Kelly Rimmer's newest novel The Paris Agent is the beautifully written story of the unsung heroes of the second World War. Noah is a mechanic coming to grips with the loss of his wife when his daughter Charlotte uncovers some unbelievable details about his time in the war. With the help of Theo, an awkwardly charming young historian whose own past is a mystery, Charlotte and Noah learn the truth about Noah's bravery and the incredible valor of the women who worked beside him to defeat the Nazi regime.

Told in alternating time periods, The Paris Agent is both heartbreaking and awe-inspiring.

The Paris Agent by Kelly Rimmer was one of my favorite books of the year, and last year!! That’s how much I loved it.

It’s a dual time novel. In 1970 the mother of Charlotte and the wife of Noah died and both are struggling with her death. While talking about it,information started coming out about Noah’s previous life. Charlotte always thought that she knew her dad, but she soon realizes that she knew very little about his past. Noah was a car mechanic and a good one. But one day when they were talking it came out that during WWII, Noah was an engineer on airplanes and a member of the SOE. This came to a shock to her, and she started thinking about it and looking into this life of his. Noah doesn’t remember because during the war he had a head injury and forgets most of this previous life. Noah, ex British SOE agent, told Charlotte he was going to search for Remy, the agent who had saved his life when their mission was compromised, by taking him to the hospital, he told her he knew nothing more about Remy, but badly wanted to thank him for what he did This begins a search into the past that will bring back many memories.

The book switches to WWII. Chloe and Fleur are both undercover agents for the SOE sent into France without a lot of the needed training. Both are caught and both are tortured as begins the novel. The story follows Chloe and Fleur's mission in France. What is Noah’s involvement in all of this? Why are people getting caught and tortured? It appears there is a double agent. Who it is adds to the mystery of this book.

I read this book in two days because I could not put it down. It was my first Widget from NetGalley and NHarlequin Trade Publishing. I thank them and Kelly Rimmer for the opportunity to read this wonderful book.

The book is released on July 11, 2023, and if you’re a fan of this genre or of Kelly Rimmer’s work, you will want to pre order.

We might have looked like ordinary passengers…. Thus begins the journey of the characters in The Paris Agent by Kelly Rimmer. The author takes us flawlessly between two time periods, World War II and the present. In the present we follow the path of the daughter of a former SOE agent who wishes to bring peace to her father and to help him find answers. In the past, we follow the path of two female SOE agents as they work in France and are ultimately betrayed by one of their own. In the present we find lots of paths connecting to lead the characters to their discoveries. Some paths may at times appear too coincidental, but the author has done well in connecting them reasonably for the reader. This reader, however, was more intrigued by the experiences of the female agents and their story and how it was presented. These were weaved into the discoveries of the present day presenting us with a seamless story that pulls you in and makes you anxious and reluctant to reach the end. You find yourself sharing their angst and their hope. I would recommend this book to any reader interested in the work and experiences of WWII heroines. 4 ½ stars

The Paris agent / Kelly Rimmer. A good story but somewhat confusing to me. Lots of jumping around in time. Story of spies during WWII and an effort in the present to figure out what exactly happened in the past. The characters all had mission names as well as their own names; I should have made a list for myself.

The Paris Agent was a great dual timeline story about the SOE (a secret agency network of resistance spies during WWII). The “present day” takes place in 1970 with Noah and Charlotte, Noah, a quite unassuming car mechanic, has just lost his wife and his adult daughter, Charlotte is worried about him. He tells her he was spy during the war and wants to find the other agent who saved him. The rest of the story focuses mainly on the women of the resistance and their brave works during the war - most specifically Chloe and Fleur.

I really enjoyed this novel, I thought the stories were interesting and that Rimmer showed the bravery of the women in the story and certain civilians in a time when it was really hard to do so. The story was about the relationships of the women and their roles in the war, not the horrors around them so much and I was fine with that. It did take me a bit to get into the book but once I did it read quite quickly.

This was a four star read for me

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing the opportunity to review

Time and time again, I find myself learning so much from well researched WWII fiction novels such as Kelly Rimmer’s latest, 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒔 𝑨𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒕. Incredibly rich with detail surrounding the Special Operations Executive (SOE) Force, tasked with thwarting Hitler’s plans, this story focuses on the important work being done by these secret forces, and what they risked on a personal level, in order to carry out their missions.

This is my first book by Rimmer and I am incredibly impressed with her nuanced, yet engaging storytelling. Told from multiple perspectives during two different time lines, the way she weaves together these very complex and unique stories, kept me engaged from page one through the emotional epilogue and author’s note.

