Set in Paris, during World War One, this is a thoroughly enjoyable spy story.

The background of Paris during war time is described well, including the intrigues about German nationals living in the city, as well as why Americans were fighting/supporting the war effort before America actually entered into the fighting.

The actual storyline is relatively simple, but is well told at a good pace.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story.

Kit Cobb is a foreign reporter from Chicago, now in Paris in 1915 to write an article about American volunteer ambulance drivers in World War 1. But he is soon to be tasked with a far more dangerous and challenging mission in his role as an undercover agent for the US government. What ensues is a well-crafted and well-paced espionage thriller, which I enjoyed on the whole, in spite of the well-worn tropes of this type of novel. The characters, even Cobb himself, remain somewhat underdeveloped, but the historical detail is accurate and the plot itself reasonably interesting. One of a series of novels about Kit Cobb, but working well as a stand-alone, it’s an adequate and competent thriller, but not one which tempts me to read more about our hero.

Published by Grove Atlantic/Mysterious Press on Sept. 4, 2018

Christopher Marlowe “Kit” Cobb is a war correspondent in France in 1915. He is also an American spy. As a journalist, he is doing a story on American ambulance drivers with the hope that tales of American courage will prod Wilson to enter the war. As a spy, Cobb is asked to contact a German informant in Paris who knows something about the recent bombing of a hotel, presumably a German tactic to spread fear in Paris. He learns that a dangerous man has entered France using the name Franz Staub and posing as a refugee. Cobb’s mission is to kill Staub — assuming that Lang’s information is accurate.

Cobb finds and follows Staub, but he also finds a nurse. When he delays his mission to spend amorous time with the nurse, he finds reason to condemn his departure from duty. But it’s Paris, so Cobb can hardly be blamed.

In the meantime, Cobb is riding along with an American ambulance driver in France as part of his journalistic cover. Cyrus Parsons is a farm boy turned bookworm who seems to be concealing greater depth than he can easily reveal to a reporter. Another driver, John Barrington Lacey, strikes Cobb the wrong way, perhaps because of Lacey’s Harvard hauteur, perhaps because Lacey has designs on the nurse.

The plot of Paris in the Dark (Cobb's assignment is more challenging than it first appears) is not particularly surprising, but the story is engaging, fast-moving, and convincing. Robert Olen Butler builds suspense by placing Cobb in a series of tense moments that lead to the novel’s final dramatic encounter. Butler includes enough action to make the story fit the conventions of a thriller, but the novel's focus is on the characters whose lives have shaped their differing perspectives on the value of anarchy.

Butler has had a versatile career as an author, dancing between literary and genre fiction, but he invariably brings a literary flair to his storytelling when he chooses to write thrillers. He creates atmosphere and develops believable characters without relying on unnecessary detail. His prose is gritty but graceful. There’s an appealing simplicity to Paris in the Dark — Butler doesn’t make the mistake of overreaching — but unlike some of Butler’s other work, the story does not stand out as a commentary on the human condition. Butler isn’t going to win another Pulitzer for Paris in the Dark, but the book should entertain fans of historical thrillers.

RECOMMENDED

“Paris in the Dark” is a fast paced spy thriller set in the trenches and hospitals of France during the Great War. It explores the roles of Americans in the run-up to the US entering the war. Spies, nurses, ambulance drivers; patriots and anarchists all chase each other around Paris and its surroundings. Robert Olin Butler’s very human, and very fallible hero-spy is realistic about his limitations, both as a reporter, and as an interpreter of human nature. He knows a lot about the danger of making assumptions, and knows that he has a lot more to learn.

I don't think I have read a book by Robert Olen Butler since "A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain", nor have I followed his career as a writer. I have been very pleased to discover "Paris in the Dark" and Kit Cobb.

Kit is playing a Chicago journalist in Paris to write a story about US ambulance drivers and their important and harrowing work along the front while the USA remains neutral. Kit's undercover work is to use his impeccable German credentials (and dueling scar!) to help the French authorities identify hidden spies and saboteurs among the German population of Paris.

Kit is a good journalist and actor and he plays all his roles well. His jobs, though, take unexpected turns when he meets the drivers and the nursing staff from the American Ambulance Hospital in Paris.

This is a fine standalone novel, and one that makes me want to track down the others in this series. I link it in my mind to last year's "The Ambulance Drivers" by James McGrath Morris.

A question lingers: Do readers today know what a Heidelberg dueling scar is?

Autumn 1915, Paris. American journalist, Kit Cobb finds himself in a middle of bombarded Paris. His current assignment is to write an article on an American hospital and ambulance drivers. The driver he is partnered up with, a simple farmboy seems to be quite knowledgeable. Kit enjoys their conversations, but more than that the information an American driver keeps slipping during their trips. Therefore Kit decides to do a little digging into his new partner's background. And what he finds is more dangerous than he expected it to be.

And while Kit Cobb is not writing the articles for his newspaper, he helps the American government to locate and capture people responsible for Paris bombing. Following the tips that are given to him by his handler, Kit finds himself in the heart of the German community following a very dangerous German operative. Will he lead our little undercover agent to the wanted bombers?

