CIA agent Gayle Regan probes alleged pension fund theft in Paris and gets dangerously close to a terrorist plot. She is mugged, left for dead and has her identity stolen. With her apartment vacated, her bank accounts depleted and not knowing who is trying to kill her, she becomes a hunted fugitive. Where can she go and who can she trust—an ex-fiancé who left her at the altar, her CIA handler, or an airline executive with his own agenda? On the run she encounters CEO Matt Carey who is also under siege. They join forces with her brothers from Texas to unravel the conspiracy, threatening them and three major cities.
Assessment:
Plot: Kendrick introduces several different leads, leaving it up to Interpol operative Dominic to unravel them in his race to stop terrorist Fahid’s machinations—and his jilted fiancée, Gayle, to get to the bottom of her role in the mess. The plot hints at some exciting twists, but their delivery is never fully realized, leading it to feel more anticlimactic than settled.
Prose: The prose jumps to conclusions quickly in places, leaving readers little space for imagination to connect the dots, and there are several instances where it tries too hard to keep up with the fast pace of the story. Nevertheless, The Paris Conspiracy is an exciting thriller with a formidable protagonist.
Originality: Kendrick has a solid handle on the thriller genre and doesn't substantially deviate from conventions. A dash of romance, while it doesn't entirely jive with the rest of the story, provides an additional layer of depth.
Character/Execution: Supporting characters lean towards the predictable, often fitting too neatly into the plot. Gayle is appealing, although she gets caught up in superficialities, and her somewhat double life will intrigue fans of spy thrillers. Dominic’s role suits him, with a nicely developed backstory that lends him a degree of complexity.
Date Submitted: August 18, 2022
"Readers who enjoy novels of complex international intrigue with many unexpected twists will love Jeana Kendrick's, The Paris Conspiracy."
— Don Taylor, author of The Lazarus File, Lightning on a Quiet Night, etc.
"Don't get too comfortable by the end of the first section if, like me, you think you know where this story is heading. I was still changing course well and to what seem to be the climax. The problem is the author had picked off both my protagonist and my suspect had left a colossal sizzling to use with nobody equipped to snuff it out. In a plot as taught as a piano wire, Kendrick shifts to moltocresendo to make averting an international tragedy superhumanly impossible by any average person. It can't be done! Oh no???"
– Dr. Guida Jackson, author of Passing Through, Women Who Ruled and other books
"It's difficult to come up for air in this intriguing fast-moving spy novel. With its twist and turns, it's remarkable how Kendrick ties up loose in to give us a satisfying conclusion. She knows CIA lingo, is has a good sense of place for Paris, and other European locations, and is great at plotting. Her writing is thought-provoking and visual. I enjoyed the protagonist who is family oriented, yet adroit in her chosen field as we see in her quest to save three major US cities from terrorist annihilation."
— Jacqueline Pelham, author of Under The Rose, A Promise To Die For and other books
