I wanted to like this book. I tried to like it. It is a very good story. Lots of action and intrigue. But I simply couldn't enjoy it enough to finish it. I got 52% of the way through, so I did give it a fair chance. I'm not really sure why I disliked it enough to bail on it - which is something I *rarely* do and it always hurts my book loving heart when I do it. So it's not a decision I take lightly. It is translated from French and I did find the many, many references to locations in Paris ~ everything from corner stores and bakeries to apartments and government buildings ~ very distracting. Of course, it assumes the reader is at least somewhat familiar with these locations since it is a French book. But being an American with only limited knowledge of those areas, it made it hard to keep up. I tried very hard to not allow this to color my view of the story though and I will reiterate again that this is a good story. I thought it was such a silly thing to allow to color my thoughts on a book. But in the end I thought that perhaps it may be a valid complaint to those not familiar with the localities of that territory. I took some time to read other reviews and found other readers who felt the same way, so at least I wasn't alone in that.

In the end, I wanted to really enjoy this book but I couldn't. The story didn't hold me tight enough to make the distractions worth it. It started to feel like a waste of my reading time, especially when I have so many other books waiting to be read.

Life is too short to read books you don't enjoy.

I'm giving it three stars because it's a fast action story that lots of other readers will probably love. There wasn't anything wrong with the writing or the story. It simply wasn't for me.

I wanted to like this book. I tried to like it. It is a very good story. Lots of action and intrigue. But I simply couldn't enjoy it enough to finish it. I got 52% of the way through, so I did give it a fair chance. I'm not really sure why I disliked it enough to bail on it - which is something I *rarely* do and it always hurts my book loving heart when I do it. So it's not a decision I take lightly. It is translated from French and I did find the many, many references to locations in Paris ~ everything from corner stores and bakeries to apartments and government buildings ~ very distracting. Of course, it assumes the reader is at least somewhat familiar with these locations since it is a French book. But being an American with only limited knowledge of those areas, it made it hard to keep up. I tried very hard to not allow this to color my view of the story though and I will reiterate again that this is a good story. I thought it was such a silly thing to allow to color my thoughts on a book. But in the end I thought that perhaps it may be a valid complaint to those not familiar with the localities of that territory. I took some time to read other reviews and found other readers who felt the same way, so at least I wasn't alone in that.

In the end, I wanted to really enjoy this book but I couldn't. The story didn't hold me tight enough to make the distractions worth it. It started to feel like a waste of my reading time, especially when I have so many other books waiting to be read.

Life is too short to read books you don't enjoy.

I'm giving it three stars because it's a fast action story that lots of other readers will probably love. There wasn't anything wrong with the writing or the story. It simply wasn't for me. ( )

I don't usually read espionage thrillers as I often find the plot too complex or ridiculously unbelievable but I received this as a Library Things Early reviewer - and I loved it! I couldn't put it down until finished. The plot moves well, the main characters are well formed and likeable and the international locations are described to enable visualisation. Even better - the ending was a surprise and not one I had considered.
I will read more by this author. ( )

Overall, I enjoyed the book, but I felt that it started out slow and sped up a lot towards the end. It almost felt rushed in that sense, while still taking me a while to make it through the book. The story felt like it was playing out well. Beatrice was a pleasant addition until the end of the story. She is a bright child, but it almost felt like a disservice to have her just sent off to some other school. Aside from those few things, I did enjoy the book. Maybe since it was a translation, some things didn't come across as well, but I'm giving it a 3/5. I don't find this to be a bad rating by any means, it just means I enjoyed the book but it didn't do anything above that for me. ( )

Freelance spies John Spencer Laviviere and his partners Victorie (his wife), and Luc are called into an investigation by the government when a plane explodes upon landing at Orly. Along the way they find corruption that is more than just the usual suspects.

I was sucked into this story from the beginning. It is a page turner. I wanted to know what was happening. There is a lot of technology in this story but it was easy to understand. I never felt lost as I was following the clues to the culprit. It is important to the story. I loved the different point-of-view from what I usually read.

I liked how the three characters worked together. I also enjoyed how everyday life was interwoven into the story as Victorie was not happy about leaving her newborn to the care of others. The story was complicated enough to keep me interested but understandable that I never wanted to abandon the book because I was lost. The mystery was good. I did need the explanations at the end as they are wrapping up the case.

I plan on reading more of this series. I absolutely loved it. ( )