Night Flight to Paris

Kate Rees #2

by Cara Black

October 1942: it’s been two years since Kate Rees was sent to Paris on a British Secret Service mission to assassinate Hitler. Since then, she has left spycraft behind to take a training job as a sharpshooting instructor in the Scottish Highlands. But her quiet life is violently disrupted when Colonel Stepney, her former handler, drags her back into the fray for a risky three-pronged mission in Paris. Each task is more dangerous than the Deliver a package of forbidden biological material. Assassinate a high-ranking German operative whose knowledge of invasion plans could turn the tide of the war against the Allies. Rescue a British agent who once saved Kate’s life—and get out. Kate will encounter sheiks and spies, poets and partisans, as she races to keep up with the constantly shifting nature of her assignment, showing every ounce of her Oregonian grit in the process. New York Times bestselling author Cara Black has crafted another heart-stopping thrill ride that reveals a portrait of Paris at the height of Nazi occupation.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Thriller, Mystery, Fiction, World War II, Historical, France

336 pages, Hardcover

First published March 7, 2023

About the author

Cara Black frequents a Paris little known outside the beaten tourist track. A Paris she discovers on research trips and interviews with French police, private detectives and café owners. She lives in San Francisco with her husband, a bookseller, and their teenage son. She is a San Francisco Library Laureate and a member of the Paris Sociéte Historique in the Marais. Her nationally bestselling and award nominated Aimée Leduc Investigation series has been translated into French, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, German and Hebrew. She received the Medaille de la Ville de Paris for services to French culture. She's included in the GREAT WOMEN MYSTERY WRITERS by Elizabeth Lindsay 2nd editon published in the UK. Her first three novels in the series MURDER IN THE MARAIS, MURDER IN BELLEVILLE AN MURDER IN THE SENTIER - nominated for an Anthony Award as Best Novel - were published in the UK in 2008 and MURDER IN THE LATIN QUARTER comes out in the UK in 2010. Several of her books have been chosen as BookSense Picks and INDIE NEXT choice by the Amerian Association of Independent Bookstores. The Washington Post listed MURDER IN THE RUE DE PARADIS in the Best Fiction Choices of 2008. MURDER IN THE LATIN QUARTER is a finalist for Best Novel Award from the NCIBA Northern California Independent Booksellers Association.

She is currently working on the next book in the Aimée Leduc series.

Reviews

[Colleen Chi-Girl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dear Goodreads, please add an audiobook option for this book - many thanks. The narrator was integral to this story: Narrated by and kudos to: Elisabeth Rodgers, who had to deal with many accents from American and British English, French, German, etc.

Publisher blurb: October 1942 - It's been two years since (American-born) Kate Rees was sent to Paris on a British Secret Service mission to assassinate Hitler. Since then, she has left spycraft behind to take a training job as a sharpshooting instructor in the Scottish Highlands...

Oh, this was a really fun one! I wasn't familiar with this series or the author, and I am happy to have read it. Although part of a series, it's a stand-alone novel about Kate Rees, a sharpshooter, who has worked with the British government during World War II. In the first 5 minutes and periodically while reading this novel, I thought it might be too hypey and over the top. However, I went with the story and found it was an interesting story featuring Kate, the main character, and other women in the forefront of the WWII. Kate was raised on a farm in Oregon where she was taught to shoot and other useful survival tips on the outdoors by her father. She recently lost her husband and young daughter, and is back to work as a shooting instructor in Scotland.

Disrupting her current life, Kate gets called back by Colonel Stepney, part of the British SS, for an assignment that could help end the war. I guess you don't say no, because Stepney is someone she feels betrayed her in the last book. You will find that Kate has a repetitive phrase that she has to use regularly: DON'T TRUST ANYONE. This in in regards to friends, new connections, and the upper ranks, all who have possible hidden motives.

The previous book, Three Hours in Paris, will be added to my tbr to find out more about the character and author.

Thanks for the ARC and opportunity to listen to this interesting and well done audiobook: NetGalley, R.B. Media, and author Cara Black.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three Hours in Paris was excellent, this sequel didn't quite live up to it. Sure, it was fastpaced and pretty much action from start to finish, but the plot in this one was too contrived and I found the reading experience more frustrating than riveting. Will likely still check out the next one in the series, though.

[Thomas George Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kate Rees is a spy for the English government during World War Two. It is now October 1942, and Kate has been ordered to fly into Paris and assassinate a high ranking Nazi official who holds secrets regarding the North African invasion.