Wartime spies, secrets, deceitful friends, and all this takes place in the city if light - Paris. Great writing and an amazing plot with a few twists that keep the reader glued to the pages of the novel.
Thank you, Robert Olen Butler, for a fantastic rollercoaster ride. And thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of this wonderful novel.

A tautly plotted historical thriller featuring Kit Cobb, a reporter and secret agent. Set in Paris during WWI, the story involves a lot of undercover action, terrorism, and the dedication of volunteers, not all of whom are on the up and up. A meeting with Nurse Pickering leads Kit into a dark area he did not expect. There's no extraneous language in this and yet it's very atmospheric. I had not read the earlier books, which I now realize was a mistake because I've missed a good protagonist in Kit. TRecommend for fans of historical fiction.

This is the fourth book in the Christopher Marlowe Cobb series, but it reads like a stand-alone book. This time, Kit Cobb is in Paris to write a story about the American expatriates there. He is also there to help the French authorities find the person responsible for bombing popular venues.

The story is told in first person so everything is seen through Kit’s eyes. Throughout the book, Butler’s writing is sparse and staccato., but his descriptions of his characters and Paris are enough so the reader can see and hear Paris in 1915. There were times when Butler’s writing was reminiscent of Hemingway in its sparseness.

Kit is a likable character who sometimes comes across as a softy, but in his spy persona is quite capable of killing. Because Butler chose to use the first-person POV, the secondary characters are less finely drawn.

Butler has obviously done his research right down to the horse-drawn vehicles being used as taxicabs with their steel-rimmed wheels. Unlike other authors in the historical fiction genre, he does not do research-dumps to show the reader how much research he’s done for his book. He gives us historical detail as needed, President’s Wilson refusal to enter the war on the side of the Allies, the hospital where the wounded and dying are taken, the Model T Fords used as ambulances,

All in all an easy, fast read that will have the first-time reader picking up the first three novels of this excellent series.

I really like this series, with Kit Cobb as newspaper journalist/spy! He is an adventuresome, likeable character. The author weaves a good story here., although my favorite one is on the Luisitania.

Paris in the Dark is an entertaining read. I enjoyed the mystery and the setting. The sense of Paris came through in the story, and it would be an interesting read for anyone who likes stories set in France.

Robert Olen Butler brings us a riveting peek into Paris in the autumn of 1915. Kit Cobb is an American of German extraction, learning German and French from his actress mother as a child. Kit is a war correspondent for several US publications as World War I slowly grinds through Europe - when he isn't working as an undercover spy. We see Paris and the French through his eyes, and America through theirs.

Paris in the Dark is peopled with a good mix of personalities and an intriguing story line. The historical facts are true to history and Paris is defined beautifully. It is a historical novel I feel comfortable recommending to family and friends, and encourage them to read it even if historical fiction isn't a first choice. Paris in the Dark is the fourth in a series featuring Christopher Marlowe Cobb, but is completely stand alone.

I received a free electronic copy of this historical novel from Netgalley, Robert Olen Butler, and Mysterious Press, Grove Atlantic in exchange for an honest review. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me.

A little slow in the beginning, but ended up being a very good book about a an American spy discovering Americans involved setting off bombs in Paris. Would make a good movie too~

Thanks to Netgalley and The Mysterious Press for providing me with an advance reading copy of the eBook. The views expressed are my own.

This is a "cat-and-mouse " thriller about the hunt for a bomber on the loose in Paris during the Great War. War correspondent Kit Marlowe is in Paris in November, 1916 to report for U.S. newspapers about American volunteers driving ambulances taking the wounded from the frontlines to hospitals in Paris. At the time, America was not fighting in the Great War and the U.S. public sentiment was mixed about joining the war effort; Marlowe is clearly in favour of America joining the Allies and expresses disdain for "Professor Wilson" and his perceived pacifist ways.

One night he is close-by an explosion at a train station which kills and maims many people. The bomber is suspected to be a German infiltrator and Marlowe is enlisted by an American spymaster to help the French authorities find (and kill) the bomber. In the course of this assignment, he is taken on a wild goose chase initiated by a false lead from a German immigrant; this chase is classic "spy-craft" where Marlowe needs to pose as a German supporter and follow the suspect without being detected. Ultimately, this proves to be a love-triangle unrelated to the bombings. It's a clever story-within-a-story.

Back to his journalism, he gets the needed permission from French censors to ride along with the ambulance drivers and report what he learns from it. Through his connections with a Paris hospital, he meets Louse Pickering, a volunteer nurse from Massachusetts, who introduces him to several of the ambulance drivers, one of which agrees to take him to the front. Once at the front, his volunteer American driver mysteriously disappears with the ambulance. Suspicions falls on the driver as Marlowe uncovers some disturbing family history background. This is the beginning of the real chase for the bomber, which ends in an exciting conclusion in the Catacombs under Paris.

