Paris In The Dark

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this publication in return for an unbiased review.
Set in the early days of WW1 this is a historical thriller, the main character is an American journalist in Paris to report on the war. This is no ordinary journalist though and he is more than he seems.
Parisians are being targeted in their own city by German bombs and the hero sets out to catch him.
Decent read and worthy of four stars.

I was sent a copy of Paris in the Dark by Robert Olen Butler to read and review by NetGalley.
I couldn’t wait to read this, the latest novel in the Christopher Marlowe Cobb stories. It is, as readers of this series have come to expect, a gripping and pacy novel which is well written and evocative of time and place, this being the Paris of 1915. My only criticism – hence the 4 stars – is that I occasionally felt somewhat detached (or was it the author?) and didn’t quite have such a totally desperate need to read on that I have found with the other books. Don’t let this stop you from reading it though as I still thoroughly enjoyed it, and perhaps I am being hyper critical as I tend to use The Star of Istanbul as a benchmark!

Kit Cobb (Christopher Marlowe Cobb) returns for a 4th outing in Robert Olen Butler’s novel set in Paris in 1915. Kit is an American journalist in Paris to seemingly write about the American volunteer ambulance drivers. He also carries out various assignments for American intelligence. The German army starts to advance into France and the French Authorities believe a saboteur has entered the city amongst the German refugees. They have been carrying out bombings, which the French worry will destroy the morale of the people and Kit is tasked with infiltrating group of German refugee men to find the bomber. Kit finds the suspect, but realises there are other possibilities elsewhere.

Robert Olen Butler provides a very realistic and atmospheric Paris of the period and smoothly, builds the tension to the final showdown in the Paris catacombs. Great historical fiction and I loved it.


This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher and NetGalley in return for an honest review. Thank you to the author/publisher/NetGalley for the opportunity.

Set in 1915 the book follows Kit Cobb an American Journalist, and undercover agent for the US. His mission is to discover who is behind a series of bombings in Paris. Is there a German operative in Paris, or is it closer to home. Really enjoyed this book and would recommend.

I have to admit I'm new to Robert Olen Butler’s Kit Cobb (Christopher Marlowe Cobb) series, but the WW1 Paris setting peaked my interest for a bit of historical crime fiction. Good fun it was too.

Cobb is a Chicago reporter and undercover agent for the US government. Officially in Paris for a story about American ambulance drivers, he is soon dragged into trying to uncover a mysterious bomber who , some believe is a German operative who has infiltrated with the waves of recent refugees. Of course, there is a woman - a nurse called Louise – to provide very cliched love interest for our hero. Olen Butler does seem to embrace the genre clichés. But that is part of the charm in an odd sort of way.

The book rattles along at a decent pace and is tied up in a satisfactory manner. May even dig out a previous Cobb adventure sometime soon.

This is the 4th in Robert Olen Butler's series featuring Kit Cobb, journalist and spy for the US government in Europe. Having not read any of the others in the series, I found this worked perfectly fine as a standalone. It is Autumn 2015 and WW1 rages in Europe, the American President, Woodrow Wilson, has so far succeeded in keeping the US out of the war, but is perceived as a coward lacking a spine by many of his own countrymen. Many Americans have bravely chosen to volunteer in a number of roles in Paris and Wilson has his secret spy agencies working discreetly for the Allies against the Germans. As a reporter, Kit is writing a feature on the American hospital, Le Chapelle, meeting supervising nurse, Louise Pickering, and spending time getting to know the roles and experiences of the ambulance men, such as the Illinois farmer's son, Cyrus, and Harvard man, John Barrington Lacey. Cobb is a witness to a civilian bombing that he thinks is orchestrated by a German saboteur bent on destroying French morale, hidden amongst the tide of refugees coming into Paris.

The French and US spy agencies are alarmed at this development and desperate to prevent future carnage that will ensue at a sustained bombing campaign aimed at civilians. Intelligence handler, James Polk Trask, believes that Cobb with his fluent German is ideally placed to find the bomber and the French spymaster has a lead for him to follow. Cobb finds himself on a twisted search for the saboteur where nothing is as it seems, he gets romantically entangled, has to face tragic outcomes and it all ends in a dangerous and thrilling finale in the catacombs of the dead that lie beneath Paris. Butler has engaged in impeccable research of the period to give us a picture of the dark days of the trench warfare and Paris, along with the social and political backgrounds of the characters in the novel.

I found this a highly atmospheric book and was captivated by the wartime Paris that comes alive with rich details, such as the fiacres that Cobb uses as transport and the clubs that provide much needed companionship and support for the Germans. Cobb sees the harrowing sight of the wrecked bodies of the war returned to the city, a sight that the French usually made sure arrived in Paris in the dark, the title of the novel which could additionally aptly apply to the motives and people behind the bombing campaign. This is a gripping read on the role of the Americans in WW1 in Paris. Many thanks to Oldcastle Books for an ARC.

It might be set more than century ago, in a foreign land filled with political puzzles and unfamiliar factions, but Paris In The Dark delivers a completely convincing story, grounded in a solidly credible scenario. There aren’t so many characters that your head spins trying to recall them all, and the narrative itself is pretty straightforward. Yet that seeming simplicity masks multiple layers of subtle sophistication, of meticulous research delivered almost offhand.

Bookshelves bulge these days with an array of historical spy stories. Few are as persuasive, powerful and flat-out pleasurable as this one. It’s authentic and absorbing, crafted by a wordsmith so skilled that he delivers complete characters in a single sentence; reveals truth and it consequences in dialogue left unsaid. This is accomplished writing which doesn’t stoop to pulp stunts – it simply drags you into the reality of the story with its confident quality.

It’s 1916. The guns of the Great War never stop firing; the terrible stalemate of trench warfare is grinding down the French. The maimed and wounded are commonplace in the capital. Bombs fall on city streets. Paris is long way from the front lines, yet in every sense it is a city under bitter siege.

Kit Cobb is an American reporter, trying to convince his country to weigh in on the side of the British and French. He’s also an effective undercover agent, occasionally unwilling to carry out the distasteful tasks which patriotism demands of him… but very capable of incisive action when it’s required. He’s far more complex than the average spook, too; cognisant of both sides of the story, able to see beyond social standing, class, creed and nationality. There are moments when you feel that there’s no firm boundary between his Germanic undercover identity, his cover story and the ‘real’ man. And this story revolves around how he can resolve a slew of conflicting interests.

It’s a tightly defined story, but within its coiled confines the narrative illuminates the nuances of the European conflict – and the boiling pot of American society which will come to define the following century. On top of that, Paris In The Dark is also a ripping yarn, a beat-the-clock gumshoe mystery which Kit must solve to prevent carnage, political disaster, and great harm to people he’s come to care for. It would be a first-class thriller were it set in the present day – the fact that Butler brings WW1 so vividly to life makes it all the more remarkable. Definitely recommended for fans of Alan Furst.

I’d not read any of the earlier books in the series, and I didn’t need to. This works perfectly well as a stand-alone if you too are new to the Kit Cobb novels. However, I now know what I’ve been missing and will seek out the other ones, pronto!

9/10