Her most dangerous task, however is to deliver a package of biological material. Kate must also rescue an English Agent who had previously saved Kate's life.

I find this thriller difficult to put down. Ms. Black possess a thorough knowledge of Paris and the surrounding areas. One critic has described this World War Two Novel akin to Ken Follett's "Eye of the Needle." And having read that Novel, what more praise would any Novelist want?

[Vlorini · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. Good to have another book about Kate, a great sniper during WW11. The book has you on the edge of your seat, if slightly confused by the double and triple agents. Still not sure I've identified all the bad guys. A really hood read.

[Stephanie Rae · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advanced listening copy of Night Flight to Paris by Cara Black through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review and, here it is.
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☆☆☆ ½ - rounded up to 4 stars
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Kate is an American markswoman and sniper instructor who was working for the British Secret Service. Since she failed her last mission she was living a quiet life until her former handler sent her on a more complex mission that includes another assassination and rescuing a fellow agent whom she has a past with.
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I did not read the first book in this series, Three Hours in Paris, and I felt fine with that because the author did a great job adding useful tidbits throughout the beginning of this book to give context. I really appreciated that!  I didn't feel the intensity that I was hoping for throughout the story but I really enjoyed all of the different relationships Kate had throughout this story and how they changed.
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If you like double agents, triple agents, and secret missions then you'll love this story!
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Thanks to RB Media, NetGalley, and author Cara Black for this ALC to honestly review. Night Flight to Paris will be available on March 6th!

[Dana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was thrilled to receive an advance copy of Night Flight To Paris from Goodreads because I really enjoyed this author’s first book Three Hours In Paris. I was again swept up with protagonist Katie’s bravery when she landed in occupied Paris to rescue a friend and complete an assassin assignment.

The story moved fast and was full of events! This seemed like it would be a perfect spy thriller starring Angelina Jolie. Training camp, night flights, secret clues, and clandestine trails made this a World War II spy novel brimming with excitement. There was never a dull moment here. I loved watching how Katie pivoted as people weren’t there to meet here, things changed quickly, and danger seemed to follow her when it shouldn’t.

This was very full of action and entertaining. However, it was so full of action that there was not a lot of character development or substance here. I was okay with the stock characters and slightly predictable banter. I did wish there was a little more on some of the characters’ backgrounds. Everything and everyone was so secretive that it was hard to really connect with anyone other that Katie. This was very detailed, and was a great spy thriller.

[Kim McGee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Our favorite American female sniper is back in Paris even though the Nazis have put a most wanted target on her back. Kate is only taking this mission to rescue a friend but the Brits see the opportunity to add to it and the danger. Shoot the mark, deliver a package and pick up the asset is all she must do but somehow these missions never go as planned. Things start to go wrong from the start but Kate, near exhaustion must keep zig-zagging to stay one step ahead of capture. Adrenaline filled WWII spy chase that moves as fast as Kate must with ever changing information and not knowing who to trust. This is not a cozy cup of tea historical fiction but more of a double scotch and cold blast of winter air type thriller where you, like Kate, must stay awake and alert until the final page. This does pick up after the previous Kate Rees book but is easily read as a standalone. For fans of Ken Follett's spy tales and Kate Quinn's THE DIAMOND EYE. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.

[Larry Fontenot · Rating 2 out of 5]

This second book in the Kate Rees series is as fast-paced as the first book. There are so many turns and twists in the plot and backstabbing characters that it is hard to keep up at times. But Kate is her usual plucky self, dead-eye shot and quick to react to danger. I did get a little tired of all her references to "pa" and her tendency to get flustered. But she always finds a way through. She has serious doubts about her service to the Brits, as she seems to get blind-sided too often. But she'll probably be back.

[Heidi · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. This sequel falls flat. Too many unbelievable elements involving the main character being out of character (dumb mistakes etc).

[Beth · Rating 1 out of 5]

Too confusing!

[Karen ReadsALot · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks for another Good Reads Give-away! Mission Impossible with a female lead. Scotland, England, France, Cairo. WW2 spies everywhere. Strong female supports make a successful mission.

[Jackie Layton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was given a copy of this book for an honest review.

This is the second book in Cara Black’s series which I didn’t know until I began. It was a pleasant surprise to pick back up with Kate .

The story is fast-paced with many surprises! I enjoyed seeing how Kate got out of one scrape after another. I was also happy to see her grow.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys suspense and war thrillers!

