The Paris Affair

Thankyou to NetGalley, Simon and Schuster Australia and the author, Pip Drysdale, for the opportunity to read an advanced readers copy of The Paris Affair in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.

The storyline was well thought out and written. The characters are well drawn, especially Harper. I was hooked from the opening pages. Such a roller-coaster of twists and turns that keep you turning the pages.

Well worth a read.

I have loved both of Pip Drysdale's previous books, The Sunday Girl and The Strangers We Know, so I had high hopes for the Paris Affair. And I am so happy to tell you that it is brilliant! I started reading it late on Saturday night and was still reading in the early hours of Sunday morning. It is not a book that is easy to stop reading. I just had to know what was going to happen next, what Harper was going to do with the information. I was kinds sad when it was all over.

I absolutely loved Harper Brown. She is such a fun character, strong and feisty but inside a wreck. She has moved to Paris from London for a job as an arts journalist, but she has her eye on the crime desk job. She has a passion for true crime podcasts and practices picking locks in her spare time. She still stalks her ex online and she loves the Paris lifestyle. Her life is about to be turned on its head when she meets Noah X when covering his exhibition for her work.

This is when the trouble starts. Not goin g to go into too much detail on the plot, but she discovers more than she bargains for and the people she starts to get involved with have secrets that they would rather keep a secret.

I will be adding The Paris Affair to the books that I recommend to others. I have pre ordered my physical copy already, due for release in Australia early February 2021.

A big thank you to Simon and Schuster Australia and Netgalley for approving my request for this book - I am sure they could hear my squeals of delight! All the stars

Harper Brown does not believe in love. She thinks it can kill you. Harper works as an art journalist in Paris, and is seeking the story that will become her big break. When a woman turns up dead, she knows there is more to the story. As Harper works her way through art galleries, with her love of true crime podcasts, she begins to learn - what if love REALLY can kill you?

When I discovered that Pip Drysdale has another book out, I knew I had to get my hands on it. The first half of the book set the scene for what had happened and what potentially was going to. The second half - oh my goodness! There were so many moments when I could feel my heart beating so hard I thought it would jump out of my chest. At one stage, I was so on edge that when I received a creepy text message from an unknown number, I was sure there was a stalker/murderer out for me (it was a wrong number 😂). I had so many theories throughout the book and could not wait to get to the end.

Definitely pick this up if you are in the mood for a thriller!

I was absolutely hooked with The Paris Affair, what an intriguing thriller, you won’t want to put this one down until the end! The author has nailed it!

Harper Brown is a great character, she is a journalist and has moved to Paris from London where she has taken on a position as Arts and Culture journalist with online magazine The Paris Observer although Harper’s dream position is writing crime. She’s an expert in picking locks and once had a recurring micro column named ‘How not to get murdered’ but that magazine folded.

Harper is a little damaged, she still has her musician ex on social media and stalks him frequently but she takes up with various men never wanting to stay with them long and going from cool girl to stage five clinger intentionally so that the guys don’t call back. She doesn’t want the stress of dating!

Harper's about to scoop the story of her life but it may cost her her own! I think it's best that I keep the details secret and not give anything away!

Loved that the story was set in Paris as it made it all the more engaging to read. Excellent read and wonderfully written. Out in Feb 2021!

Having read both of Pip Drysdale's previous books, The Sunday Girl and Strangers We Know, I had high expectations going into this and I was not disappointed. The Paris Affair delivers a fast-paced, heart-racing psychological thriller that I've come to expect this author but with the charming addition of a Paris setting.

Harper Brown, our crime-podcast obsessed MC, has just moved to Paris in hopes of becoming a serious news reporter. If only she could be rid of egocentric colleagues and find a career-changing story to impress her boss.

After the media hints to a serial killer being on the loose, Harper finds herself uncovering secrets that could solve the murders and give Harper the story she desperately needs - if she isn't caught by the killer first!

Harper was such a fun character to read. She was so bold and brazen, and I found my heart racing many times as she found herself in various situations and then talked - or broke - her way out of them.

Much like Drysdale's other work, the beginning is a little slow to start but by the end, I couldn't put the book down as I raced to get to the conclusion.

Harper Brown is a cynical almost sociopathic arts journalist who goes to Paris to take a grand step in her career. With an obsession for true crime podcasts and a need to prove herself as a journalist, she investigates the murder of a girl who died at a party she was at; who had incriminating footage of Harper.

Pip Drysdale has a real talent for taking you into the innermost psyche of the characters and showing how those around us who look to be so mundane can have a little darkness. Drysdale also creates great tension and suspension. Recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this fast paced thriller. Harper has just moved to Paris to work as a journalist. She is stuck reporting on the Arts scene but what she really wants to work on is crime, particularly the disappearance and subsequent murder of a woman in the city, who bears a striking resemblance to herself.

She is given the task of reviewing the new exhibition of Noah X and gets sucked into a murder investigation when the artist’s model gets murdered.

This is a twisty tale and just when you think you have figured out what is going on, the author gives you a curve ball and goes in a different direction. This was a quick and very easy read with a good storyline.

Harper Brown is chasing her dreams, she has landed a job in Paris as an arts journalist but dreams of becoming a hard hitting news reporter. She loves true crime podcasts, once wrote a column called ‘How not to get murdered’ and is pretty handy at picking locks. Harper finds herself on the trail of a murderer with possibly the scoop of a lifetime that may be the key to her dream job. That's if the killer doesn’t catch her first.

Wow, wow, wow! Pip Drysdale has created a triumphant psychological thriller that had my heart racing and adrenaline pumping. Bursting with clever twists and turns, the last half of the book had me dashing towards the end to reveal the outcome.

