Goodbye Paris

Pono Hawkins #3

by Mike Bond

Special Forces veteran Pono Hawkins races from a Tahiti surfing contest to France when he learns that an ISIS terrorist he’d thought was dead, Mustafa al-Boudienne, has an Iranian backpack nuclear weapon and plans to destroy Paris. Pono was once Mustafa’s prisoner in Iraq, and is now the only one left alive to identify him. When Pono reaches Paris he finds that his closest comrade has been kidnapped, and that the date to destroy the city is fast approaching. Joining forces with allies from US and French intelligence, and with a fearless and brilliant French agent, Anne Ronsard, with whom he soon falls in love, Pono sets out against impossible odds to catch and kill Mustafa and his terrorist cell before they can destroy the most beautiful city on earth. As they dig deeper into the terrorist networks, their own lives are more and more endangered, while the terrorists change tactics again and again to outwit them as the time to save the city runs out. Spanning a fast two weeks in and around Paris, Goodbye Paris is a window to today’s France, its elegance and poverty, humanism and fanaticism, beauty and despair, to the still-magical French countryside with its white castles and dark forests, the food, wine, and joyous ironic people, the magic of the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame and the tragic fate awaiting them. Another Pono Hawkins adventure following the best-sellers Saving Paradise and Killing Maine, Goodbye Paris takes us into never-before revealed depths of covert action on three continents, to insider secrets in the war against terrorism, into intense memories of combat in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere, and to the depths of love when everything seems lost. Based on the author’s years of experience with terrorism and Middle East wars, and his deep knowledge of French and US intelligence and military operations, Goodbye Paris is a stunning thriller, an entrancing love story, and an exciting account of anti-terror operations from Paris and Morocco to Afghanistan. Goodbye Paris is a hallmark Mike Bond tense, exciting, and alive with real details and places, and that will keep you up all night.

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Espionage, Mystery

325 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 2019

About the author

MIKE BOND has been called the “master of the existential thriller” by the BBC and “one of the 21st century’s most exciting authors” by the Washington Times. He is a bestselling novelist, environmental activist, international energy expert, war and human rights correspondent and award-winning poet who has lived and worked in many remote and dangerous parts of the world. His critically acclaimed novels depict the innate hunger of the human heart for what is good, the intense joys of love, the terror and fury of battle, the sinister vagaries of international politics and multinational corporations, and the beauty of the vanishing natural world.

Reviews

[PamG · Rating 3 out of 5]

Goodbye Paris by Mike Bond is a political thriller filled with tension, action, and a fast romance. Special Forces veteran Pono Hawkins is called by his buddy Mack who is in Paris and working for the Central Intelligence Agency. A terrorist they thought was dead is alive and plans to destroy Paris. Pono and Mack were once prisoners of this terrorist and are the only ones alive who can identify him.

Upon reaching Paris, Pono finds Mack has been kidnapped and that the destruction of Paris is only a few days away. He joins forces with US and French intelligence and is partnered with French agent Anne Ronsard. Can they identify and stop the terrorist? Can they find and rescue Mack? These are just a few of the questions that quickly arise.

While the story is action packed, I never truly connected with the main character. It also takes place over two weeks. Therefore, the romance was more of the instant love variety. Additionally, there are flashbacks to events in Pono’s life that distracted from the main story line. However, the descriptive writing did transport me to Paris and the surrounding cities and countryside. A sense of urgency was always present. The narrative spent a large amount of time discussing politics, immigration, cultural differences, and corruption.

Overall, this was an interesting thriller that kept me entertained.

I received a digital copy of this book in a Goodreads Giveaway. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

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My 3.01 rounded to 3 stars review is coming soon.

[Left Coast Justin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Congratulations, Mr. Bond, your putrid book is in pretty exclusive company, being only the second one-star review I've ever bestowed. To earn this recognition, a book must not merely be badly conceived and badly written, but actively offensive. You are a shitty author.

I started reading this at the DMV while my son was taking his driving test. I wish I'd cast it aside and read the comparatively-fascinating California Driver's Handbook instead.

