Paris Undercover is a very difficult book to read. It tells of two women and what happened to them during WWII. The women were working behind the scenes helping to rescue people from the Nazis. Both were imprisoned. I found it very upsetting and I have read numerous books on the war and Holocaust, but this was a tough read. It is a story of courage and then betrayal.

Paris Undercover is a story of courage, friendship, and betrayal. Etta Shiber and Kate Bonnefous are, an American widow and an English divorcée, are living quietly together in Paris. Under the eyes of the Nazis with the help of a French priest and others, they rescue British and French soldiers trapped behind enemy lines.
I was telling a friend about this book over brunch, and her reply was “this is nonfiction”. Yeah. It is quite a story! The book was a good read, but I feel could have been written more story like than report like. I do love a book that was birthed from research during the pandemic, and a lot of research there was. On my device there was close to 100 pages of citations! (Round of applause for that! I respect great research).
Thank you NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the advanced reader copy. #ParisUndercover #NetGalley

I love historical fiction and this was such an engaging well researched read. It tells the true story of an American woman Etta Shiber and her English friend Kate ‘Kittie’ Bonnefous. The two women lived together in Nazi occupied Paris after Etta’s husband died.
The women work with the resistance in setting up an underground escape route for those escaping Nazi arrest.
The women are arrested and their capture and imprisonment is truthfully portrayed. Etta is rescued through a prisoner exchange but Kittie remains in prison.
On her return to America Etta is persuaded to write a memoir (with ghost writers), much of which is fiction, but it is 2 years before the end of the war and her recounting of events have terrible repercussions for Kittie who is still a POW in occupied France.
The horrors endured during imprisonment, the bravery of these women and the history of this time are well researched making the Paris Undercover a truly fascinating read.

This story was something right out of the movies and the fact that it is all true is mind blowing. I love tales of women doing the extraordinary and the first part of this book did not disappoint. What Kitty and Etta did to help British soldiers escape occupied France during WWII was heroic. However what happened to both of them was incredibly tragic. What's worse is what happened with the memoir that Etta wrote. I thought the author did a great job giving both sides of the story but my heart broke for Kitty and what she had to endure. I also need to mention that this book does go into some detail about the horrors of war and what happened when the Russians liberated France. It was very hard to read. Although I enjoyed reading about Kitty and Etta's life there were many times when the book was just too verbose. I appreciate the detail but there were times when there was just too much and the book would have flowed better if it was more condensed. I am not a huge non-fiction reader but I thought that this did a good job bringing Kitty and Etta to life. I enjoyed the pictures that were included as it helped make them even more real. Overall, this was an important book to read especially as we need to never forget what people went through not so long ago.

Thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for this ARC.

This non-fiction books tells the incredible story of Etta Shiber (an American widow) and Kate Bonnefous (an English divorcée), two "ordinary" women living quietly together in Paris during the Nazi occupation during WWII.

As you read this exceptional book, you quickly find out that they are not "ordinary" women. These amazing, brave women rescued dozens of Allied servicemen.

Goodman's book is carefully researched, and I found out incredible things that happened. I have never heard of Shiber and Bonnefous. I'm glad to have read their incredible story.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for a chance to review this book.

I received an advance reading copy (arc) of this book from the publisher and NetGalley.com in exchange for a fair review. Author Matthew Goodman did a fine job researching and writing this book. It was an unusual story involving a widowed American woman, Etta Shiber, and English woman, Kate Bonnefous, who found themselves living in Paris at the start of World War II. Bonnefous got involved in the Paris Underground when she started helping downed English soldiers escape the Nazis. Shiber went along with her friend, but did not orchestrate any of the activities. Both were arrested and after spending months in prison, Shiber was released and sent back to America. Stupidly, she allowed a book to be written about her escapades while her friend and other accomplices languished in various prison camps. Why she never thought word would get back to their captors is something I will never understand. Obviously, it did which made things even worse for the prisoners. It was an unusual story and something I had never heard of before. Of course, there are many unsung heroes of World War II and Kate Bonnefous was definitely one of them. I recommend this book for anyone interested in the Paris Occupation or World War II in general. Stories like this one are always encouraging to hear during our troubled times.

