Three Hours In Paris

(Paperback)

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Description

In June of 1940, when Paris fell to the Nazis, Hitler spent a total of three hours in the City of Light-abruptly leaving, never to return. To this day, no one knows why. In June of 1940, when Paris fell to the Nazis, Hitler spent a total of three hours in the City of Light-abruptly leaving, never to return. To this day, no one knows why. Kate Rees, a young American markswoman, has been recruited by British intelligence to drop into Paris with a dangerous assignment- assassinate the F hrer. Wrecked by grief after a Luftwaffe bombing killed her husband and infant daughter, she is armed with a rifle, a vendetta, and a fierce resolve. But other than rushed and rudimentary instruction, she has no formal spy training. Thrust into the red-hot center of the war, a country girl from rural Oregon finds herself holding the fate of the world in her hands. When Kate misses her mark and the plan unravels, Kate is on the run for her life-all the time wrestling with the suspicion that the whole operation was a set-up. New York Times bestselling author Cara Black is at her best as she brings Occupation-era France to vivid life in this masterful, pulse-pounding story about one young woman with the temerity-and drive-to take on Hitler himself. *Features an illustrated map of 1940s Paris as full color endpapers.

Reviews

A National Bestseller
A Wall Street Journal Best Mystery of 2020
AWashington PostBest Thriller and Mystery Book of 2020
ASeattle TimesBest Crime Novel of 2020
Finalist for the2020 Dashiell Hammett Prize for Literary Excellence
An ABA Indie Next Pick for April 2020
An Amazon Best of the Month Pick for April 2020
A Barnes and Noble Monthly Pick for April 2021

Praise for Three Hours in Paris

Heart-racing . . .Three Hours in Paris isnt just any old formulaic 'Get out!' tale. Its mystery master Cara Blacks first standalone novel, a spy story set during World War II in Occupied Paris. The premise is that an American female sharpshooter is parachuted into France to assassinate Adolf Hitler. Of course, she fails. Using wits alone, she must evade the Gestapo and make it back across the English Channel. Chances of success Slim to none. Chances that youll be able to put Blacks thriller down once youve picked it up Also slim to none.
Maureen Corrigan, The Washington Post

Beyond Blacks encyclopedic knowledge of Paris, her deft interweaving of WWII history and spycraft with a relatable female protagonist puts Three Hours in Paris on par with other top thrillers about botched missions followed by harrowing escapessuch masterworks as Frederick ForsythsThe Day of the Jackal, Jack HigginsThe Eagle Has Landedand Tom ClancysPatriot Games.
Paula Woods, The Los Angeles Times

Ms. Black (also the author of a long-running series of detective novels featuring Parisian investigator Aime Leduc) excels at setting vivid scenes, creating lively characters and maintaining pulse-elevating suspense.Three Hours in Paris, with its timetable structure and its hunt for a covert operative, recalls such comparable works as Frederick ForsythsThe Day of the Jackaland Ken FollettsEye of the Needle.
Tom Nolan, The Wall Street Journal

Heart-stopping.
Adam Woog, The Seattle Times

As the author of 19 murder mysteries set in Paris, Black knows the citys hidden squares and winding alleys. The wartime city and its grim undercurrent of fear are evocatively portrayed . . . Three Hours in Parisis reminiscent of Alan Furst at his best.
Financial Times

An evocative depiction of wartime Paris and a lead you cant help rooting for . . . If youre seeking old-fashioned escapism, this has it in spades.
The Times (UK)

InThree Hours in Paris, Cara Black brings her masterful knowledge of the city and its people to the Second World War and an imagined failed attempt on the life of Adolf Hitler by a female American sniper that leaves her fate and that of the war effort very much hanging in the balance. The result isa taut, smart, heart-in-throat page-turner worthy of the most discerning reader of John le Carr, Daniel Silva or Alan Furstbrava!
Pam Jenoff,New York Timesbestselling author ofThe Lost Girls of Paris

Breathtaking! I found it hard to breathe from the first page. A worthy successor to The Day of the JackalandSix Days of the Condor, but with the addition of a real and likable heroine. This thriller takes Cara Black to a whole new level.
Rhys Bowen,New York Timesbestselling author ofThe Tuscan Child, In Farleigh Fieldand the Royal Spyness series

I couldnt stop reading Cara Blacks newest! A young American markswoman named Kate Reese is sent to Paris to assassinate Hitlerwhat could possibly go wrong Everything, as it turns out, promptingan intense cat-and-mouse chase through the blacked-out City of Light.Nothing is as it seems, certainly not for Kate, as she tries to escape and make it back to Britain with plans of the secret of the Nazi invasion.Black keeps you guessingand biting your nailsup to the very last page.
Susan Elia MacNeal, author of theNew York Timesbestselling Maggie Hope series

An unbreakable American heroine pitted against a charismatic German detective: pure gold in a wartime thriller. This hair-raising cat-and-mouse race across Nazi-occupied Paris left me breathless.
Elizabeth Wein, awardwinning author of Code Name Verity

