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    Paris in the Dark
    Paris in the Dark
    Paris in the Dark
    Audiobook7 hours

    Paris in the Dark

    Written by Robert Olen Butler

    Narrated by Robertson Dean

    3.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    With Paris in the Dark, Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Olen Butler returns to his lauded Christopher Marlowe Cobb series and proves once again that he can craft "a ripping good yarn" (Wall Street Journal) with unmistakably literary underpinnings.

    Autumn 1915. World War I is raging across Europe but Woodrow Wilson has kept Americans out of the trenches-though that hasn't stopped young men and women from crossing the Atlantic to volunteer at the front. Christopher "Kit" Cobb, a Chicago reporter with a second job as undercover agent for the U.S. government, is officially in Paris doing a story on American ambulance drivers, but his intelligence handler, James Polk Trask, soon broadens his mission. City-dwelling civilians are meeting death by dynamite in a new string of bombings, and the German-speaking Kit seems just the man to figure out who is behind them-possibly a German operative who has snuck in with the waves of refugees coming in from the provinces and across the border in Belgium. But there are elements in this pursuit that will test Kit Cobb, in all his roles, to the very limits of his principles, wits, and talents for survival.

    Fleetly plotted but engaging with political and cultural issues that deeply resonate today, Paris in the Dark is this series' best novel yet.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHighbridge Company
    Release dateSep 4, 2018
    ISBN9781684416271
    Author

    Robert Olen Butler

    Robert Olen Butler is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of sixteen novels and six volumes of short fiction. He has twice won a National Magazine Award in Fiction and received the 2013 F. Scott Fitzgerald Award for American Literature. He teaches creative writing at Florida State University.

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    Reviews for Paris in the Dark