[Mark Easter · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are a lot of things to hate about this book, enough to give it at most two stars. However, after persevering to the end, I found that it got better in the final quarter of the book, and I ended up feeling it was not a completely irritating waste of time. First off, the lead character is terribly juvenile. His sexual proclivities are annoying. His socio-political positions are immature and often conflicting. His inner dialogue is often random, incoherent, and full of non sequiturs and disassociated vignettes. He is overly and annoyingly defensive and aggressive every time someone says anything he thinks belittles him. The historical asides from this "surfer dude" are totally dissonant. To top it off, the book would definitely benefit from a different editor (who should have caught and headed off a lot of these problems) and a run through the Grammarly app would have helped.

[Ashley (gotbookcitement) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an arc copy for honest review from the Publisher and Meryl Moss Media. Thank you so much to them for giving me the opportunity to read Goodbye Paris and share it.
I found Goodbye Paris to be a very average read. It didn't really grip me. For an action thriller, it was kind of a slow read. I'm not getting what makes Pono Hawkins so great or desirable? I'm not getting why all the women want to sleep with him. Why he would have three girlfriends at once.
I feel like this story was kind of bogged down with tangents. It didn't stay with the action. It didn't thrill me. When it did have action and chase things, it was fun, but it tended to get a little stagnant during the down time.
I thought it was a really interesting take on Paris as it is now. I don't think it's going to appeal to very politically correct readers because of how it illustrates how Paris has been taken over by Muslim Extremists, how the government really does nothing about it.
The author seems very knowledgable of all these places and history, but he sometimes has a dull way of writing it.
I'm glad I got the chance to read Goodbye Paris. It was a good read. It might not be everyone's cup of tea. It offers a really interesting perspective of the takeover of Paris. The ending isn't exactly triumphant or hope filled, because the problem is still there. Just one of Hydra's heads has been cut off and many will grow back.
Thanks to the publisher and Meryl Moss Media for letting me give it a read for honest review.
BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 3.3/5
Not Bad

[Arianna Mclaughlin (arianna.reads) · Rating 2 out of 5]

There's a book for everyone and there's a reader for every book.

Goodbye Paris wasn't a fit for me. The writing style felt harsh and the language used to describe women and "villains" made me uncomfortable.

Books aren't gendered; but this one gave me early 2000s frat boy energy.

Many others are a fan of this series and I encourage you to explore this for yourself.

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted copy to read and review.

[Megan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I received this as a goodreads giveaway and can't really write an honest review because I didn't want to finish it. Even within the first few pages, the main character is flat, undeveloped, and wholly unrelatabe and unlikable to a female reader. The main character is a washed up military veteran with a criminal history, who settles on surfing and smoking weed in Hawaii, all the while living with three ex-girlfriends, who all came running back to him and droped their lives when he summoned them. For some reason, the writer finds this plausible. The main character laments about his time in prison, even describing his stroll out of a medium security federal prison after some smart cookie of an attorney magically gets him released early (reality alert, that's not how it works) and how a cop in Hawaii also got him magically released from prison. According to the author, the main character is soo magnetic that three women put their lives on hold to be with him and he seemingly skates through not one, but two prison sentences because people just seem to like him.

Oh, and the best part is surfer dude with a drug problem is the only one in the word who can identify a terrorist and the CIA recruits him. Really? I love a good thriller, but this is not my cup of tea. Reader beware.

[Jeremy Reppy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is heavy on islamophobia, which might be off-putting to some readers. However, it is appropriate in the context of the plotline, which involves a suspected plot by Islamic terrorists to crash a French plane and/or blow-up the Eiffel Tower and/or set off a nuclear bomb in Paris. A significant part of the storyline is the increased Muslim presence in France, including the radicalization of Muslim youth in certain parts of Paris and other French towns and the reluctance/unwillingness of the French government to acknowledge and properly address the threat of radical Islam. Pono Hawkins, ex-Special Forces, who has starred in two prior books, is asked to come to Paris by Mack, a friend from his Special Forces days who now works for the CIA, who informs him that Mustafa al-Boudienne, an Islamist terrorist who was thought to be dead, is actually alive. Pono is the only person able to positively ID Mustafa if he can be found. When Pono arrives in Paris, he quickly discovers that the situation has gotten much worse, as Mack has been abducted (and Mack's wife, Gisele, will soon be taken as well). Pono is working with the DGSE (French equivalent to FBI), which is headed by an old friend, Thierry, while also reporting to the local CIA Section Chief, with whom Pono has a very negative history. However, the suspected terrorists seem to always be one step ahead and it becomes apparent that people high up in the French government are trying to prevent Pono and his allies from being successful.