[Ken Fredette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cara Black has figured out a way to make me believe she's finally figured a way to keep me believing she's a chameleon in WWII. I'm trying to keep all of her people straight in figuring out who was a double and triple agent. It's interesting how she complies with each of the people in her interactions and then gets the double or triple agent wiped out. It's a never ending story with each and every body completely blown away in the story. I liked this as a 4 star read.

[J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed Cara Black's first Kate Rees novel and was interested to read a second. Kate has become a trainer for the British Secret Service but now they want her to go on another mission. There is a lot of action and intrigue,
People aren't what they seem, mysterious motives and double agents abound. Will Kate survive the duplicitous spy world once agian?
This is a review of an eGalley provided by NetGalley.\

[Ray Palen · Rating 4 out of 5]

When we last spent time with American-born expert sniper Kate Rees two years ago she was on a top-secret mission with British Secret Service to assassinate Adolf Hitler in Paris during the year 1940. Now, author Cara Black has brought Kate back for a second mission also set in France entitled NIGHT FLIGHT TO PARIS.

Obviously, she was not successful in taking out Der Fuhrer, but it did make her public enemy number one on the Nazi hit list with flyers featuring her face being plastered all around Paris and beyond. That fact makes things that much more dangerous for any future mission set in that area as the fear of Kate Rees being identified by the enemy is a heightened reality.

At the start of the novel we see Kate happily performing her duties as a sniper rifle coach to new recruits --- a skill she could have used to represent the United States in the Olympics had they allowed women to be on the team during that era. While enjoying this much more laid-back duty in the Scottish Highlands she is drawn back into the fold by her former British handler, Colonel Stepney.

Stepney outlines for Kate a three-fold mission that will have her sneaking back into Paris at night and hopefully wrapping things up quick enough that she is not recognized by any opposing force. The first part of the mission involves her carrying and delivering what was then considered a forbidden biological material --- a specially concocted form of penicillin.

The next part of the mission plays right into Kate’s wheelhouse. She is to assassinate someone without being noticed. The German operative that she is tasked with taking out has personal knowledge of top-secret attack missions that, if shared with Nazi forces, could thwart and possibly entirely destroy any Allied efforts to stop them in Europe. The name of the target she is given is Lange, but she will soon find that there may be more than one enemy agent at play here she needs to watch for.

With the final part of Kate’s mission she has probably her most dangerous task as it will require her to personally intervene behind enemy lines and risk capture. A former mentor and colleague of hers named Margo has been captured by the other side and requires rescue. Kate puts any fear of personal injury or capture behind her as she owes Margo everything --- she saved her life on a prior mission, something she can never repay but will attempt to if this critical part of the mission is successful.

Needless to say, the suspense factor rides rather high in NIGHT FLIGHT TO PARIS, especially during the latter portion of Kate’s three-pronged mission. While Cara Black does not get to show off her expert knowledge of all the different Arrondissements in Paris like she does in the Aimee Leduc series, we still get to experience life in Paris during WWII and how different things were in the city if lights during that era in world history. This is another top-notch espionage thriller and Kate Rees is indeed a force to be reckoned with.

Reviewed by Ray Palen for Book Reporter

[Bella · Rating 4 out of 5]

First of all, let me just say I absolutely love the narration of Elisabeth Rodgers. She truly brings these characters to life. My mom had a listen while we were at lunch, and she marveled at how good the narration and story were. The story follows Kate, a sharpshooter who has been sent on a3 missions; Deliver a package, assassinate a high-ranking German operative, and to save fellow agent Margo, who had previously saved Kate's life, Kate is indebted to this agent and considers her a friend; only Kate has had an affair with her boyfriend. Does Margo know? Will Kate be successful on these missions? Will she rescue Margo?

The story takes place during World War II. This book is a sequel from Three Hours in Paris. During the story we learned that Kate has had a failed mission a few years ago because she was betrayed by people she trusted. One of those people is Colonel Stepney her former handler and the head of Intelligence Section D. Kate must now work with him again to save her fellow agent and friend, but can she trust him especially after the Copenhagen disaster? This is a real espionage thriller! There are many missions, many people involved, and nothing is as it seems. Who can Kate trust? Especially when she has a price tag on her head, every move is crucial. one wrong move could end Kate's life and those around her.

