Reviewed by Emma Crowley
As war rages across France, English exile Christine has become the most deadly asset the British Secret Service has in occupied Paris. But when Suzanne, her best friend and the sole agent who knows the details of the top-secret D-Day landings, is betrayed to the Nazis by someone at the heart of their spy network, she is devastated. Going undercover with Charlie – a handsome but elusive American spy with an agenda of his own – is her only chance to catch the traitor in their midst.
Pretending to be not only Nazi collaborators but lovers too, they must save Suzanne from almost certain death and prevent the D-Day landing plans from ending up in the wrong hands. But as Christine and Charlie’s pretend desire turns to true love, her past – and the real reason she had to leave England forever – puts their whole mission in terrible danger.
With the Nazis closing in and Suzanne’s life on the line, Christine is forced into one last, desperate act: heading back into deepest, darkest enemy territory, knowing her disguise could have been exposed. With even her trust in Charlie shaken, will Christine have to choose between her love for him, her best friend’s life, and freedom for France? And who will pay the ultimate sacrifice…?
Book Challenge: #24in24 24 countries in 2024: Book Three - France
Many thanks to Bookouture via NetGalley for my copy of The Paris Spy’s Girl to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
The Paris Spy’s Girl is the fourth in the
World War Two Resistance series by Amanda Lees and in my opinion by far the best. The story inspired by true events is a rollercoaster of a read right from the opening page as a game of intrigue and espionage unfolds at a rapid pace which has the reader keenly turning the pages. There is no let up in the action that occurs which I loved as usually I find there can be quite a number of lulls in WW2 historical fiction stories but here it was quite the opposite and only added to my enjoyment of the story. Some of the characters have featured in the previous three books but this is easily read as a standalone and diving straight into this not being familiar with the series will make no difference at all as this is the strongest book so far which highlights the courage beyond measure that so many resistance fighters and women had at the time of such mass destruction and unspeakable cruelty.
Our main character is Christine who works for the Resistance and is also connected to the British intelligence network. Right from the outset, I could tell that Christine was fierce, bold, determined, brave and strong and she was the right women for a very dangerous job. She dances with death on a daily basis but makes clever and calculated moves and that is what has helped her survive so far. She works with Suzanne at a club called Le Chat Noir which really is a cover for their operations. The Paris network has been compromised with numerous agents either captured or killed and any intelligence agents being sent in from England are captured on arrival. Christine must discover who is betraying them before more people are taken and the whole operation will be for nothing. At times I did find the details regarding the various operations slightly confusing but I think it was because I wasn’t as familiar with some of the manoeuvres and the bigger game at play as I should have been. But once things became a little bit clearer for me I was just as eager as Christine to discover who was betraying the network and for what reasons.
The Abwehr, the German military intelligence service, grace the club with their presence and as drink loosens their lips Christine can work her magic and learn secrets but her biggest mission is just around the corner. Charles Russell, an American from the Office of Strategic Services, is brought onto her radar and from that very first meeting she falls for him hard and fast. It seems cliched to say that a deep and lasting love developed between the pair at first sight but boy did it. There was a spark and connection between the pair that the reader just wanted to develop into something real and lasting. Yet, given the situation they both find themselves in, their own personal wants and needs have to take a back seat and only brief moments are snatched together. Charles was the male version of Christine, both are fighters fighting the good fight and would do so as long as it took for the down fall of Hitler and his killing machine.
In order to find out the truth regarding the betraying of the network a dangerous and detailed plan is launched which means Christine and Chares work closer then ever. They literally went into the lions den and my heart was in my mouth on more than one occasion as they always tried to stay one step ahead of the Nazi’s. The mind boggles really at all the different angles at play and that with one false move the whole operation could have blown up in their faces. I mean this is only one facet of the war that the author is writing about and the level of suspense, intrigue and the amount of twists and turns that occur was mind-blowing. It highlighted that so many cogs were essential in a much bigger machine and that no one could be trusted and that having your wits about you and being brave and steadfast were the qualities that would see you through.
The tension and suspense builds and builds throughout the story into a magnificent climax as Christine and Charles learn to play the Germans game better than they do. Throughout this process we slowly start to learn some of Christine’s background and what fuels her fire and you do feel sorry for her but can totally understand what has inspired her to keep going with her intelligence work. With Charles by her side she feels stronger than ever but as things take a very dramatic turn will their plan to uncover the rat be successful or will fate have plenty of surprises in store? The ending was a bit rushed and may not have been the one I wanted but it certainly did pull at the heart strings but despite this minor niggle I thought The Paris Spy’s Girl was a fantastic read with a story and characters that I won’t forget in a hurry.
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