"The Paris Plot" received a stellar write-up from Kirkus Reviews. www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/joseph-aragon/paris-plot/. They call "The Paris Plot" "a fast-paced international adventure featuring engaging characters," with an "exhilarating underground pursuit..."
I certainly agree with that assessment, and find the book very exciting. "The Paris Plot" will be a great movie if we can get it in the hands of the producers!
Some of you may remember that Joseph was doing final revisions of this story last October when we stayed in Washington, D.C. for a month. www.atinyhouseinnormandy.com/blog/archives/10-2016. Joseph had previously lived and worked in D.C. (where we met) for many years, including two years in the West Wing of the White House as a Special Assistant to President Jimmy Carter.
American political intrigue sets "The Paris Plot" in motion, but most of the action is set in Paris, and a few other fascinating venues. What I like best is that the protagonist is a woman - Isabella "Izzy" Stone of the Secret Service.
Here is an excerpt from a press release that went out today to media outlets:
"[A]n ultra-nationalist French magistrate, Malevu, orders the president's arrest for war crimes, resulting in a deadly confrontation on the Champs-Elysées between the president's security team and French forces obedient to Malevu. Now Izzy Stone, head of the president's Secret Service detail, must do the near impossible to save him. She brilliantly devises a dizzying escape through Paris's secret underground networks of ancient catacombs and sewers, bursting forth from iconic landmarks in the City of Light. But will it be enough? Danger and violence forge a bond between Izzy and POTUS that neither had ever expected.
Kirkus Reviews says, "Aragon keeps up an impressive pace throughout the novel. Its short sentences and chapters are packed with intriguing details…. Izzy is shown to be astute and resourceful..." Aragon says, "Izzy is a kind of wonder woman with a Secret Service badge."
Free digital edition June 23 and 24 on Amazon.
Could an American president be arrested in France for war crimes? "The Paris Plot" lays out a conceivable chain of events grounded in international human rights law and the singular power of the French judiciary. "We've seen things recently come to pass that were once considered to be in the realm of fantasy," says Aragon, "but we are living in an extraordinary, fast-moving, volatile time where all options are on the table and the abuse of power is a constant peril. As Izzy Stone tells her team, 'It's a big world with lots of moving parts. Expect the unexpected.'"