I've differing opinions about this book, so I'm arguing with myself on how I rate this book. Was it a three because a lot of it was repetitive? Was it a five because of the history that I learned? Was it a two because I couldn't handle the torture scenes? Was it a three because a lot of the book didn't really follow the lives of the two women? Was it a five because of all the research that went into this book? I probably shouldn't give it a star rating because I'm so torn. I also must have missed how one friend betrayed the other. I couldn't see it as a problem with Etta but a problem with her ghostwriters/publishers.

This is the perfect book for those who want to take a look at the war, not from the English side but from the French side. An excellent book for those who want to see the actual repercussions of the war and its aftermath on women who did their bit to fight the Nazis.

This is an excellent read for book clubs and scholars.

*ARC supplied by the publisher Ballantine Books/Random House Publishing Group, the author, and NetGalley.

Etta and Kate are friends who, during World War II help rescue many soldiers from behind enemy lines in occupied France. Unfortunately their mission is interrupted after both get caught and imprisoned. Etta is eventually released back to the US, but Kate remained in the hands of the Nazis.

Paris Undercover by Matthew Goodman takes us to occupied France during WWII. The Nazi’s have taken over Paris and citizens of France are having their liberties taken away. Kate Bonnefous is joined in Paris by her friend Etta Shiber from the US after the death of Etta’s husband. Together the two of them form an escape line to help numerous men escape from the Nazi’s.

Both women are eventually captured and imprisoned, along with many others that were helping them. Etta, being a US citizen, is released after 18 months in a prisoner exchange. After returning to the states, she writes a memoir about her and Kate’s work in France in hopes of bringing attention to her friend. Kate is still being held prisoner and unfortunately this brings her the wrong kind of attention. The Nazi’s are extra hard on Kate after becoming award of what she and her friend had done.

The first part of the book consists of their efforts during the war. There was much research done on what takes place but it does go into great detail, a little too much in some cases. There were times when I felt it dragged on. The second part is about Etta’s life and the third about Kate’s. The book has numerous historical accounts but includes fictitious parts. In the descriptive part of Kate’s life, I did find it to be very distressing. The author did go into great detail of things that the Nazi’s did to her. The book does show great courage and perseverance but also unknown betrayal.

Thank you Net Galley for giving me the opportunity to read this uncorrected pre-release book.

Paris Undercover is a very well researched account of two remarkable women, Kate (Kitty) Bonnefous and Etta Shiber, during WWII.
The story focuses on Kitty’s courageous efforts to set up an Underground Railroad, helping British airmen and French resistance fighters escape Nazi-occupied France. The book doesn’t shy away from the horrifying details of their imprisonment and torture.
After being released as part of a prisoner exchange, Etta returns to the U.S. and writes a memoir about their experiences. However, her decision to change names and locations in the book, convinced it would protect those still imprisoned, is gravely flawed.
While this book is detailed and informative, it remained engaging throughout.

Well researched and antedated true story of two middle-aged women, one British and one American, who help the resistance in Paris during WWII. Most well known for helping smuggle POW to freedom. Well told story of before, during, and after, including the order of being captured themselves. When I read a book like this I want a lot of pictures, especially of the main people at the ages they are in the narrative; regretfully, and maybe because I read an ARC, there were not many and there were captions but no pictures in place.

Truly an amazing story! The story is as engrossing and easy to read as any historical fiction (my favorite genre) but this is real! Etta and Kate are amazing heroes, and everyone should read their stories. Both women suffered greatly and were involved in saving lives. Their friendship and support of each other made them a particularly effective team. Kate is British living in France, and Etta is American; after being imprisoned Etta returns to America not knowing what has happened to Kate. A series of poor decisions and missing communication have terrible consequences; no spoilers as the second half of the book gives us the rest of the story. The book is incredibly well researched, and 20% of it is footnotes and other information. It's a story where fact is stranger than fiction, an unputdownable read. Everyone should read this book!