    3.5/5

    42 ratings16 reviews

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    • 4/5
      wonderful read, eager to read the whole series
    • 3/5
      Not my type of book. Finished it but skimmed the final pages. Reminded me of a Bogie movie from the 30's and '40's. Real man stuff. Like just crying out to be a movie. Does anyone care about anarchists anymore? Are the white nationalists the new anarchists?
    • 5/5
      I have now read three of the four books Robert Owen Butler has written in his Kit Cobb series. I particularly enjoyed the first one, “The Hot Country”, set in Mexico, pre-WWl. I was disappointed with the second, “Star of Istanbul”, and swore off the series, passing on the third book. But I’m a sucker for just about anything with “Paris” in the title so I read 256 page #4, “Paris in the Dark” (PD) and I’m delighted I did. Maybe I’ll read #3 after all, “The Empire of Night”.As PD begins, Cobb is in Paris on assignment from his Chicago based newspaper. It is 1915, the French are suffering tremendous losses, and Cobb is positioning to get to the front to witness the War for himself and to interview soldiers. He needs two things, appropriate permissions from the French bureaucracy (he has them) and transportation (he is attempting to bum rides from the volunteer ambulance corps) – yes, Model T’s modified – who are bringing wounded from the front to Paris hospitals. When all of a sudden his other boss pops up, with another mission. There’s a mad bomber in town, and the suspect is an unidentified German saboteur, posing as a war refugee.The story is well paced, lots of tension, well written. Some romance, sexy scenes without being graphic. I wish it had been longer, but Butler chose not to go into great detail about the War, nor about the scenes involving bombing incidents. It’s a well told story and doesn’t rely on twist after twist. What it does have is a tremendous climax, one of the best I have read in a long time. From two aspects – it is very nail biting, and it is truly novel. I don’t recall an ending in a location quite like this one. Truly scary.Flashlights were invented in 1899. Did you know that?! If you haven’t read any of the Cobb books before you can read this one as a great stand-alone, and ditto for the other two I mentioned above. I am curious if any aspect of this story will link to the next……
    • 4/5
      Paris In The Dark (2018) ( Kit Cobb #4) by Robert Olen Butler. Paris, 1915. President Wilson is keeping America out of WWI much to the concern of many of it’s citizens. Some, including spymaster James Trask, believe the French need our assistance. Enter journalist and part-time spy, Kit Cobb, an inventive thinker and linguist, perfectly suited to seek admittance to a German group that is harboring a bomber. This is a time when refugees from the front lines are streaming into the City of Light, IDs are nonexistent, and there is no tracking of individuals. A harrowing blast in the streets means Kit is on the right track. The German plan is to undermine the confidence of the French by making no place safe. The French government knows it must retain control of the situation at all costs. The mission is almost impossible and quite probably suicidal, but Kit is a man who realizes what is at stake.Ostensively working on a story about Le Chapelle, a hospital, the men working as ambulance drivers and the women acting as nurses, Kit is exposed to the many sides of the war. With his unique writing style, the author uses a spare amount to detailing to depict the atrocities of combat, the horrors inflicted on the innocent, and the pain of possibly falling in love in war time.This is a moody book that shows the civilian side of the fist war. In other hands it might have been clumsy but Mr. Butler shows a deft touch when depicting horror and destruction. An engrossing novel.
    • 3/5
      Somewhat predictable, but enjoyable nonetheless. Though the plot followed many of the typical tropes found in the international spy story genre, Butler is clearly an accomplished novelist and storyteller. The characters are well-drawn, the plot is paced nicely, and, though it's easy to figure out where things are going, it still made for a fun listen. I didn't come into this book expecting great literature, but that's ok as far as I'm concerned. In the same way I sometimes watch movies purely for the entertainment value. Though Butler clearly isn't at the top of his game here, he does know how to keep readers interested-if you have a rainy weekend to kill, there are certainly worse ways to do it.
    • 2/5
      A disappointment. Butler phoned this one in. It moves very slowly and seems to rely too heavily on WWI research.Add to that Chris Cobb is becoming unlikeable. Who can like a character who thinks to himself - "I've slept with more women than most men?" That may be Butler's dream, but it so does not make for a likable protagonist.And when the author goes out of his way in early chapters to tell us more than once that his character is uncomfortable in subterranean spaces, then mentions the Catacombs, you know what's coming.
    • 4/5
      This is an engaging spy story set in Paris at the beginning of World War I. The hero, posing as a journalist, is in Paris trying to stop bombings which are terrorizing the city. His attraction to a volunteer American nurse adds to the complexity of his problems.
    • 3/5
