James R. Hannibal knows how to write a fast moving spy thriller.  The Paris Betrayal serves as a reminder that the author is talented and has a way of crafting a novel full of technology without overwhelming the reader.  Fair warning, picking this book up can cause time to slip away.  “Maybe another chapter,” you think, and before one knows it, the book is finished and the day is gone.

This well-crafted work immediately pulls readers in with curiosity and intrigue.   It is refreshing to find an author who can keep the plot moving without delving into lengthy emotional scenes to further the subplot of a romance.  The purpose of the book is to talk about the issues facing a character as a result of crime and spying–not his traumatized past.  The results of this are a book that is fast-paced and intriguing. 

The characters in the story are interesting and you learn enough about them to understand their motives, but their past history is not center stage.  The other thing that Hannibal does well is he handles the violence and gruesomeness of the criminal world in such a way that those not wanting to read in depth blood and carnage will feel the intensity of the moments without the graphic detail (see content analysis below).  Lots of dangerous and scary situations occur, but because of the author’s way of describing them, this is a suspenseful, action-packed story that is readable by a larger audience than other offerings in this genre.  Get ready for a fast and intense trip into the world of intrigue and the international spy network.

Review of an Advance Reader Copy provided by the Publisher

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language:  None

Violence/Gore:  Many scenes in which characters punch and hit one another; scenes in which characters stab or slash one another with knives; multiple page scenes depicting characters firing weapons of varying kinds at others, some of these involve blood and fatalities; several mentions of a man killing animals for sport; many scenes where things explode, some include fatalities;  a report that a character’s father was an abusive drunk; scenes in which a person is deliberately infected with a deadly disease and dies; a man burns a corpse to keep disease from spreading.

Sex/Nudity:  Non-married characters kiss and embrace.

Mature Subject Matter:  

Abuse of child by parent, death of family, bio-terrorism, betrayal.

Drug/Alcohol Use: 

Someone steals a character’s bottle of whiskey; a character fakes a drug overdose; report that a man was drunk; a character tells another something is addicting and he will experience withdrawals.