but also pain.

I received this book as a widget. I am very interested in the story however, I am a bit of a mood reader and just can't get into this book at this time. I am sure that I will enjoy this book once I am in the right frame of mind to read it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing and Ballentine book for the ARC of this ebook.

Paris Undercover is the story of two unlikely heroines in WWII (Kitty and Etta)
They help to smuggle airmen out of Paris
It was a slow start, but once you get into it, more interesting

Paris Undercover by Matthew Goodman is a gripping account of two ordinary women, Kitty and Etta, who find themselves entangled in the dangerous world of espionage during World War II. Tasked with helping Allied airmen escape Nazi-occupied France, these two best friends and flatmates may not have been trained spies, but their courage and determination proved otherwise.

Goodman structures the book into three distinct sections, each offering a different perspective on their harrowing journey. The first part details Kitty and Etta’s backgrounds and their work aiding escapees, leading up to Etta’s arrest. The second follows Etta’s brutal journey home and her later attempt to publish an (almost) tell-all book about her experiences. The final section shifts focus to Kitty, chronicling her fight for freedom and the betrayal that forever altered their lives.

As a fan of WWII historical fiction—especially stories centered around strong female protagonists—this book was a perfect fit. Goodman does an excellent job of bringing this nearly unbelievable true story to life, making it accessible and compelling for modern readers. The tension, the resilience of these women, and the shocking betrayals make for an engrossing read. The fact that this is a real story only adds to its impact.

If you love historical accounts of courageous women defying the odds, Paris Undercover is a must-read. Goodman masterfully balances history with storytelling, making this both an informative and deeply engaging book.

Matthew Goodman’s Paris Undercover unearths the extraordinary and often overlooked story of two women—Etta Shiber and Kitty Bonnefous—who became unlikely heroines during Nazi-occupied Paris. The book offers a gripping, harrowing account of their efforts to rescue Allied soldiers, smuggling them out of enemy territory, and the consequences that followed, particularly after Etta’s memoir, Paris Underground, distorted the truth of their actions.

The narrative alternates between the women’s daring wartime exploits and the aftermath, focusing on the betrayal Etta's book caused Kitty. Etta, an American widow, and Kitty, an English divorcée, operated under the radar, often smuggling soldiers in the trunk of their car through Nazi checkpoints. Their courage was unmatched, but the path they chose was fraught with peril. When they are eventually captured by the Gestapo, the story takes a darker turn, revealing the painful and often brutal treatment they endured in prison.

Goodman’s meticulous research—revealing personal letters, testimonies, and military records—lays bare the shocking truth behind Etta’s memoir. The book paints Etta as a hero, but many of the deeds in Paris Underground were exaggerated or fabricated, particularly at Kitty’s expense. “Kitty’s life in prison became infinitely more difficult after the book was published,” Goodman notes, highlighting the deep betrayal that followed. As a result, Paris Undercover is as much a story of personal redemption as it is a tale of historical intrigue.

Goodman’s pacing is mostly smooth, though some sections may feel slightly drawn out. However, this minor flaw doesn’t detract from the compelling narrative, which strikes a fine balance between history and human drama. The book provides a unique perspective on WWII espionage, focusing not on professional spies but on everyday people who became heroes out of necessity and defiance. Through Kitty and Etta's journey, Goodman introduces readers to the grim realities of life in Nazi prisons, offering a fresh take on the war from the point of view of women on the frontlines.

Paris Undercover is a powerful, multi-layered narrative about heroism, betrayal, and the lasting effects of distortion in the telling of history. Goodman succeeds in uncovering the truth, delivering a book that is as emotionally resonant as it is historically important. For anyone interested in WWII, resistance movements, or tales of moral complexity, this book is a must-read.

Paris Undercover is written in 3 parts. Part One (22 chapters) recounts the backgrounds of Etta Shiber and Kate "Kitty" Bonnefous and how they became friends living in Paris shortly before WWI. This is followed by the events occurring during the Nazi occupation and how they courageously helped dozens of British servicemen escape to unoccupied France. At one point, Etta writes a book about her experiences. I must say that, for nonfiction, this reads like a thriller. I couldn't put it down.

Part Two (3 chapters) addresses the necessary falsehoods in Etta's book. At the time of publication the war was still going on and names, places and dates were changed to safeguard the identities of those still active in the resistance . . . not sufficiently as it turned out.

Part Three (4 chapters) picks up the narrative of Kitty's travails in numerous prisons. I am being purposefully vague with details for those who don't want any spoilers. Suffice it to say that outcomes are wrapped up tidily.

Five stars for an epic literary work. There are numerous photos included which greatly enhance the story. One caution: depictions of torture and the deplorable conditions of imprisonment are disturbing.

This book reads just like a fascinating nonfiction book from Erik Larson would read. It has almost a fiction feel to it and really made it easy to be wrapped up in Etta and Kitty’s lives. I had never heard of either woman before and now have a great appreciation for their sacrifices and their subsequent fates from the decisions they made during World War II.

The way the author presented their stories was interesting. He first told their stories like you would expect from a nonfiction book. When the book came to Etta publishing her memoir, he then went on to explain the inaccuracies in Etta’s memoir, and the background in how the memoir came to be. The research and support was extremely interesting. Also, we learn how that memoir greatly affected Kitty. Overall, a very well researched book that held my interest all the way through.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Matthew Goodman, and NetGalley for allowing me to read this novel in exchange for an honest review.