January 27, 2025, On International Holocaust Remembrance Day ~May we never forget~✡
Well-done by the author with his research about two unlikely characters of courage.
"Two women in Nazi occupied Paris created a daring escape that rescued dozens of allied servicemen. With one in a German prison camp, the other wrote a book about it- a memoir that was built on lies."
Etta, a Jewish New Yorker and Kitty, a British woman, were captured by the Nazis after freeing several soldiers or prisoners of war. They risked their lives in some dangerous missions.
Etta was sent home after 18 months in prison, as a prisoner exchange, but Kitty was left to endure the brutality and torture in a Nazi prison.
This story is a sad reminder of what occurred in the camps to many innocent people. The pictures in the book will break your heart as you look at those faces right before they are sent into the gas chambers. It is always hard to read these accounts, but the endurance of the ones who bravely risk their lives to save others is usually what gets me through it.
It is after the release of Etta when the story changes gears. The war is still going on, but Etta is encouraged to write a book about the accounts of her and Kitty. When it is published, Kitty is still in prison. The accounts are dangerously exposing her as she suffers the repercussions. She has no idea about the book when most of it is lies, made up or exaggerated. The deceit, betrayal and redemption is real.
Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine Books for this incredible ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Paris Undercover: A Wartime Story of Courage, Friendship, and Betrayal by Matthew Goodman

This was such a difficult story for me to read. There are the sections that are true, real people and real events, and that's what I want when I'm reading Nonfiction. But the details are so hard to take, the torture, but also the ravishing of babies, girls, children, women of all ages, no matter how young or old, entire communities. And as I now know happens throughout the ages, the ravagers can be the army that is supposed to be the one that is rescuing those very people.

Etta Shiber was a well educated American women who suffered from anxiety and shyness all of her life. She did well while her beloved cousin and husband were alive. At some point she met Kitty Bonnefous, a British women whose heart also belonged to France. Kitty was so different from Etta, a go getter, brave, daring, sometimes reckless, and willing to give everything she had to British and French soldiers trapped behind enemy lines.

It's after the death of Etta's cousin and husband that she eventually moves into Kitty's flat in France and is present during Kitty's work to smuggle British and French soldiers to safety. In the first part of the book we see Etta's sometimes/often reluctant assistance of Kitty's efforts. Etta wanted to help but she was also rightly terrified of the real dangers the two women were courting in all that they did. That is why Kitty kept much of what she was doing from Etta. Kitty was involved in more than Etta would ever know. Eventually both women are imprisoned, Etta is finally released, and goes back to the United States.

The second part of the book details what brought about the writing of Paris Underground, a memoir written by Etta Shiber in 1943. But we learn that so much of that book is fiction, so much is extremely embellished, and even Etta began to get fuzzy on the facts, when she discusses them, exaggerating how many men Kitty and Etta saved. It's sickens me that this 1943 book was published while the war was still on and while some of the people mentioned in the book (even though most names were changed, details altered) could still be alive in the hands of the enemy. But the fault lies less on Etta and mostly on those behind the actual writing and publication of this book.

The third part of the book takes us back to Kitty, still imprisoned and suffering greatly on starvation rations, scant clothing, no heat, no amenities at all, often in solitary confinement. Kitty had already been beaten and tortured during her captivity but on the publication of Etta's "memoir" the beatings and torture was even worse. This part of the book also details the "rescue" of the prisoners but the rescuing army was no salvation, as they ravished everyone they could touch. I knew about these things, including in other areas of the world and even now, and I think this was the hardest part of the book for me to read.

Overall, both women were brave and did save many. Kitty was willing to give her life for others but Etta did her part, a smart, gentle woman, not meant for heroics, very much wanting to live the part of the kindly old aunt, sitting in her rocking chair but instead thrust into the middle of the war in France. I'd really rather know the truth than to have a book such as the 1943 Paris Underground be published as a memoir when so much was made up and exaggerated. Seeing the process of how that book came about and why certain things were done (often just excuses), was interesting, but so wrong to the people still alive and in danger.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Ballantine Books and NetGalley for this ARC.

