Thursday, April 18, 2019

The Paris Diversion by Chris Pavone


The Paris Diversion is a sequel to Chris Pavone’s first novel, The Expats which was favorably reviewed twice on MRB.  Protagonist Kate Moore is a clandestine CIA operative who lives in Paris with her day trader husband, Dexter and her two children.  One fall morning in Paris sirens begin to blare as a suspected terrorist enters a public square outside the Louvre Palace wearing a vest packed with explosives and carrying a suitcase presumed to contain a dirty bomb.

Simultaneously, the CEO of a major tech company, Hunter Forsyth is escorted to a safe house by body guards he mistakenly believes are loyal to him.  Instead he is being unwittingly detained on a day he is expected to announce a major acquisition by his company, 4Syte.  Coincidently, Dexter has a personal grudge against Forsyth and has sold a massive amount of 4Syte stock short with expectations of a plummet in the company’s value.  So Kate’s job is to figure out what is actually happening in Paris and who is truly responsible, all the while hoping the incident does not involve her husband.

Chris Pavone is on the fast track.  This Edgar and Anthony awards winner has already written three best sellers and this one due to be released next month will surely follow.  His complexity of plot, his scrambling of seemingly unrelated events, and his ability to tie it all together very late in the story, all adds to the anticipation and ultimate thrill ride.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advance look.

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