"[Three Hours in Paris]is both a stunning and brilliant work of imagination, and a tour de force of rigorous research . . . Fraught with tension and suspense."
Bonjour Paris

A high-octane read that will thrill crime fans from start to finish.
My French Country Home Magazine

This stand-alone, with its resourceful, all-American heroine and breathless pace, allows [Black] to flex a different muscle, aided by her deep knowledge of and affinity for all things French . . .A superior thriller with much to offer fans of World War II spy fiction drawn to intriguing what-if scenarios.
Air Mail

Brilliantly building on the novels premise, Black constructs a surprise-filled plot, fueled by breathless pacing, Alan Furst-like atmosphere, and a textured look at Resistance fighters in Paris . . . Black stretches her wings here, soaring to new heights.
Booklist, Starred Review

Riveting . . . Fans ofThe Day of the Jackalwon't want to miss thisheart-stopping thriller.
Publishers Weekly

Well-written . . . Fast . . . Books like this, fiction or not, are important.
Nerd Daily

A riveting game of cat and mouse . . . From the map of Paris on the endpieces of the book to the very last page, I found myself rooting for Kate Rees.
Kittling Books

There is a serious problem with Cara Blacks new stand-alone novelyou wont be able to sleep once you start reading it! A beautifully written fast-paced thriller with a depth of knowledge about tough American mamas and WWII Paris. Stunning.
Liz Newstat, Chevaliers Books (Los Angeles, CA)

Based on nothing more than the title,Three Hours in Pariswas not the book I expected! In part, that's because this is a real departure for Cara Black. This is not Aime Leduc's France. The story is an exquisitely tense cat-and-mouse chase between and American operative and a Nazi officer in the dark days of WWII.Vive la difference!This one is a must-read!
Susan Tunis,Bookshop West Portal(San Francisco, CA)

Few know the streets of Paris as well as Cara Black, and no one is as good at bringing a suspenseful thriller to life in the twists and turns of their back alleys and memorable sites. With smart complex characters, fascinating historical details, and a propulsive story that doesnt disappointThree Hours in Parisis a literary thrill ride that shouldnt be missed.
Luisa Smith, Book Passage (Bay Area, CA)

I just loved this. It ratchets up very quickly and never lets goa high stakes cat and mouse tour through the heart of Paris that features constant danger around every turn for the protagonist, from several sources not the least of which is a sadistic Nazi officer. This is the very best kind of thriller whereby using ones wits is the only way forward. A big thumbs up!
Sheryl Cotleur, Copperfields Books (Sebastopol, CA)

A fresh take on the espionage novel genre. Kate is a dynamic and creative character. Her spontaneity, resourcefulness and creativity reminded me of so many smart women that I know. I enjoyed being in her head and watching her think!
Totsie McGonagle, Buttonwood Books (Cohasset, MA)

WOW, what a page turner! Kate Rees, a sharpshooter raised on an Oregon ranch, accepts a top-secret mission to assassinate Hitler while the Fuhrer is in Paris. Kate accepts this life and death preposterous mission because it is an opportunity for her to avenge the deaths of her British husband and infant daughter. Dropped into the Nazi-occupied city, Kate follows specific instructions given to her by the director of a covert section of British intelligence. When the attempt fails, Kate realizestoo latethat the mission was extremely well planned, with one exception: there is no escape strategy for her. Trapped in Paris, she is pursued by Gunter Hoffman, the German police officer given 36 hours by the Fuhrer to find the sniper. Kate is forced to work independently, and must rely on her wits as a cat-and mouse hunt ensues. Who is to be trusted Who could be a spy, ready to turn her over to the Nazis Each chapter ends in a cliff-hanger, as the plot unfolds through the streets of Paris, told from three viewpoints: the Germans, the British, and Kate. I dont know when a book has so held me captiveI couldnt put it down until I reached the conclusion on the final page!
Mary Fran Buckley, Eight Cousins (Falmouth, MA)

This is a second world war thriller with a Paris setting. The heroine is Kate Rees, an American markswoman working for British intelligence. She is dropped into France with a mission to assassinate Adolf Hitler. The mission takes many twists and turns, with Rees meeting and overcoming many challenges while working her way out of France after a failed assassination attempt. The book is well written and moves along at a brisk pace. The reader will find the many situations faced by Rees as believable. Cara Black has an obvious 'feel' for Paris, especially during the Nazi occupation. She also shows how capable a woman can be facing adverse circumstances.
John McGonagle, Buttonwood Books (Cohasset, MA)

"Highly entertaining . . .Three Hours in Parisis an exciting page-turner that will be particularly enjoyable for readers who appreciate a heroine who defies all odds and ex

Author Bio

Cara Black is the author of nineteen books in the New York Times bestselling Aimee Leduc series. She has received multiple nominations for the Anthony and Macavity Awards, and her books have been translated into German, Norwegian, Japanese, French, Spanish, Italian, and Hebrew. She lives in San Francisco with her husband and son and visits Paris frequently.