The audiobook was brilliantly narrated by three very talented women, Elizabeth Knowelden, Fiona Hardingham, and Emma Fenney, who all managed to make their character shine within this ensemble. I will say that due to the vast amount of characters, including different pseudonyms, and the details of their missions, I would suggest doing an immersive read using both the physical/e-book and the audiobook for the best experience.

Excuse me while I go read the author’s entire backlist. Thank you {partners} Graydon House, HTP Books, Harper Audio and TLC Book Tours for my gifted copies.

THE PARIS AGENT by Kelly Rimmer is a dual-timeline, historical fiction story. The past story is set in France during WWII and tells us about several SOE operatives and resistance fighters, particularly the story of two female agents, Eloise aka Fleur and Josie/Jocelyn aka Chloe. The present is set in 1970, when a male agent, Noah aka Marcel, want to find the man who saved him during an ambush. As the search for "Remy" is carried out, we learn of mystery, betrayal and intrigue surrounding their time in France and the eventual death of the women.

This story had me on the edge of my seat while reading it. The characters of the SOE became real to me and as I learned of their bravery, daredevil activities and loyalty I gained so much respect for the people these characters represented. Women played such an important role during the war, and are only now being acknowledged and their stories being told. I don't know how much of this story is true or if it is all fictionalized, but if it is true that these records were sealed to the public and families didn't know what happened to the many SOE agents, that is so very sad. Eloise and Chloe were such excellent characters, well developed and real. The bravery they had to have to be dropped into enemy territory with only a few months of training, civilians with family is jaw-dropping. Betrayal by the people you worked with is heartbreaking, but it happened all the time and the way the character that was responsible did it, was completely believable. As Charlotte and her father, Noah search for the truth, and Theo, the history buff and teacher begin to uncover information and ask questions that finally bring them to the truth. The switching timelines are done seamlessly and never interrupted the flow of the story for me, but the past was where my interest lay the most. I loved how the ending came together and it was as I had anticipated, but it was still a wonderful way to close this story. It is the story of bravery, courage, loyalty, friendship, betrayal, hatred, loss, secrets and more. Make sure you have the tissues handy, as it is an emotional read, but with the uplifting ending, I highly recommend this book to all that enjoy historical fiction, especially set during WWII. Another well-written, well-researched and well-plotted story from Kelly Rimmer.

I absolutely loved my first experience with Kelly Rimmer's writing when I read The German Wife last year, and I've been looking forward to read more of her work ever since. I've been meaning to tackle her backlist, but somehow time slipped away and before I knew it a new historical fiction title was about to be published. I couldn't resist adding The Paris Agent straight away, because the premise sounded simply fascinating. I have been looking forward to dive in, and it turned out to be another excellent piece of historical fiction!

The Paris Agent uses a dual timeline, which can go both ways for me as I usually tend to much prefer one over the other. In this particular story, I could really appreciate how the two timelines complemented each other though. Part of the story is set during WWII and uses two POVs: Josie and Eloise (codenames Chloe and Fleur), two woman SOE (Special Operations Executive) agents working in France. Then we have the part set in 1970, where we see the events through Charlotte's POV. She is the daughter of former SOE agent Noah, helping him to track down the man who saved his life during the war. While I slightly preferred the war chapters, the 1970 timeline had a lot to offer as well and I enjoyed seeing past and present being slowly connected.

This is a story of brave women facing extremely dangerous situations with sometimes only a short time of training to prepare them. I enjoyed learning more about the SOE agents, how they worked and what dangers they faced... Both while they work and what happens if/when they are captured. I loved that this story focused on female spies, and both Josie and Eloise make for fantastic characters. Both have different backgrounds and reasons for doing what they do, and I loved spending time with both. Their characters give more dept to the story; their bond and even the romance incorporated into Josie's POV help balance out some of the darker moments in the plot.

I don't want to give away too much of the plot to avoid spoilers, but there is no doubt that The Paris Agent has some surprises in store. I did see most of them coming, but I still liked what they added to the plot and how everything came together in the end. There is a lot of focus on the SOE work, giving this story that spy thriller vibe with lots of secrets, intrigue and even double crossing. There is also focus on what happened to SOE agents after they are captured and the way they were treated... There is no doubt that there are certain scenes that can get pretty dark, so make sure to brace yourself.

