The Paris Chase

The Secret Churchill Files #3

by David Lewis

In this cinematic, suspenseful World War II mystery, Caitrin Colline, the sharp-witted Welsh spy who has become one of Winston Churchill’s most trusted agents, is dropped into France to retrieve vital Nazi documents . . .

London, 1942: The threat of German invasion has abated, and the war has entered a new chapter, famously summed up by Winston Churchill as “the end of the beginning.” While Churchill faces mounting pressure and calls for his resignation, a dark new horror is unfolding across the channel, as the Nazis move forward with their plan to murder Europe’s Jews.

In the Berlin suburb of Wannsee, young SS officer Dieter Silber helps organize the conference where Reinhard Heydrich outlines his “Final Solution.” Horrified, Dieter steals a copy of Heydrich’s proposal and flees to Paris. Soon there are posters all over the city seeking his whereabouts. If he is not found swiftly, many innocents will die in his place.

Caitrin has her mission directly from Churchill bring Dieter and the document back to London. Posing as a maid for another female spy, she takes up residence at the mansion opposite SS headquarters on Paris’s Avenue Foch. Once Dieter is located, the chase will begin in earnest.

Among Caitrin’s allies are a local gangster, and her aristocratic friend, Lord Hector Neville-Percy. The Resistance is formidable and courageous. But always, the SS are in close pursuit. And as Caitrin has learned, this is a war in which every moment and even the smallest decision can mean the difference between life and death.

Genres: Historical Fiction

357 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 28, 2026

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Reviews

[Grandma Susan]

I received an advance listening copy of The Paris Chase through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed are my own and unbiased.

This was an engaging World War II novel with a very satisfying ending that kept me listening.

The standout character for me was Dieter, a German officer whose conscience could no longer tolerate the atrocities he witnessed. After stealing important documents, he becomes the focus of a dangerous effort to get both him and the information safely to London. What made Dieter especially memorable was his humility. He struggled to believe that so many people would risk—and even sacrifice—their lives to help him complete his mission. That made him a character I genuinely admired and wanted to see succeed.

I also appreciated the scenes involving Churchill, which added historical depth and enriched the story.

The audiobook narrator did an excellent job, bringing the characters and suspense to life. The only reason this wasn’t a full five-star read for me was that I occasionally found Caitrin’s mission a bit confusing. As a Churchill operative searching for Dieter without his knowledge, some parts of that storyline were harder for me to follow than the rest of the novel.

Overall, The Paris Chase is a compelling story of courage, sacrifice, and ordinary people accomplishing extraordinary things in the face of overwhelming danger. If you enjoy historical fiction with espionage, resistance networks, and memorable characters, I believe this book is well worth your time.

[Christina C]

The Paris Chase had an intriguing premise, and I especially enjoyed the chapters featuring Catrine, a strong and capable SOE operative tasked by Churchill with locating Dieter, who possesses Hitler's plans for the "Final Solution." Her storyline kept me engaged, and I also found Dieter's perspective compelling.

That said, I felt the novel was longer than it needed to be, and there were sections that dragged, making it harder for me to stay invested. I listened to the audiobook, and unfortunately, the narration didn't draw me into the story, which may have affected my overall enjoyment.

As someone who loves reading WWII fiction, I was hoping to connect with this one more than I did. While there were aspects I appreciated—particularly the strong female lead and the historical intrigue—I ultimately found it a bit difficult to get into.

[Dawn Michelle]

eBook - 4 Stars

This book was more grim and gritty than the previous two books, and that completely tracks with what was happening with the war and especially in France at that time [being guillotined FACE UP was one of the more grim and terrifying moments].

I held my breath for much of this book [there is A LOT of really breath-holding moments], all while enjoying the history aspects of the story [the author clearly does his research, thankfully]. My only quibble was the end, which felt choppy and V E R Y rushed and took the book from 5 stars to 4 stars simply because it left me a little disappointed in how uneven everything was wrapped up.

Overall, this has been an excellent series that I have really enjoyed, and I am really hoping for a book four!!

Audiobook Narration - 5 Stars

Simon Vance [one of my very first narrators when I made the switch to audiobooks and one of my absolute favorites] is an excellent narrator and makes this book really come alive. He reads it so well, and truly adds so much to each character he voices that you often forget it is one person doing all of them. I highly recommend the audiobooks for this series - he is amazing.

