Please Note:  I received an advance audiobook copy of this novel from Libro.fm in exchange for an honest review.  This did not influence the opinions in my review in any way.

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

Kate Rees, a young American markswoman, has been recruited by British intelligence to drop into Paris with a dangerous assignment: assassinate the Führer. Wrecked by grief after a Luftwaffe bombing killed her husband and infant daughter, she is armed with a rifle, a vendetta, and a fierce resolve. But other than rushed and rudimentary instruction, she has no formal spy training. Thrust into the red-hot center of the war, a country girl from rural Oregon finds herself holding the fate of the world in her hands. When Kate misses her mark and the plan unravels, Kate is on the run for her life—all the time wrestling with the suspicion that the whole operation was a set-up.

Cara Black, doyenne of the Parisian crime novel, is at her best as she brings Occupation-era France to vivid life in this gripping story about one young woman with the temerity—and drive—to take on Hitler himself.

Review:

Cara Black is a prolific writer of crime fiction set in Paris.  Her novels are gritty and exiting.  Three Hours in Paris, is another thriller, but this time, it is set in the Paris of WWII.  Kate is uniquely qualified to go behind enemy lines to attempt to assassinate Hitler.  Although an American, Kate is an expert markswoman who is also fluent in French.  But what is most qualifying for Kate is that she has a very personal reason to kill Hitler, he is responsible for the deaths of her husband and daughter.

This is a thrilling novel, where we follow Kate on a nearly impossible mission to France to kill Hitler, and get back to England alive.  Can she do it?  Or is she being set up to fail?  Although the beginning is needlessly melodramatic, I loved the characters, and the complex plot lines.  This was a very entertaining read.

What I Liked:

Setting:

I liked the attention to historical details of life during WWII.  Aside from clothes and food, I could got a strong sense of how Paris became a different city due to the occupation. You could feel the desperation in neighbors and shop owners.  Neighbors could inform on each other.  But many people did want to help fight the Nazis in small, quiet ways.

Characters:

Kate was resilient, fierce and so determined to survive.  I loved that she never gave up.  She was able to adapt and change her plans quickly.  She was like a female McGyver! 

Her trainer, although on the Allied side, was the true villain of the story.  He wrote off Kate as expendable, mostly because she was a woman.  His willingness to send people to their deaths showed how ruthless he was.  It also showed that the behavior of the British were not as pristine as they wanted anyone to believe.

Story:

I loved how fast-paced the story was.  In the chaos of war, none of the plans Kate was directed to follow work out.  Following Kate as she finds workarounds to problems was exciting and made this book a page-turner.  I really wanted Kate to make it out alive.  And, I wanted the men who were so wiling to throw her life away to pay for cruelty.  I couldn't stop listening. 

What I Didn't Like:

Melodramatic beginning:

I know that the author needed Kate to be highly motivated to hate Hitler.  But the killing of her husband and daughter was very dramatic.   Of course, Kate's life was practically perfect.  She had a loving husband, and adorable daughter.  When they die, it's brutal and disturbing.  Afterwards, she really doesn't have anywhere to go.  I wished the author could have made a motivation that was more subtle.  I didn't like that she was so alone. 

Rating: 

Release Date:  April 7th, 2020

Author:  Cara Black

Genre:  Historical Fiction

Audio Publisher:  Recorded Books Inc.

Narrator:  Elisabeth Rodgers

Audio Length:10 hours, 21 minutea

Print Publisher:  Soho Crime

Page Length:  350 Pages

Source:  Libro.fm

Format:  Audiobooks

Recommendation: I thrilling historical fiction.  Highly entertaining.