      Received Audio CD courtesy of LTERSet in Paris during WWI, prior to the United States entering the war. Kit Cobb is a Chicago newspaper reporter and a spy for the United States government. The story centers around bombings taking place in Paris, presumably being set by the Germans. Cobb is assigned to find the German who is responsible in order to stop the carnage. I enjoyed the small twist in the middle of the story, thought it was clever and I was interested enough to keep listening. Unfortunately, the story went downhill after that; the coincidences were too convenient for me to believe. The writing was a bit 'flowery'; I prefer plain, direct prose and dialogue when reading a spy/espionage novel. Cobb has a lot of deep thoughts going through his head and they were described beautifully, but seemed awkward in this story. Butler writes lovely prose, but doesn't work in the spy/espionage genre.
    • 3/5
      This CD recorded book was provided to me by LTER.Butler offers readers a tightly plotted but predictable espionage story set in Paris during the beginning of WWI when German infiltrators are punishing civilian Parisians with terrorist "random" bombings. Kit Cobb, in Paris working as a war correspondent covering ex-pat American volunteer ambulances is approached by his old handler to search out and destroy whoever is behind the bombings.Caveat: I am not a reader attracted to series, especially about heroes who seem to be derivative of comic book characters, which on reading the character of Cobb reminds me of. An intelligent and charming linguist, but not a super-human comic book hero who doesn't seem realistic enough for straight fiction. Think James Bond as written by Hemingway. What I enjoyed most about the adventure novel was the plotting, setting, and the augmentation of my education about WWI and the arcane information about Paris of the time.What I didn't enjoy as much is Butler's heavy over-writing and repetitive word use. (One vocabulary word appeared three times in a single chapter sufficient to draw attention to it in a way a reader doesn't wish for.) For example, Butler's propensity to over-write each actors' finger, eye, and mouth movements in every scene is exasperating and left this reader mentally rewriting scenes to edit out all the stage direction and reduce the verbiage to the level John le Carre would not cringe at. In sum, this is run-of-the-mill escapist fiction suitable for people who are fans of the Kit Cobb series, are not close readers who won't mind highly cinematic -- really stage direction level -- writing, and a predictable outcome.
    • 2/5
      I'll give the narrator of this audiobook 4 stars for his efforts to make the material tolerable. The author gets 1 star. This would not be a bad short story if the author hadn't felt compelled to overanalyze the main character's every move, stretching the length to 6 discs. If you like navel-gazing, self-absorbed journalist-spies in historical fiction, this may be the novel for you. It just didn't work for me.
    • 5/5
      I received an audio book review copy from LibraryThing of this book. Dean Robertson narrates the book and does a great job sounding suitably "noirish". The novel takes place in Paris during World War I, i.e., The Great War. It's the story of newspaper man/spy Kit Cobb who is compelled to serve the United States one more time when all he really wants to do is to write a story about the ambulance drivers who ferry wounded from the front to field hospitals. As the story proceeds, writing the story, spying, and the ambulance drivers all intertwine so that it is impossible to distinguish one from the other. Rober Olen Butler does an excellent job of evoking the feel of wartime Paris and of the war itself. I found his statement that life went on pretty much as usual a mile away or more from the trenches, while in the trenches it was hell on earth very memorable. The only inconvenience to the rest of the area was the boom that the armaments made and the constant flow of wounded to area hospitals. I really recomment this one.
    • 4/5
      The latest thriller by Robert Olen Butler, Paris in the Dark, has Christopher "Kit" Cobb in Paris about 15 months into the Great War. Kit is working on a news story about American volunteer ambulance drivers in the hopes that this story will get him close to the front where he can do some real reporting on the war. As Kit contemplates the War, and how to get the news about what is happening out past the censors, a bomb is detonated at a Paris cafe. The French fear that a German has infiltrated the city bent on terrorizing the citizens of Paris, and Kit, pulled back in to his role as a spy and agent for the US Government, is loaned out to the French to get to the bottom of the bombings. As Kit balances his job as a reporter, and his duties as a government agent, he must navigate a city under siege to stop a bomber who is determined to sew chaos and carnage.I have not previously read any of the other books in the Christopher Marlowe Cobb series, though that may have to change now. Butler does a wonderful job of weaving in the important aspects of Cobb's history into the novel, so Paris in the Dark is easy to read on its own. The action is slow-paced, with Cobb bouncing between his roles as reporter and secret agent, but it allows you to get to understand Kit, his motivations, and his actions, with the drama and action building slowly to the final confrontation with the bomber. Kit is a strong character, and I like how he uses his wits more than fists or guns to get the job done. His work to infiltrate a bar of German immigrants in Paris to try and track the bomber was well executed and really highlighted Kit's skill set as both an investigative reporter and a spy. The story itself is detailed and filled with a few unexpected turns, and a few red herrings as well. Butler keeps the reader on their toes, parsing out the clues to Kit and the reader in small doses, allowing you to learn who the bomber is as Kit does. (Or a bit earlier. I had a good idea of who the bomber was before Kit did, but that didn't detract from my enjoyment of the story.) The story is also leavened with a bit of romance as Kit and a volunteer American nurse manage to find time for love. Kit's