All in all The Paris Agent turned out to be a very successful dual timeline story and the perfect balance of war, espionage, romance, family, hope and danger. The different elements just all came together splendidly, and it's a story that will stay with me for quite some time. I can't wait to read more of her backlist soon! If you like WWII fiction, The Paris Agent is a must-read.

Spoiler Alert!


Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced reader copy of The Paris Agent. Things I liked about this book were the characters, learning about the SOE, and the different timelines and points of views. I thought that the way the spies were handled well. I have read other books where I have said why are you doing this if you are a spy. I did not like what happened to Eloise and Josie. I thought it was an abrupt ending and not very well thought out. It could have been because it was not a happy outcome for Eloise and Josie. There was also a misprint which confused me. In the beginning of the novel it said that Eloise and Josie were on the train in September 1944 but at the end it said August 1944 which confused me until I realized it must have been an error. They also did not explain what happened to Eloise's mother who was watching Hughie. I did not know if it was true that she died or something that Turner made up. I did like how Charlotte and Leo (Theo?) found Drusilla when the SOE historians could not because Charlotte's father knew her right name. I did like how that timeline ended.

A WW2 mystery full of spies and twisted stories! I enjoyed Kelly Rimmer's newest book and I would recommend it to any historical fiction lover. The characters are great. I liked Charlotte and Theo the most. Josie and Eloise are strong female spies and you just had to know how their story would intersect with the future timeline. There was a slow bit in the middle, but overall I very much enjoyed this!

The Paris Agent by Kelly Rimmer is a thrilling novel set during World War II. Twenty-five years after the end of the war, Noah Ainsworth is still preoccupied with the post-war years as a British SOE operative in France. A head injury sustained on his final operation has caused memory loss of the agent who saved his life during that mission. Noah’s daughter Charlotte begins to search for answers that recounts the stories of Chloe and Fleur, the code names for the women whose lives connect in 1943 when they’re called up by the SOE for missions in France. As Charlotte’s search for answers progresses, shocking events are revealed from the last days of the war that lead to Chloe and Fleur’s fates.

Rimmer does a wonderful job creating an inspirational story of bravery and courage during World War II. The Paris Agent had me turning the pages to the very end. This book is an easy 4 stars. I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves historical fiction.

I received a free advanced copy and all opinions are my own. I would like to offer my sincerest gratitude to Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for the advanced copy.

The Paris Agent is an emotional well written book that will capture your heart as you follow the journey of Chole and Fleur , British spys for the SOE.

In the present we meet Charlotte who discovers her dad was also a spy during the war and she agrees to help him find the man who saved his life.

Tension mounts with every page as you follow all of their journeys holding your breath with every page.

The bravery of the spies and how their lives were forever changed and those around them is an astonishing story.

Kelly Rimmer always tells a heart felt story and The Paris Agent is no exception.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for an emotional and gripping read.

Female spies in France! I love these stories that focus on how many women worked behind the scenes during the war. This was an interesting story of their actions in SOE operations and linked to a more current time in the 1970’s. It was nice to see how the timelines intertwined.

Kelly Rimmer’s newest novel, The Paris Agent, might be my favorite yet. Though I have read many WWII novels, this is the first one I have reading involving the British SOE. Rimmer did a beautiful job of weaving the past timeline with the current timeline in the book. I was as invested in the WWII happenings as I was in the present day. Highly recommend!

Kelly Rimmer may just be my favorite author. I love her writing and her stories. This historical fiction novel was another top read for me– focusing on three female SOE operatives in France during WWII. It was suspenseful and exciting, and toggled between WWII and current day (well, it was more like the 1970’s but close enough!).

Thank you for my copy and for making me part of the tour! If you love WWII stories with strong female protagonists, don’t miss The Paris Agent by Kelly Rimmer!

Rating 3.75 stars…..The Paris Agent is the second book I have read by Kelly Rimmer, the first being The Things We Cannot Say, which was a 5 star read for me.

While I enjoyed The Paris Agent I found it very confusing due to the many names each character was given. There were so many agents in the SOE, Special Operations Executive, and they all had code names that the author used interchangeably with their regular names. The switching back and forth between three people, with two different names and two timelines made the story very difficult to follow. At first I wondered if it was my frame of mind while reading the book but after I finished reading I was glad to see it was not me and other readers felt the same way. I suggest getting a piece of paper and pen to take notes on who is who while reading it. I think if I would have done this from the beginning I would have enjoyed it much more.

This is the first historical fiction book that I have read about the SOE and I enjoyed learning about the women that served in the field in France during World War II. The women agents were given very little training to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance. Many died for their country, they were true heroes.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All in all this was an enjoyable fast read that taught me something new. I would recommend it.

