The Paris Betrayal by James R. Hannibal

The Paris Betrayal
by James R. Hannibal

ISBN-13: 9780800738501
Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Revell
Released: May 4th 2021

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
After a rough mission in Rome involving the discovery of a devastating bioweapon, Company spy Ben Calix returns to Paris to find his perfectly ordered world has collapsed. A sniper attack. An ambush. An anonymous call that brings French SWAT forces down on his head. Ben is out. This is a severance--reserved for incompetents and traitors.

Searching for answers and anticipating a coming attack, Ben and a woman swept up in his misfortunes must travel across Europe to find the sniper who tried to kill him, the medic who saved his life, the schoolmaster who trained him, and an upstart hacker from his former team. More than that, Ben must come to grips with his own insignificance as the Company's plan to stop Leviathan from unleashing the bioweapon at any cost moves forward without him--and he struggles against the infection that is swiftly claiming territory within his own body.


My Review:
The Paris Betrayal is a suspense/thriller. It's published by Christian publisher, so I was confused that there were no references to God. The only mentions of faith involved faith in The Director, head of The Company that Ben works for, or in Jupiter, the bad guy leader. I couldn't understand how Ben's former teammates could be so naïve as to believe that a human (The Director) could never make a mistake. It wasn't until nearly the end that I realized that the story was based on Job from the Bible, so people were putting their faith in either God or Satan. Anyway, the desire to make this reflect the story of Job made the teammates reactions to Ben's situation seem odd or unrealistic when taken outside of that context.

The suspense was high as Ben was constantly on the move, trying to avoid arrest and survive attacks while also save the world. Both the good and bad guys had people harassing him. I liked that the female characters were competent and resourceful (even when not trained as spies). I wasn't at all surprised by the roles that Ben's girlfriend and Clara played, though I think it was meant to be a surprise. I appreciate that Ben treated the women respectfully. Ben was loyal and had a strong desire to help others, so he was easy to admire. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this thriller.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.