The Paris Affair: A brand new unforgettable and emotional historical novel

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in Sark I had been the ‘Good Doctor’ and then Sophie had called me ‘the Generous Gardener’, but to the authorities, none of this mattered because my place of birth marked me as the enemy, and so my life was reduced to nothing. I was reduced to nothing.’ Although I say I don't enjoy straight romances (ie. romance without murder and mayhem) I actually enjoyed the way the relationship between Harper and Noah plays out and it probably would have sustained the book without the added element of suspense. He is under suspicion because of who he is and places in a camp for a time. When they find his letter from Sophie, he is cleared and given a special mission. While Sascha is transferring to Paris, the British intercept him and place Sebastian in his place. He has to gather information and such. The Germans give him the assignment of planning the destruction of Paris if they have to leave. However, General Wulf eventually tells him to make a plan to preserve some of it instead because Hitler os crazy. The Paris Affair by Pip Drysdale will be published in Australia by Simon & Schuster and available in early February.

The story gathers momentum towards a dizzying crescendo as Harper races against time to prove Noah's innocence and identify the real killer or killers. I have a good reading relationship with the author of The Paris Affair, Pip Drysdale. I have enjoyed Drysdale’s two previous novels and I was confident that The Paris Affair was going to be another entertaining read. I’m happy to report that it was brilliant tale from start to finish and I would consider this latest offering from Pip Drysdale to be just as good as her last two books. Fans of Drysdale’s previous novels will gravitate to this latest offering, while new readers to Drysdale’s work will find much to admire in this very persuasive story! Harper Brown is a British journalist in her late 20s, working as an arts-culture columnist for a Paris online magazine, The Paris Observer. Her ambition is to succeed as an investigative crime journalist, a goal she's pursuing doggedly after wasting years supporting a former partner, a musician, who dumped her as soon as his band found success. Her love of true-crime podcasts has enabled her to amass an intriguing armoury of self-preservation and crime-busting skills, detailed through her blog How Not to Get Murdered. Harper Brown, arts afficiando, has finally got the career she wanted - a real job as a journalist at the Paris Observer - in Paris of course! Among the arts and culture articles her boss, Hyacinth, wants her to write Harper yearns to be taken seriously as a journalist and write serious articles. Harper is feisty and snarky and just a bit manipulative. She’s also not above using her feminine wiles to get what she wants. Despite all that I did actually like Harper because she didn’t moan and complain about things, she just got on with it and sometimes got even! She attends a small gallery which is launching an exhibition of works by hot new artist, Noah X, for an article she plans. There she meets the enigmatic Noah X although she doesn’t know it at the time and he doesn’t know she’s a journalist. Loved that the story was set in Paris as it made it all the more engaging to read. Excellent read and wonderfully written. Out in Feb 2021!The best thing one can do when the chips are down is focus on helping someone else - or something else. It wards off melancholy.” I wish to thank Simon & Schuster Australia for providing me with a free copy of this book for review purposes. The author’s writing in The Paris Affair has surpassed itself, with prose and ideas that touch the reader deeply, making it a brilliant read for many reasons. The main character, Sebastian, is unique for the genre and time period, and his story is narrated from a first-person perspective, allowing the reader to become his advocate. Sebastian is a German veteran of WWI who has made a new life for himself on the island of Sark, where he tends his garden and wants nothing to do with the new war. The story takes place during WWII, with Sebastian telling his life story to a prison priest as he awaits execution. Harper's still smarting from being dumped unceremoniously after having supported her now-successful boyfriend through fledgling days as a musician.

Sophie Hathaway comes to visit her aunt Dame Sibyl, born in France to an English mother and American father, she married young and is now divorced. Sophie is like a breath of fresh air, a cynical Sebastian thought he was too old to fall in love and he's wrong. The Germans are poised to invade the Channel Islands, Sebastian has to make a difficult choice, he doesn’t want to leave and if he stays he might be forced to fight for Germany again? The Paris Affair is the first Melanie Hudson novel that I have read. How I have missed previous Hudson novels surprises me, but I am glad to have discovered such a talented and interesting author. The Paris Affair is compress and multilayered. The characters have depth and a quirkiness to them that held my attention to the end of the book, which I was disappointed to finally reach. I wanted to keep reading about these characters. Much like Drysdale's other work, the beginning is a little slow to start but by the end, I couldn't put the book down as I raced to get to the conclusion. Aggie meets some friends after she moves to an island in Scotland to manage a cafeteria belonging to one of her friends. The author uses letters from family and friends to narrate the past and the present to tell a story of the ladies’ journey of self- discovery in two different settings.

Featured Reviews

The Paris Affair is enthralling, a compelling read that you won’t be able to put down. The action takes place from 1940 – 1945 and rotates among Paris, the Sark Channel Islands, and La Sante Prison where Sebastian is awaiting execution. The transitions are clear and understandable, and just enough information is provided each time to keep your interest peaked. This is the second book I’ve read by author Melanie Hudson and the writing is as excellent as ever. The characters are multi-layered and interesting, the descriptions of the Sark Channel Islands convey their beauty and the horror of war and the feeling of impending doom awaiting the German Army’s arrival feels real. The suspense waiting for Sebastian to be executed – or for there to be a miraculous reunion with Sophie – is nearly excruciating. But well worth the read. Harper Brown, our crime-podcast obsessed MC, has just moved to Paris in hopes of becoming a serious news reporter. If only she could be rid of egocentric colleagues and find a career-changing story to impress her boss. Harper is an interesting heroine. She could almost be described as an anti-heroine at times, given that she often makes very questionable choices. Circumstances have led her to find real strength and independence, however, and this, combined with her intelligence, makes her no pushover for any potential serial killer.

Rosie goes through many incidents that leave her heartbroken. She faces the horror of the war and struggles as she is among the few women living in the camp. Even though the letters between the two ladies were brief, they contain a lot of information about the two women. The letters make the book easy to read and chatty. The first letter Aggie writes to Rosie shows something magical about their second chance of friendship and makes realize that their relationship ended on bad terms. Here however, we've got the added bonus of a murder. So, Emily in Paris meets Girl on a Train. Perhaps. The Paris Affair is the third novel by Australian author, Pip Drysdale. Three weeks into her new job as arts and culture writer for online English-language magazine The Paris Observer, Harper Brown is desperate to please her editor-in-chief, Hyacinth Cromwell-Scott, hoping she might get a chance at the more prestigious crime column. Harper is enjoying Paris, settling in to her job and writing about art, even if she'd rather be writing about crime, especially with the current cases of young women disappearing. She's determined not to start a new relationship and has perfected the art of the one-night stand. That is until she meets the enigmatic Noah X, an artist whose exhibition she attends. Somehow, she finds herself getting mixed up in dangerous matters that she doesn't fully understand. My life, looked at in such a way, has been hell. But speaking with you, I have found that if I write my story in another way, if I spin the yarn with a lighter thread, I can only conclude that I have been blessed.’

Compared to experience of actual resistance fighters, narrative seems tame. Told readers of Nazi and Resistance brutality but didn’t feel it. Hudson’s penchant for happy resolutions will leave little suspense of the final outcome. No matter what Audrey Hepburn might have said about the city of love, it turns out Paris is not always a good idea... Harper Brown is trying to make it in Paris as a journalist. All of which has come about because of a particularly hurtful breakup (read: she is still stalking him and relentlessly listening to his music).