Author: Chris Pavone
Release date: May 7, 2018
Publisher: Crown
Pages: 384
Buy from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Paris-Diversion-Novel-Chris-Pavone/dp/1524761508/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=chris+pavone&qid=1557354574&s=gateway&sr=8-1
Kate Moore is an expat mom being pulled in every direction, all the time—parenting that’s pulling her away from work, a perilous job pulling her away from her kids, and stressful professional travel pulling her away from her husband, from the damaged relationship she’s trying hard to repair. She’s also trying to remain relevant, clinging to an intelligence career that seems to be slipping away, with every day a chance to salvage it, or ruin it.
So when a suicide bomber arrives at the Louvre, it’s not someone else’s problem. And as Kate digs into the dangerous events unfolding across the City of Lights— multiple bomb threats, a missing CEO, her husband’s risky business move—she discovers that today’s citywide attack is not at all what it seems, and that the past she hoped she left behind might be closer than she thinks. Much closer.
Chris Pavone is the New York Times bestselling author of three award winning books that includes The Expats (2012), The Accident (2015), and The Travelers (2016). Since he burst onto the scene, Chris Pavone has continued to cultivate his craft and has become one of the elite writers of the thriller genre.
“After the Charlie Hebdo massacre, sirens began to take on a new significance, triggering more vital concerns . . . These days, sirens could mean anything…The sirens are closing in . . . people finally begin to react . . . The bomb that Mahmoud is wearing under his windbreaker is the sort that can be easily identified . . . Everyone knows what this is. That is the point. The world has become prepared for this sort of thing, in the sorts of places where it makes sense. Places like here. Mahmoud is the delivery system.”
The Paris Diversion is the second installment in the masterfully crafted Kate Moore series and much like its forerunner it’s jammed with nonstop adventures and electrifying action. Unlike other books in the espionage-thriller category it’s almost a requirement to have read Pavone’ first book. The plot has links to The Expats and without prior familiarity might tend to be a little baffling to the casual reader. Because the story is told from several viewpoints and given the fact that a few of these are from peripheral characters the casual reader who does not have prior understanding might be confused about their roles.
However, once these viewpoints are understood the storyline transforms into a read that is appealing, absorbing, and intensely spellbinding. The twists and turns are never predicable, and the heart-pounding tension of The Paris Diversion effortlessly transports the reader through a labyrinth of hypnotic suspense, where nothing is ever what it seems to be.
This review first appeared at the New York Journal of Books on May 8, 2019 - https://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book-review/paris-diversion-novel
