The Paris Diversion

March 1, 2019
"It is a dangerous time to be alive." Indeed, as this fast-paced thriller by seasoned mysterian Pavone (The Travelers, 2016, etc.) proves.A siren wails in Paris, a once-rare sound often heard in these times of terror. It's gone off because a jihadi has strapped a bomb to himself and is standing in front of the Louvre, "in the epicenter of Western civilization," waiting for his moment. But is he a jihadi? Who's put him up to this dastardly deed, and why? That's for Kate Moore, deep-cover CIA agent, "sidewalk-swimming in a sea of expat moms," to suss out. Kate lives in a shadow world, so hidden away that even her hedge-fund-master husband doesn't have a clue about what she does: "Dexter has been forced to accept that she's entitled to her secrets," Pavone writes, adding, "He's had plenty of his own." Indeed, and in the shadowy parallel world of speculative finance, he's teamed up with a fast-living entrepreneur who wants nothing more than to become superrich and run off with his "assistant-concubine." Hunter Forsyth is about to announce a huge deal, but suddenly he's disappeared, whisked away by shadowy people who, by the thin strings of suspense, have something to do with that bomb across town. So does a vengeful young mom, strapped to a useless husband and bent on payback for a long-ago slight. All this is red meat to Kate, who's tired of the domestic life, no matter how much a sham, and is happier than a clam when "running her network of journalists, bloggers, influencers, as well as drug dealers, thieves, prostitutes, and cops, plus diplomats and soldiers, maitre d's and concierges and bartenders and shopkeepers." With all those players, mercenaries, and assorted bad guys thrown into the mix, you just know that the storyline is going to be knotty, and it resolves in a messy spatter of violence that's trademark Pavone and decidedly not for the squeamish.A satisfying puzzler, one to shelve alongside le Carré, Forsyth, and other masters of foreign intrigue.

COPYRIGHT(2019) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from May 1, 2019
Pavone delivers another thoroughly immersive, stylish, and intelligent thriller (following The Travelers, 2016). In a move that is sure to please fans of The Expats (2012), he returns here to the lives of Kate and Dexter Moore, now living in Paris after former CIA agent Kate managed to extract her cyberbanker husband from a trap into which he had been lured by two artists of the long con, Julia and Bill. Pavone again unspools a tightly wound plot in which the levels of deception keep multiplying. It starts with a terrorist in front of the Louvre holding a dirty bomb. As the standoff continues, Kate, who is back with the agency in a shady, off-the-books capacity, starts digging into what's going on, hoping to solidify her position with her superiors, and soon discovers that Dexter may be fiddling on the fringes of cybercrime again, out to profit from the downfall of an arrogant financier. And what's with Julia and Bill turning up in Paris, seemingly ready to bury the hatchet? But burying it where? Yes, Pavone keeps us zooming through this book to find the answers to those and many other questions, but, in the middle of that race to the finish line, most readers are likely to find themselves slowing down a bit, savoring the richness of virtually every character who flashes by and especially taking time to contemplate Kate, who just may be the most fascinating, believably human fictional spy to appear since George Smiley shuffled his bedraggled self onto the stage nearly 60 years ago.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Like Louise Penny, Pavone is the kind of thriller writer who can cut a wide swath into multiple audiences, from genre fans to more-literary readers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)

Starred review from March 1, 2019

A good thriller isn't so much written as built, and Pavone is one of the genre's most consistently dazzling architects. This follow-up to The Expats and The Travellers finds wife, mother, and spy handler Kate Moore in the middle of a terrorist scare in front of the Louvre. As she digs for answers, she finds that the entire operation might be a cover for another move entirely: an international conglomerate is preparing a big move worth millions, and Kate's cash-strapped financier husband, Dexter, stands to make--or lose--a fortune on the announcement. Feelings of domestic betrayal simmer, and the focus on Kate's role as family caretaker conflicting with her job as a spy offers an excellent hook that elevates this novel above the standard catch-the-bad-guy fray. VERDICT Pavone gives us a fresh, pulsating, and introspective thriller that delivers on its tourist-heavy Parisian setting and expands and connects territory from his previous novels. An ensemble cast with alternating points of view enhances the wheels-within-wheels plot and are sure to please fans of Daniel Silva or Stella Rimington. Absolutely not to be missed. [See Prepub Alert, 11/12/18.]--Gregg Winsor, Johnson Cty. Lib., Overland Park, KS

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2019

Back from The Expats, Pavone's Edgar and Anthony Award winner for Best First Novel, former CIA operative Kate Moore is enjoying life in Paris with husband Dexter when a suicide bomber materializes outside the Louvre. Of course, she jumps into the fray with a French agent.

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.