Thank you to NetGalley, David Lewis, Simon Vance - Narrator, Kensington Publishing/A John Scognamiglio Book and Highbridge Audio for providing the eBook and audiobook ARC's in exchange for an honest review.

[Wendy]

The Paris Chase
The Secret Churchill Files #3
David Lewis
Simon Vance: Narrator

Simon Vance (narrator) ROCKS. Not only is he great with all the voices, the accents. the cadence, and the tone of this manuscript but he also does a great Churchillian growl.

“We have give the Germans the measure of fire they have dealt us but we are not finished. We have just begun.” Winston Churchill

London, 1942. “The End of the Beginning” (W.C.)

With their mission complete, Unit 512 has been disbanded. The members now scattered through other Units. Churchill has a new top secret mission and he needs his best top secret spy, Caitrin, on this mission. He creates the new Unit 8 (5+1+2) that will report direct and only to him.

Caitrin is charged with personally bringing a former German SS officer, Deiter, to Churchill. Deiter has stolen a copy of Heydrich’s proposal, The Final Solution. 
 This is the blueprint for the eradication of the Jews. Utilizing the French Resistance and the British spy network, Caitrin moves Deiter through Paris with the SS only a step behind.

This is a tragic yet uplifting story of bravery, cunning, loss, and camaraderie. This story is based on true event. The Paris Chase is historical fiction at it’s best. Cheers to David Lewis.

Fav lines: Imagine the accents (all Simon Vance)

“You’ll like him Cat. He is lovely and also a bone fide French Intellectual. The English think intelligence is not the done thing and Americans only like movie stars but the French adore their intellectuals. And so will you.”

“I’m Welsh and like ail, have second sight. Fortunately for me, I also have selective memory and my church does’t require confession.”

[Yves]: He is German…Why are you helping a German?
[Deiter]: I’m not the enemy.
[Yves]: Still, a German.
[Deiter[: Forgive me Monsieur, you are correct. I should have chosen better parents, French ones naturally. But I was young and foolish in my ways.
[Yves laughs]

Thank you #netgalley and thank you Highbridge Audio and Blackstone Publishing for allowing me the ALC #theparischase #davidlewis #simonvance

[Ashley Hite]

3.5 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Highbridge Audio for an audio arc in exchange for an honest reveiw.

The Paris Chase follows Caitrin Colline, a Welsh spy working for Churchill during World War II. She is sent into occupied France on a dangerous mission to recover important Nazi documents and ends up undercover in Paris, posing as a maid while staying dangerously close to SS headquarters. As the mission unfolds, she has to figure out who she can trust while trying to stay one step ahead of the Nazis. There’s a good mix of espionage, danger, historical details, and the constant feeling that something could go wrong at any moment.

I usually enjoy a good historical fiction and liked the WWII setting and the whole spy/undercover aspect of the story, especially once Caitrin gets to Paris and the mission really gets going. There were some genuinely tense moments, and I liked seeing how she had to think on her feet and navigate who she could and couldn’t trust. It did feel a little slow in places for me, and there were moments where I wanted the story to move along a bit faster. But overall it was still an enjoyable historical thriller with plenty of suspense and a really interesting setting. I enjoyed some of the humor Lewis added to the story and quck quips from the characters. I wasn’t completely blown away by it, but I had a good time reading it and would definitely continue with Caitrin’s story and maybe read the first in the series that I'd missed.

I had the audio version read by Simon Vance. While his accents and speech felt authentic a lot of times it became hard to hear him or the story would get lost for me. I tend to drive while listening to an audio book and this performance and volume level made that virtually impossible.

[All Things Liz]

First a big thank you to NetGalley for this early listening copy of this book, in exchange for my honest review. I received this book in audio format and really enjoyed it. I would say that as a reader I am really enjoying historical fiction more and more. Typically I read mostly suspense/thrillers and then historical fiction, and this book is both. This book takes place during WWII - focusing on Churchill and the tensions of the time. This is a series and the third book of the series. Overall I enjoyed the story and the narration was great. The storyline itself was interesting, but I felt that it dragged on a bit in the middle. I would recommend this book and the series so far as a whole. If I could rate with half stars - I would rate it 3.5 stars.

[Reeca Elliott]

London, 1942: The threat of German invasion has abated. While Churchill faces mounting pressure and calls for his resignation, a dark new horror is unfolding across the channel, as the Nazis move forward with their plan to murder Europe’s Jews.