This book was so good, I would also love to read the first one and hope that there is another one with Kate in the future. I must say I am very curious as to how an American Markswoman ended up training as a sharpshooter in Scotland and being sent on a Bristish Secret Service mission, I am sure I would need to read the first to know more about Kate and her career. I really loved hearing about Kate and her father, and I loved the interactions between Kate and Felipe. This writer definitely put a lot of thought and research into this novel because it is so good!

[Donna Pfeiffer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the beginning of this book hard to process as the main character received her orders as a spy. She was to work her way into Paris and achieve 3 different directives against the Nazis. The spy chosen for this mission, Kate, did not want to be recruited because of how she had been manipulated in her prior assignment. However, she was duped with the knowledge of a friend's need to be rescued, who had previously saved her life. Before leaving on the mission she is reminded by her superiors that situations change quickly and a spy needs to adjust to the scenario as it unfolds. She does almost accomplish her mission, in spite of the directives needing to be adjusted, but is immediately sent on another with no explanation of new details. Kate ends the mission with a decision she makes, contrary to the way the story was supposed to end.

[Lucy]

The reader on the audiobook was excellent. But if I hear the phrase “don’t trust anyone” I will yell. There’s too much my pa always said or my father told me this or my handler in the UK says that. But never any other person comes to mind when she’s trying to figure out something else like her husband or any friend or aunt she’s ever had. I did read book 1 in the series but I think this will be the last. She has different series where she does the same my father‘s voice thing, it’s a detective and her father was a detective.

[Michelle Cox · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh, I made it 65% of the way through, but couldn't finish. Melodramatic, cliched, and completely implausible. You could make a drinking game of every time the main character thinks, "Can I trust them? Trust no one!" except people might die of alcohol poisoning. I was on the fence after the first in the series, but I'm done now.

[Samantha Draves · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book, but I did like the first one more. I think once the trip went to Cairo the story tapered off. I liked the questioning about double agents and questioning at what point do you know who is a good guy and who is a bad guy if you barely get any information for the “integrity of the mission”. Good read and I liked the continuation of some characters from the first book

[Kathleen Freeman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow what a wild ride, I really like Kate as a character and the action in this book was non-stop. I was lucky enough to be able to read most of it in one sitting. I hope there are more books to come in this series.

[Pam · Rating 1 out of 5]

Erratic plot. Fast paced. Hard to keep track of the many characters or even care about them.

[Carol Simmons · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars- rounded down as it seemed to get too unbelievable as the writer stretched the story line

[Mike Bajorek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just like the first of this series … hard to put down..

[Andrea Caldwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won an Advanced Uncopyedited Edition through GoodReads.

I have never read a Cara Black book before, and while this appears to be a follow-up book, not having read the first book didn't keep me from enjoying this book.

The book moved fairly quickly. The storyline was intriguing without being overly complicated.

[Carole Barker · Rating 3 out of 5]

A reluctant spy is pulled back to Nazi-occupied Paris, where there’s a price on her head.

Kate Rees is a young war widow, an American living in Great Britain. Her husband and young daughter were killed during German shelling of the small town where they lived, and she was devastated by the loss. She found a purpose when her skills as a sharpshooter were noticed by Colonel Stepney of British Intelligence, who recruited her for a mission. She received minimal training and was thrust into the field, tasked with the impossible. Had her own instincts and wits not been so sharp, she never would have made it back to England. She has spent the two years since that first mission in the Scottish Highlands as a shooting instructor to new agent recruits, but has not left the spy game completely behind her…or rather, it hasn’t forgotten her. Kate is summoned again by Stepney, to be sent back to Paris (where there is a price on her head) and charged with three tasks: deliver a package of penicillin, assassinate an unnamed person, and extract an agent who is in a compromised position. As was her first assignment, this mission is sadly lacking in details. Where and to whom the penicillin should be delivered? She’ll find out when she gets to Paris. Who is the person whom she is targeting? She’ll be told later. Kate learned only too well that her handlers care only for the success of a mission; what happens to individual agents is not of paramount importance. She may be given incorrect information, vague or misleading instructions, and even be sent deliberately into danger, if that is what is required for a mission to succeed. Her inclination is to refuse the mission, but her hatred towards the Nazis is strong…when she finds out that her friend Margo is the agent in danger, and has specifically requested Kate for this mission, she agrees to go. From the moment she gets off the plane in France, nothing goes according to plan. She relies again on the lessons of her childhood in Oregon, her intelligence and her stubbornness to get to Paris, deliver the medicine, and establish contact with the resistance network. Finding Margo proves more elusive, as does pinning down her target for assassination. Before this mission is done, innocent blood will be shed, betrayals and shifting alliances will be exposed, and Kate will find herself in Cairo to tie up more loose ends…and Northern Africa may be the end of the line for her.
Author Cara Black took a piece of historical fact (that Hitler spent 3 hours in Paris in June of 1940 when the city fell to the Nazis, but left abruptly and never returned) as the seed for the story in the first Kate Rees novel, Three Days in Paris. The same is true for this, the second outing in the series; first, two doctors at a hospital in Paris created a map of the quarries deep below their hospital and distributed them to members of the French resistance, and second, a diplomatic plane crashed in North Africa shortly before a planned invasion by the Allies. From these seeds grew the adventures of Kate Rees in Night Flight to Paris. It was a quick read, full of plot twists and quick witted actions. Kate is a strong female protagonist, smart, stubborn and focused. She does spend a bit too much time complaining about the lack of full disclosure from her handlers (surely after her first mission, it became clear that this is the way the game is played), which detracts from the pace of the story. Hopefully in future outings she will have come to terms with the flaws in the system, and just get down to business. That said, it was a fun read and I will be looking forward to the next installment. Readers of Ms Black’s other books, as well as fans of Susan Elia MacNeal and Jacqueline Winspear will likely enjoy the book.

