The Paris Diversion by Chris Pavone Crown Publishing

Pub Date 07 May 2019

Description

“The most clever plot twist of the year.”—Washington Post“I nominate Kate Moore, the protagonist of Chris Pavone’s sizzling new thriller The Paris Diversion, for patron saint of working wives and mothers everywhere.”—Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review“The Paris Diversion is the best espionage novel I’ve read this year.  Smart, sophisticated and suspenseful, this is Pavone’s finest novel to date—and that’s saying something.”—Harlan Coben, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Fool Me Once“Deliciously twisty . . . This involving work has been skillfully engineered for maximum reader enjoyment.”—The Wall Street JournalFrom the New York Times bestselling author of The Expats. Kate Moore is back in a pulse-pounding thriller to discover that a massive terror attack across Paris is not what it seems—and that it involves her family

American expat Kate Moore drops her kids at the international school, makes her rounds of chores, and meets her husband Dexter at their regular café: a leisurely start to a normal day, St-Germain-des-Prés.

Across the Seine, tech CEO Hunter Forsyth stands on his balcony, wondering why his police escort just departed, and frustrated that his cell service has cut out; Hunter has important calls to make, not all of them technically legal.

And on the nearby rue de Rivoli, Mahmoud Khalid climbs out of an electrician’s van and elbows his way into the crowded courtyard of the world’s largest museum. He sets down his metal briefcase, and removes his windbreaker.

That’s when people start to scream.

Everyone has big plans for the day. Dexter is going to make a small fortune, finally digging himself out of a deep financial hole, via an extremely risky investment. Hunter is going to make a huge fortune, with a major corporate acquisition that will send his company’s stock soaring. Kate has less ambitious plans: preparations for tonight’s dinner party—one of those homemaker obligations she still hasn’t embraced, even after a half-decade of this life—and an uneventful workday at the Paris Substation, the clandestine cadre of operatives that she’s been running, not entirely successfully, increasingly convinced that every day could be the last of her career. But every day is also a fresh chance to prove her own relevance, never more so than during today’s momentous events.

And Mahmoud? He is planning to die today. And he won’t be the only one.

My Review:

The Paris Diversion is definitely a suspense novel full of twists and turns. You have to pay attention in order to keep track of the story line as it goes back and forth to different locations and times in its development. Although Kate Moore is introduced in “The Expat” I believe you do not have to read that book first and The Paris Diversion can be a standalone novel.

The author is very thorough in explaining everything out. I did however find a few chapters a bit confusing and had to go back again to the beginning of that chapter to understand what what was going on. Chris Pavone also did a excellent job in making you hate Hunter, love Kate and wonder why she is still with Dexter - possibly for the children? Then you find yourself cheering for Colette until.... and I can’t spoil it.... so all I can say is WOW.

Throughout the novel there are several scenarios occurring at the same time. We see the planning of the terrorist attacks throughout Paris. Then we learn about Wyatt and Susanna along the way and realize they are all connected. While all of this is going on Hunter realizes his private police detail has just left on one of the most important days of his life. He is about to make a great deal of money for his investors, but before that can happens he disappears. 

What I truly enjoyed about the novel was once Kate got her game on I found myself cheering her to succeed.  On the flip side I found that I was not thrilled with the ending. To me it felt rushed and left me saying... wait what... and because of this I have to say it needs works.

I was provided this book for free in exchange for my honest opinion.

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book for anyone who loves a good mystery. 📕👍🏼

I GIVE IT A 4 STAR: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

 Available Editions

EDITION Other Format ISBN 9781524761509

PRICE$27.00 (USD)