Protagonist Harper Brown is a plucky young woman, a nuanced character of contradictions. She still harbours resentment for the years that she wasted on her now-famous ex, and habitually cyber-stalks him. She knows her way around a dating app but also how to ditch her matches before they get too attached. She’s likeable and relatable, she is full of self doubt and conversely, self assurance. Will this be enough to outsmart a killer?

Pip Drysdale is a masterful storyteller, The Paris Affair kept me enthralled from beginning to end with it’s fast pace and unexpected plot twists. I have no doubt that it will be every bit as successful as her previous books.

Thank you to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster Australia and Pip Drysdale for the opportunity to read and review this advanced reader copy.

I have read and loved Pip Drysdale's other two books, The Sunday Girl and The Strangers We Know and so I was super excited to read The Paris Affair. I am thrilled to report it was just as fabulous! I really love her writing style and found it incredibly hard to put this book down. Work got in the way a bit, but once home I read non-stop until I finished it! Giving this one ALL THE STARS!

I'm thankful to Simon and Schuster Australia and #NetGalley for an ARC of #TheParisAffair in return for an honest review.

The Paris Affair’s heroine is Harper, who has just moved from London to Paris and begun a new job, writing for the Arts section of a local online magazine. Eager to make her mark, as she ultimately hopes to crack into crime journalism, she pursues a story of a mysterious up-and-coming artist, Noah X. Harper finds herself as attracted to Noah as she is to his edgy artworks -- and the feeling seems to be mutual. But the story she planned on writing takes quite a deviation when she realises Noah could turn out to be at best a witness to a murder, or at worst the actual murderer.

Harper is an interesting heroine. She could almost be described as an anti-heroine at times, given that she often makes very questionable choices. Circumstances have led her to find real strength and independence, however, and this, combined with her intelligence, makes her no pushover for any potential serial killer.

Drysdale’s mystery plot was multi-layered and complex. She managed to link everything together. A lot of the scenes I thought she’d written to merely highlight some character trait of Harper’s, ended up being integral to the main plot in the end. Very clever indeed.

The book is written from Harper’s first person point of view which felt very intimate. The action scenes were very clearly described and, given the Paris location, almost had an old fashioned Hitchcock-like way about them. The suspense and tension built gradually, with interactions Harper has with other characters going from innocuous to threatening at a nice pace.

Drysdale takes full advantage of the Paris setting when it comes to the suspense and tension. The style of the houses -- their less than secure entrances due to numerous sets of stairs, and their internal designs that allow neighbouring properties a clear view of each other -- add to the Harper’s sense that someone is watching her. Drysdale also throws in a few dimly lit back lanes and (in the complete reverse really) the crowded Metro carriages and stations, to great effect.

This book is very modern, its young characters are effortlessly tech savvy and conversant in all things social media and app driven. Harper’s relationships are [mostly] initiated on dating apps. She investigates the murders via videos, Instagram and podcasts. Her previous job was writing a blog. As such, I’m not sure every older reader will be able to easily relate to the book. (I think a lot of it would go over my 84 year old mother’s head.) I would, however, highly recommend it for those new adult readers who are in their 20s and looking for something relevant to their generation.

In fact, Drysdale is fast becoming the queen when it comes to the modern contemporary thriller and I highly recommend this book if you’re looking for a sleek and stylish thriller. 5 out of 5

Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this book for an honest review.

Wow...what a ride!! I wasn't sure where this book was headed...it certainly keeps you guessing!

The Paris Affair is an edge-of-your-seat psychological thriller set amidst the contemporary art scene in Paris.
Harper Brown is a British journalist in her late 20s, working as an arts-culture columnist for a Paris online magazine, The Paris Observer. Her ambition is to succeed as an investigative crime journalist, a goal she's pursuing doggedly after wasting years supporting a former partner, a musician, who dumped her as soon as his band found success. Her love of true-crime podcasts has enabled her to amass an intriguing armoury of self-preservation and crime-busting skills, detailed through her blog How Not to Get Murdered.
When she attempts to obtain a somewhat unorthodox preview of a new art exhibition at a private gallery, she has no idea that she'll soon be putting theory into action, drawn into a complex web of murder, suspicion and intrigue in the underground art trade.
Although billed as a mystery-thriller, it wasn't until about the one-third point of the book that the psychological tension took hold. Up to that point, Harper struck me as a rather pathetic and self-absorbed character, stuck in a behavioural rut. With no apparent sense of irony, she uses her resentment for the way she was manipulated by her former partner Harrison to justify her ruthless treatment of any potential future partners. Meanwhile, she's unable to resist the temptation of stalking him and his new partner online.
The action really picks up after she meets beguiling American artist Noah X., and accepts an invitation to attend a party at his Montmartre apartment. She's among the last to see Noah's life model, Sabine, alive before she disappears and is found dead in woodland outside Paris. Sabine's death mirrors the circumstances surrounding the recent death of another young Parisian woman, and Harper senses that she might be in the perfect position to write a career-making scoop! Harper's investigative techniques are not quite as subtle as she thinks, however, and she soon realises that she's caught the attention of some very shady characters, who'll stop at nothing to protect their secrets.
The story gathers momentum towards a dizzying crescendo as Harper races against time to prove Noah's innocence and identify the real killer or killers.
The Paris Affair was a quick and enjoyable read, with an engaging storyline and a glamorous setting. Pip Drysdale uses misdirection and suspense skilfully to create an edge-of-your-seat final act.
I hadn't read anything by Pip Drysdale previously, and feel I'm a bit late to the party! My enjoyment of The Paris Affair was such that I'll be seeking out her other titles soon. I'd recommend it to all readers who enjoy spunky female protagonists and lots of action in their thriller reads.
My thanks to the author, Pip Drysdale, publisher Simon & Schuster Australia and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title.