Historical spy novel with all the twists and turns you would expect from Robert Olen Butler. I enjoy Christopher Marlowe Cobb, Butler's journalist cum spy, who melts into his spy role seamlessly. The historical setup takes a little longer to get started, but otherwise these do have the dark spy craft feel of LaCarre.

PARIS IN THE DARK

Written by Pulitzer Prize author Robert Olen Butler, Paris in the Dark is the most current book in the series featuring Christopher Marlow Cobb.

Foreign correspondent and U.S. Government undercover agent, Cobb finds himself in Paris during WWI. He is working on a story for his Chicago newspaper featuring ambulance drivers for Le Chapelle, the American war hospital in France. With the sudden rash of bombings in civilian areas, "Kit" Cobb is called upon to investigate German refugees who are suspected of committing these terrorist attacks.

A dry, psychology thriller with excellent writing, Paris in the Dark is very realistic for the time and place. It also makes you look at current events in an interesting manner. I only wish it would have been a little longer and a bit more developed as the even the secondary characters were fascinating.

I would like to thank Netgalley, Robert Olen Butler, and The Mysterious Press and Grove Atlantic for the opportunity to read and review this book.

In the autumn of 1915, Christopher Marlowe [Kit] Cobb is ostensibly a war correspondent who wants to get the nitty-gritty of this war by visiting the front lines. He will report on the American volunteers driving ambulances to and from the Western Front.

But as he is waiting for everything to be finalized, bombs begin to explode. Well-placed bombs which kill many innocent civilians. And so everyone is on edge, and Kit is soon recruited to help find the bomber. Kit moves seamlessly from Cobb the reporter to Cobb the spy. In his search for this anarchist, he wears many hats: spy and newsman and lover and fatherless son and son with a mother of a certain sort and mentor to a doomed young man.

This is a great read, full of Paris landmarks, love, and fear.

I read this EARC courtesy of Net Galley and Grove Atlantic pub date 09/14/18

A rich and compelling read which will not disappoint Robert Olen Butler's many fans.