This has great drama and intrigue throughout the beginning and the end. But the middle of this tale is a tad bit slow.

Then there is Dieter, his story is one that is a bit unrealistic to me. Doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen, I just think he would have had a bit more drama surrounding his decision to turn state secrets against Germany. It is almost like he just woke up one day and did it. Yes, he was not happy with what was going on, but there was almost no elaboration surrounding his decision.

But I loved Caitrin and Winston Churchill. The author did a good job with both! I also enjoyed where Caitrin develops her skills in Scotland. This made the whole book for me. Trust me, you need to read this to find out.

Need a story with a strong female character…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

This is 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

[Robin]

It’s 1942, and Welsh woman and secret agent Catrine Colline is saddened that her woman only spy division, 512, is being absorbed into the larger SOE (Special Operations Executive). However, she’s determined to qualify to be sent to France – she passes all the physical tests, but can’t speak French like a native, so she is seconded to the dreaded office work. Churchill, however, feels Catrine is something special, and when an SS agent disappears in Paris he decides she’s the one to find him and bring him to London. The man, Dieter Silber, had discovered the plans for Hitler’s gruesome “Final Solution” and can’t stomach it.

He’s basically the most wanted man in Paris, and the Germans, cruel and determined, are willing to sacrifice many French lives to get to him. The viciousness of the Nazis prevent this story from being a straight up blast of a read, as the details Lewis includes in the narrative are so stomach turningly cruel that to read this story breaks your heart.

On the flip side, it’s inspiring because it’s also the story of the French resistance in Paris. When Catrine arrives she’s sheltered by an old friend, Evelyn, and her glamorous mother, who happens to have a beautiful apartment on Rue Foch across the street from the Gestapo headquarters. This gives her an ability to keep her eye on the enemy while working to defeat him.

The man, Dieter, who has disappeared, only want to get to London and share the plans he’s stolen from his superiors to Churchill. This becomes, if you will, the MacGuffin of the story. He keeps the plans strapped to his chest. After he warns a bar owner that the Nazis are planning a raid, the bar owner escapes with Dieter, and heads for Marseille. Marseille was a jumping off point for Spain or even London.

The rest of the novel, after the set up, is a near perfect escape and chase story. Dieter and his team meet up with setbacks, which they often answer with ingenious work arounds; and Catrine, when she realizes where Dieter is headed, leaves for Marseille on the slow train with her own team. There are some heartbreaking losses along the way, but that keeps the tone of the book taut as a wire. While as a reader you’re positive Catrine and Dieter will succeed, Lewis makes the outcome suspenseful through masterful and compelling storytelling. His pacing is absolutely top of the line.

Two people cannot stop a war or change the outcome, but they can try, and with the help of the French resistance, Dieter and Catrine meet up and head to a pick up point together. In early 1942, things were pretty bleak and the Allies were losing on many fronts. While victories were coming, in this book, they have not yet arrived. It was very hard to stop reading this well told tale, populated with wonderfully drawn characters and propulsive action scenes. You’ll be cheering along with Catrine when she’s ultimately able to introduce Dieter to Churchill.

[Linda]

The Paris Chase is book 3 in The Secret Churchill Files. The book starts in 1942 and Welsh Secret Agent Catrine Colline is the lead female Protagonist and she has been given a Mission directly from Churchill to travel to France and bring back SS Officer Dieter Silber. Silber is on the run from the Germans after defecting with valuable secret documents outlining in detail the Nazis horrendous plan for The Final Solution.
Silber wants to get these documents to London to expose the truth to the world. He is a wanted man in France and quite a chase follows.
The Resistance are hiding Silber and trying to get him out of the country. The other characters in the book are rich, especially the other strong female characters of Evelyn and her glamorous mother.
I have not read books 1 and 2 but I didn’t feel it impeded this book for me. It feels like it stands alone if you haven’t read the other two and it does include some of Catrine’s back story. It does make me want to read the first two though.
This is not a light hearted story in parts but i think it’s a great spy/thriller and interesting too. I don’t think we can expect to read a book of this period in history and not expect some things to not be confronting. I highly recommend it if you love a good spy/thriller and historical fiction.
I look forward to book 4. Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the ARC

#theparischase #spythriller #davidlewis #historicalfiction #ww11

[Stephen Soltis]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance listening copy of The Paris Chase by David Lewis in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Paris Chase delivers an engaging, fast-paced story filled with intrigue, suspense, and enough twists to keep me invested from beginning to end. David Lewis crafted a compelling plot that made it easy to stay curious about what would happen next, and I’m glad I stuck with it.