relationship with the nurse seems stilted at first, as Butler spends too much time with Kit analyzing every nuance, look, and bit of body language for the nurse. This was a bit annoying for me, but maybe it's just who Kit is. (Remember, this is the first story I've read with Kit.) I recommend Paris in the Dark. It is a great historical thriller set during one of the most brutal wars of history. While the action doesn't take place in the trenches of France, there is enough action and mystery in the dark streets of Paris to keep you entertained. I received an advance copy of the audio CD version of this book, read by Robertson Dean, in exchange for a fair and honest review. There were no problems with the audio production, and Dean does a good job of bringing Kit and the other characters to life, making each of them distinct from each other. As an unabridged audio book it is a fast read, being under 8 hours in length.
    • 3/5
      This noir novel, set (clearly) In Paris during the Great War, is a quick read and a pretty decent ride. Christopher Marlowe "Kit" Cobb is, by turns, an American newspaperman covering the American volunteer ambulance drivers in France, and an American spy working for the French to identify and expose German spies and saboteurs. However, these roles quickly overlap, and the nature of "the enemy" becomes murky. Who are these ambulance drivers? Do they have a connection to the supposed German spies? All in all, I quite enjoyed this.
    • 3/5
      World War I. Christopher Cobb is a journalist and a spy for the U.S. Government. There is romance and thriller aspects but I found the monotone of the narrator of the audiobook impossible to get really involved in. The print version is much preferable with this story.
    • 5/5
      I don't think I have read a book by Robert Olen Butler since "A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain", nor have I followed his career as a writer. I have been very pleased to discover "Paris in the Dark" and Kit Cobb.Kit is playing a Chicago journalist in Paris to write a story about US ambulance drivers and their important and harrowing work along the front while the USA remains neutral. Kit's undercover work is to use his impeccable German credentials (and dueling scar!) to help the French authorities identify hidden spies and saboteurs among the German population of Paris.Kit is a good journalist and actor and he plays all his roles well. His jobs, though, take unexpected turns when he meets the drivers and the nursing staff from the American Ambulance Hospital in Paris.This is a fine standalone novel, and one that makes me want to track down the others in this series. I link it in my mind to last year's "The Ambulance Drivers" by James McGrath Morris.A question lingers: Do readers today know what a Heidelberg dueling scar is?I received a review copy of "Paris in the Dark" by Robert Olen Butler (Grove Atlantic) through NetGalley.com.
    • 5/5
      Thanks to Netgalley and The Mysterious Press for providing me with an advance reading copy of the eBook. The views expressed are my own. This is a "cat-and-mouse " thriller about the hunt for a bomber on the loose in Paris during the Great War. War correspondent Kit Marlowe is in Paris in November, 1916 to report for U.S. newspapers about American volunteers driving ambulances taking the wounded from the frontlines to hospitals in Paris. At the time, America was not fighting in the Great War and the U.S. public sentiment was mixed about joining the war effort; Marlowe is clearly in favour of America joining the Allies and expresses disdain for "Professor Wilson" and his perceived pacifist ways.One night he is close-by an explosion at a train station which kills and maims many people. The bomber is suspected to be a German infiltrator and Marlowe is enlisted by an American spymaster to help the French authorities find (and kill) the bomber. In the course of this assignment, he is taken on a wild goose chase initiated by a false lead from a German immigrant; this chase is classic "spy-craft" where Marlowe needs to pose as a German supporter and follow the suspect without being detected. Ultimately, this proves to be a love-triangle unrelated to the bombings. It's a clever story-within-a-story.Back to his journalism, he gets the needed permission from French censors to ride along with the ambulance drivers and report what he learns from it. Through his connections with a Paris hospital, he meets Louse Pickering, a volunteer nurse from Massachusetts, who introduces him to several of the ambulance drivers, one of which agrees to take him to the front. Once at the front, his volunteer American driver mysteriously disappears with the ambulance. Suspicions falls on the driver as Marlowe uncovers some disturbing family history background. This is the beginning of the real chase for the bomber, which ends in an exciting conclusion in the Catacombs under Paris.This is the fourth in the Kit Marlowe series but can easily be read as a standalone. Previous ones are set in exotic locations, e..g. Mexico, Turkey, England, and so on. The stories are built around historical events like the 1914 Mexican Revolution and the Great War. Marlowe is an interesting character: the son of a famous actress who raised him without revealing to him the identity of his father. HIs childhood was spent around theatre people as he travelled with his mother. This gives him a diverse background and range of talents which the author uses to good effect. For example in this story his language capability in both French and German proves useful. There's plenty of local colour and atmosphere about Paris; the Hotel Lutetia, an impressive building, is the backdrop for the exciting conclusion.Recommended: a well-constructed historical fiction thriller with an interesting and intelligent plot.