When bad things happen to good heroic people. Etta and Kate, two middle aged women who were living quietly in France, committed to helping downed airmen but unfortunately they were captured. While Etta was ultimately returned to the US, Kate barely made it to the end of the war having been tortured and starved. And the reason things were so bad- a book written by Etta (with the help of ghostwriters) that told their story with a lot of exaggeration. Goodman doesn't end the book with Kate's release but instead looks at what happened after, something many might have skipped. It's not a pretty story and sadly, perhaps, Kate and Etta were never reunited, It's a well researched and illuminating look at a dark time. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. For history buffs.

“Paris Undercover” by Matthew Goodman is a must-read! It’s a gripping tale of the WWII underground movement, told from the eyes of two courageous older women. From the very first page, you’ll be swept away into a world where women’s rights were limited, people were struggling to survive, and health challenges were rampant. But amidst all that darkness, there’s also a story of compassion and strength. If you’re a history buff, this book is a must-read!

Paris Undercover by Matthew Goodman is my first book by this author. This book is the historical account of two friends living in Paris prior to and during the German occupation of Paris.

Etta Shiber and Kate Bonnefous are friends. Etta is an American widow who is befriended by Kate Bonnefous. Kate is from England and is divorced. Kate asks Etta to live with her in Paris. Kate with the help of several other French patriots begins to undertake a courageous and quite determined effort to make an impact by helping to smuggle prisoners of war and others out of occupied France and into safety.

The amount of Research Mr. Goodman has put into this book is immense. The footnotes were voluminous. I will say that while the initial subject matter to me was intriguing, the pace and readability were difficult. I also disagree with some of the other reviewers. I did not see Etta Shiber as a heroine. If Kate Bonnefous hadn’t dragged her along on some of these adventures she would have done nothing. She was a nervous woman with little backbone. To describe her as a heroine is way too much for me.

Ultimately they are discovered separately. Etta at home and Kate away doing more heroic acts and captured by the Gestapo and imprisoned. The impact of the imprisonment on their health and lives is devastating and yet they survive. It was like being in a death camp. Etta is released first as part of a prisoner exchange and returns to the U.S. Why she would be picked for a prisioner exchange is beyond my capacity to understand. However she is approached to write a book about Kate and herself and the experiences they had helping evacuate these POWs. Etta naively believes that by writing this book she can help Kate. She is totally gullible and believes those individuals who will profit from her accounting. Well the war is still going on, Kate is no where to be found – missing or presumed dead - does Etta not think someone will put two plus two together? That by changing names and place specifications, there will be no repercussions on those who remain imprisoned. Ultimately when Kate discovers what Etta has done she justifiably feels betrayed.

While the author made a grand attempt to bring to light the story of these two women, I felt spending so much time on Etta did a great disservice to Kate. While knowing Etta’s story definitely gives more insight into Kate’s bravery it just seemed too uneven for me.

I would like to thank the author, RandomHouse Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a very well researched and well written story of two women, one English and one American, who become friends over the years and end up living together in France. Kate "Kitty" Bonnefous and Etta Shriber work for the resistance rescuing English and French soldiers from Nazi occupied Paris. This book is very exciting and very heavy on the history on that time period. I enjoyed this book very much.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House/Ballantine for the ARC of this very interesting book.

Super interesting and well-researched book about 2 women in WWII who help sneak people out of occupied Paris. History junkies will love this! I prefer a little more historical-fiction-novel vs this basically non-fiction account, but it was fascinating!

Incredible research went into this book by Matthew Goodman. The magnificent accounting of these two woman, Kate (Kitty) Bonnefous and Etta Shiber, most notably Kate Bonnefous, is visceral. You read about Kate’s time in prison, after being captured by the Natzis and her torture at their hands and you cringe and you cannot fathom how she could survive such horror. Kate’s dedication to aiding captured soldiers during WWII and sheltering them in her home until she could provide safe escape for them, is nothing less than heroism, a will of steel and a heart of gold. We have all read accounts of WWII travesties and perversions but this historical account is so well documented and speaks to some of the lesser known horrors that affected so many people. Thank you NetGalley and Ballantine Books for granting me this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own. #ParisUndercover, #BallantineBooks, #Goodreads.