Told in dual timeline and multiple POV, this is the story of a WWII operative on a journey to find the agent that saved him many years after the war.

I don’t know which timeline (present 1970) or past (WWII) I enjoyed more. The present timeline has discovery, determination, love. The past has love, danger, and doing what is needed to stop the war. The past timeline tells about the agents during the war and how dangerous but necessary it was. I enjoyed everything about this book. You are swept up in the story from the present and given information from the past at the right time. I loved reading this book and did not want to put it down.

4.5 stars

I enjoyed this so much more than The Things We Cannot Say. I feel as if the characters were more fleshed out and the story more gripping. Though I struggled with it a bit at first, it quickly picked up speed and kept me wanting to find out more.

The story is told through multiple POV's, which are a little hard to keep track of at first. The two female SOE operatives in the 1940's go by their real names on the chapter headers, but during the story they use aliases which makes it hard to know who is who at first as it isn't specified right away. Once I was able to get the hang of which female was using which alias, it made it easier. The story jumps between the 1940's and 1970, in which the daughter of a former SOE operative is trying to help him find out who saved his life during the war and what happened in the aftermath of his injury. There is a lot of mystery at first, and the plot moves along at a good pace. Towards the end you start to feel the apprehension of what happened to the SOE operatives. While I think the end was wrapped up a little too neatly, I did enjoy the conclusion and was satisfied with how it all turned out.

Definitely one to check out if you enjoy historical fiction with a good deal of research put into it, WWII stories, or mysteries involving the war.

The Paris Agent by Kelly Rimmer is intense, page-turning, and suspenseful WWII historical fiction.

In the 1970s timeline, Noah lives in Liverpool and is haunted by memories of his time as a British operative in France during WWII. His daughter Charlotte is determined to help her father find answers. In the 1940s timeline, we follow the extraordinary lives of Chloe and Fleur and their career as spies in WWII. Will Noah find the answers he seeks? Has the intrigue from Noah’s past followed him into the present?

Danger is around every corner and a consuming concern in the lives of spies. The Paris Agent has an abundance of page-turning action, intrigue, mystery, and suspense for fans of thrilling historical fiction.

If you love strong, capable, intelligent, and courageous spies, you might appreciate the imagined characters in The Paris Agent.

I appreciate the author’s inclusion of vivid, descriptive details that helped me feel a part of the story. Rimmer has a unique way of drawing the reader immediately into the narrative.

Each spy has multiple code names. In my reading experience, I found this confusing even though I took notes. I frequently stopped to reread or check my notes. For this reason, I suggest the print version and not an audio format.

Difficult content includes war atrocities, imprisonment, sacrifice, torture, suicide, physical abuse, and grief.

I’m recommending The Paris Agent for fans of Kelly Rimmer, for readers who appreciate intense and suspenseful WWII content, and for those who love stories with a dual timeline and multiple viewpoints.

Thanks #NetGalley @HarlequinTrade_Books @HTPBooks for a complimentary e ARC of #The Paris Agent upon my request. All opinions are my own.

After losing her mother, Charlottes father tells her a bit about his past as an SOE agent during WWII that she had never known before. Now he wants to find the man that dropped him at the hospital after he was injured to thank him for saving his life. As they embark on this journey to find Remy, they find out so much more and the research takes them on an emotional journey neither expected. This story is a dual timeline between Noah’s days during the war, and current day where his daughter tries to learn more about his past.

Ok so let me start by saying I really enjoyed this book! Kelly Rimmer is always fantastic and I always devour her books! If you have been here a while you have likely seen me say I have struggled with historical fiction recently. Well, in the last two months I have read and loved a few HF books, so I came to the conclusion that I needed to stop saying that because it wasn’t really true anymore. Then I picked this book up and I struggled, and couldn’t figure out why. Eventually I realized what it is. I am struggling with books that are 90% WWII. I am able to read HF where that is a piece of the story, but most of the story moves to present day, but when it’s all about the war I have trouble. Again, this book was so well done, and I enjoyed it so much, it just took me a bit longer to read than normal. I also struggled with keeping the two women straight because they were referred to as Fleur and Chloe (their spy names) but the chapters were Josie and Eloise so I kept getting them mixed up. Again, this book was so amazing and well written and this is NOT a negative review, more just a stream of my consciousness as I figure out why it took me longer to read than normal. If you love Kelly Rimmer, you will adore this one!