That said, I did struggle with the audiobook narration. While the narrator handled much of the story well, I found it particularly difficult to understand some of the dialogue based on the accent the narrator was using. At times, the accents were so challenging to follow that I seriously considered stopping the audiobook altogether.

Fortunately, I decided to keep listening, and I’m very glad I did. The strength of the story ultimately outweighed my issues with the narration. If you’re considering this one, I’d still recommend it, especially if you enjoy international thrillers and espionage, but listeners may need a little patience with the audio performance.

[Nikaya Swanson]

This compelling story held my attention from start to finish. The plot follows a German officer who realizes the horrific gravity of the Final Solution and defects, taking classified documents with him. His flight triggers a high-stakes cat-and-mouse game between Nazi superiors and the underground network trying to smuggle him and the critical intelligence to safety in America.

I jumped into this novel unaware that it was third in a series, but I was happy to find that it functions well as a standalone. I never felt lost, though having a bit more background on the recurring characters would have added some extra depth. While I have read similar storylines that resonated with me just a bit more, I really appreciated the writing style which made for a great reading experience. My only real critique lies in the character dynamics. The opening gave the impression that a strong female agent would be forging the path forward, but she frequently ended up relegated to a damsel in distress, which felt like a missed opportunity.

[Mary Ann]

Winston Churchill creates a new secret unit named unit 8 to be undercover and help out in France gathering information and helping on missions .
Meanwhile a SS officer named Dieter is supposed to make copies of the Nazi plans and pass them out to 30 people one of them being in France at the time which he is supposed to deliver in person . He is horrified to see the plan is to kill millions of Jews in Europe, when he arrives in France he decides to defect and try to get to England and eventually America .Caitrin is a agent in unit 8 and is tasked with trying to get Dieter to England. It tells you what they had to go through to get Dieter to England then to America where he gives a copy of the document to Elenor Roosevelt so America knows what is going on . This was a interesting read and quite different from other WW2 stories I have read . The narration really works for the book also . Thank You NetGalley for the ALC copy of this book . All opinions are my own

This is a review of the audiobook.

[Christine]

"In this cinematic, suspenseful World War II mystery, Caitrin Colline, the sharp-witted Welsh spy who has become one of Winston Churchill’s most trusted agents, is dropped into France to retrieve vital Nazi documents . . ."

SS officer Dieter Silber has a crisis of conscience when he discovers the Nazi party's Final Solution for Europe's Jewish population and steals a copy of the outline in a desperate attempt to alert Allied nations about the plan. Caitrin is dispatched by Churchill to aid the Resistance's efforts to send Dieter to safety with the precious documents, with the SS in hot pursuit.

This was a decent read. A little bit too much Churchill worship for my tastes, but the story was compelling enough to keep me engaged. A good story for those who enjoy WWII fiction, without being dry and pedantic.

I received a free audiobook copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

[Susan Dykes]

I'm always fascinated by the courage men and women displayed during WW2. While some may believe parts of this book are far-fetched, I believe it shows the tenacity, the fear, the evil some souls have for others in a time when chaos and world-domination abounded. What truly fascinated me was the continuous ideas of how women were used in prominent positions because they were thought to be invisible. It does end on a good note, still, it's a reminder of history so we hopefully never allow it to repeat.

[Crystal Kelley]

The Paris Chase written by David Lewis takes place in 1942 and follows Caitrin, a female spy tasked with retrieving Nazi documents. Needless to say, there is a lot of action and suspense in this book. I am a sucker for WWII spy novels, especially female spies. This book is well written and I enjoyed it. I also liked the narration by Simon Vance. Would recommend if you like WWII historical fiction novels!

Thank you to the author, Highbridge Audio and NetGalley for this ALC!

[Cottage_reads]

2.5*

This book is a really well written WWll historical fiction, that will definitely find its audience.

Please check any TWs though because the on page brutality does not hold back.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC

[Greg]

I received this eARC from Netgalley and absolutely loved it. It is a wonderful historical fiction novel about World War II. I loved all the research that was done that added realism to the story. Good characters, good story, fun facts and fantastic ending. This is a 5 of 5 stars all day long.

[Kelly Johnston]

Loved it! Now I want to read 1 and 2!!

[Colette Connors]

Reads like a screenplay, not a novel. Very disappointing.