This is the fourth in the Kit Marlowe series but can easily be read as a standalone. Previous ones are set in exotic locations, e..g. Mexico, Turkey, England, and so on. The stories are built around historical events like the 1914 Mexican Revolution and the Great War. Marlowe is an interesting character: the son of a famous actress who raised him without revealing to him the identity of his father. HIs childhood was spent around theatre people as he travelled with his mother. This gives him a diverse background and range of talents which the author uses to good effect. For example in this story his language capability in both French and German proves useful. There's plenty of local colour and atmosphere about Paris; the Hotel Lutetia, an impressive building, is the backdrop for the exciting conclusion.
Recommended: a well-constructed historical fiction thriller with an interesting and intelligent plot.

First a disclaimer -- Robert Olen Butler is one of my favorite writers. Of his books, the ones I enjoyed most are "Perfume River," "Had a Good Time," and "Severance." He is a smart and inventive author.

Now on to my thoughts about "Paris In the Dark." As you see from my "star" rating, this is an outstanding book. Well written and researched, as one would expect from a Pulitzer Prize winner, it is also an easy read -- perfect for a beach read or rainy day. Which is one thing I admire about Butler's writing -- he can move easily (seemingly) between genres. This World War 1 spy thriller proves that.

There are a plethora of historical details which reveal a great deal of research. Such stuff could be boring, but Butler weaves them seamlessly into the narrative. They inform and enhance the reading experience.

His characters are well drawn and likable -- even the villains of the piece. I kept wanting Kit to be wrong in his final analysis of who the terrorists were, even though they made perfect "baddies" -- complex motives instead of just painted as evil.

I don't want to give any thing else away about the plot lest I give anything away. Just let me say that regardless of whether you're a fan of Butler like I am or not, I believe you'll really enjoy this thriller. I know I did.

I liked the atmosphere and character telling us the story, but the digressions in the narration made it sometimes hard to track what was going on .. the double life nature of the protagonist as spy and journalist got confused and but not only for him! I kept checking dates too ..riding in house-drawn carriage for example surprised me ... Kit Marlowe Cobb is an attractive character I had not 'met' before .. and he's charming .. he's in right place at wrong time for enemies of the asked. It also intrigued me that Woodrow Wilson was not such an international hero/racist of free world as I thought) a novel that truly made me think!

Christopher Marlowe Cobb (Kit) returns in Robert Olen Butler’s latest WWI novel. As a reporter, Kit is in Paris to write about the American volunteer ambulance drivers. This occupation also allows him to carry out assignments for American intelligence. As the German army advances into France, the French Secret Service believes that a saboteur has entered the city, hiding among the German refugees. There has been a series of bombings that they fear will erode the morale of the people and Kit is asked to use his language skills and ability to blend in to find him. As Kit tracks their suspect, he discovers that the answers may lie elsewhere.

While working on his assignment for the French, he still has an obligation to his publisher and takes the time to meet with the young men who have come to Paris prior to America’s involvement in the war to offer their services. Introduced by Nurse Pickering to these young men, he finds a diverse group that includes a Harvard man from Boston and a farmer from Illinois.

From the cafes of Paris to the forward aid stations, Butler provides an atmospheric read, building the tension to the final chase through the sewers of Paris. This is historical fiction at its’ finest. I would like to thank Grove Atlantic Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to enjoy this book and give my honest opinion.

"Paris in the Dark" is a timeless thriller that could have taken place anytime in history. It could have taken place in present day but it didn't. Robert Olen Butler chose to make his thriller take place in Paris in 1915 during the Franco-Prussian War and that is one of the things I love about this book. Mr. Butler's skillful writing was able to put me right in the middle of Paris in 1915. I can picture wounded soldiers being rescued by volunteer ambulance drivers. I can feel; the tension of the times. I can close my eyes and feel horses.hooves hitting cobble stone streets. Kit Cobb, the protagonist, took me with him on the pursuit of the bad guy. This gripping historical thriller kept me on the edge of my seat. I could not put this book down. This book was sent to me from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I recommend this book and thank you NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read it.

It’s 1915 and Chicago journalist Christopher Marlowe Cobb is in Paris writing about the war. While America isn’t in the war yet, plenty of Yanks have gone over to volunteer, and “Kit” is writing those who are working as ambulance drivers. A series of terrifying bombs aimed at Parisian civilians immediately arouses suspicions, not only because Cobb is a newspaper reporter, but he’s also an American spy.

Butler, who is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, is obviously having a great deal of fun with this series. It is a pretty speedy read with a lot of the elements you might expect from an amateur undercover agent who is trying to do the right thing. Paris during WWI, idealistic Americans and first-rate dialogue makes this a pleasurable read.

I like books about Paris as I know the city well but other than that, nothing special. Wanted to like it more but so many books so little time...

I'm a fan of Robert Olen Butler, and Paris in the Dark may be my favorite of his so far. This is a period of time of great interest and Paris is always a place of great interest and intrigue. A perfect match. " Political and cultural issues that deeply resonate today,"