[Nico · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book initially reminded me of The Needle by Ken Follett, which I thought was excellent, but Night Flight wound up not being nearly as good, for two main reasons:

1. the stakes and the mission aren’t clear. We’re told that Kate Rees must go on a mission to assassinate a Nazi officer and save the war for the Allies. But it’s not clear why that officer and the intel he carries would turn the war. Additionally, Kate’s mission is complicated, comprising at least three objectives, and it changes several times during the novel.

As a result, It’s not very clear what the overall objective is and how Kate is accomplishing it. In The Needle, the characters had simple objectives. The Nazi spy needed to get intel out of England. The spy catchers had to catch the spy before he got away. It was always clear why they were doing what they were doing, which imo makes it more compelling.

2. The characters have very little autonomy. In the Needle, inside of their simple, clear objectives, the characters could do whatever they needed to succeed. They made the decisions and came up with the plans. In Night Flight, Kate’s POV is extremely ground-level. She doesn’t see the strategy guiding her instructions, she just gets instructions from handlers, “go here, give this to that person” and obeys them robotically.

Sure Kate does make her own decisions sometimes, but much of the tension is so granular that I didn’t find it terribly compelling. I don’t really care about the specifics of how Kate sneaks past a checkpoint if I don’t know why getting past that checkpoint will help her overall mission (and often neither does Kate, she just knows she has to get past it to accomplish her next mini-objective).

To be clear, both of these issues are authorial choices. One of the major themes of the book is how frustrated Kate is at the way her missions work, at how little she knows about what she’s actually doing and how much power the faceless higher ups issuing the orders have.

I think that’s an interesting take on a spy novel— but Kate’s frustration bleeds into the experience of reading the book. It’s a bit like reading a book about the drudgery of a low-level office job which is itself monotonous and boring.

[Jess Frampton · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF at 50%

This book was one high stress scene after the other with no reprieve. Add to this the fact that there were many characters and it was difficult to keep track of who was who and what the mission was, I just got too lost and became not invested in the plot. It was getting boring for me, so I decided not to finish.

Kate is a sniper but she’s on a spy/recovery mission and it’s obvious that she has no idea what she’s doing. She apparently keeps getting lucky, though I have no idea what happens after the 50% mark because I just don’t care enough to finish.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy of this audiobook. I wish I could rate it higher but sadly I cannot.

[Justyna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I never read the first Kate Rees and I couldn't get into this one. The first 25% of the book I was intrigued hooked. It felt fast paced and a mystery and exciting. Then it just started to be repetitive. Kate gets sent somewhere, she doesn't want to go but goes, she doesn't understand what's happening and doesn't trust anyone but follows along, again she knows she cannot trust anyone and asks a bunch of questions and cannot trust the answer. Just ughhhh....too bad because the beginning felt promising.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I met Cara Black at the Southwest Florida Reading Festival in Fort Myers just three weeks ago. She and another mystery writer held a meet-an-author session together. She is clever, smart, and very funny.

I love her books set in WWII. Her writing moves the plot at a heart pounding pace. Her protagonist is outstanding and has to think on her feet. I imagine true spies are always in unbelievable and deadly situations.

I look forward to reading her entire murder mystery series set in Paris. I highly recommend her books.