This was an enjoyable book. The plot is interesting and timely (the Notre Dame fire is mentioned) and incorporates current international events and concerns. While there are some aspects of the Pono character that I do not care for, overall he is an interesting character and one the reader wants to succeed. I like that Mr. Bond has chosen to create a series that utilizes recurrent characters. There is a good supporting cast and plenty of action and intrigue. Definitely worth the read.

I received a review copy via NetGalley.

[Dan Curnutt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Former Special Forces veteran Pono Hawkins is called back to help the U.S., and the rest of the world, to find a terrorist that he has seen face to face. No one else knows what he looks like.

But when he gets too Paris to help his former team mate find the terrorist he discovers that his team mate has been kidnapped. Then that friends wife also turns up kidnapped.

Will Pono and his new French Connections be able to find his friend alive and in the process stop this terrorist from destroying Paris?

I thought the writing was good, but I wasn't as excited as I was with previous Mike Bond books. Maybe that is because I didn't connect well with the main character. I just didn't click with Pono as being the person I would envision rescuing the world.

But that aside, there is plenty of action and plenty of suspense. I'm sure that Mike Bond fans will love it.

[Abibliofob · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was probably the best one in the series about Pono Hawkins By Mike Bond. Good story and we get to know more about Ponos background. This was a great thriller set in Paris with lots of twists. I actually really enjoyed it. Many thanks to #BigCityPress and #Netgalley

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this book in a goodreads drawing.

Former Ranger turned surfer is regretting inviting three girlfriends to his Hawaii hideaway, when he gets called to Paris to identify a terrorist who is planning an explosive return. He meets a beautiful French agent, and fall in love. Such is life in a Men's Adventure series.

Pretty decent.

[Kadiedra · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF too boring

[H.M.S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Goodbye Paris is the first book I've read by Mike Bond. To be honest, I have mixed feelings about it. It looked like it would be a fantastic book. An international spy thriller set in Paris, the capital city of the country I used to live in, where American and French intelligence agencies work together to stop a terrorist plot, what's not to love?

But as I read it... well... let's just say that it’s obvious the author is extremely Islamaphobic.

That aside, I really enjoyed the basic premise of the story. An ex-special forces guy who was convicted of two felonies (though conveniently released each time - a story that was recounted 2-3 different times within the book). He received a call from his best friend, another Special Forces veteran who asked him to fly to Paris to help with an investigation.

I feel like the thriller portion of the book missed its mark. Where there could have been a ton of buildup in areas was delivered by way of Top 10 lists by the Main Character, Pono, listing out what was going on. At the end when he finds his friend, it took a chapter to recount what happened to said friend. So much was provided in retrospect and some of the action sequences were rushed and then told about later.

Side notes:

* There were many parts of the book that were repetitive, but that could have been caught prior to publication.
* In many scenes, Pono, who had been educated in Paris, kept answering "I KNOW WHERE THAT IS" like a petulant child whenever someone mentioned a location in Paris.
* The romance between Pono and Anne was not convincing. There was no chemistry between the two and then we only know he loved her because it came out in narration. Nothing else hinted that there was emotion there, as if it were added as an afterthought during rewrites. i think she had the potential to be a great character, but was instead reduced to a secondary love interest who had the ability to drive fast.
* That's great that three beautiful women made it a point to move to Hawaii and move in with Pono, but how often does it need to be mentioned and how does it contribute to this story?

I love mysteries and thrillers, but while this was OK, it wasn't great.

Thanks to NetGalley and Big City Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

[Tom Burkholder · Rating 1 out of 5]

In the book Goodbye Paris, author Mike Bond writes about Pono Hawkins, who has been in the Special Forces and is now working for the CIA, kind of.
This was a very choppy read and confusing at time. There was lots of drug use and language as well as it was very anti-Islamic. I would not recommend this book. I received a copy of this e-book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a book given to me from Net Galley. I enjoyed it but not as much as some of the books I have been reading. Pono Hawkins is an x-Army guy, living right now in Tahiti with 3 girlfriends. They are not happy about sharing him three ways. He is only in Tahiti for the surfing and these three girls!

He is fine with the arrangement until he receives a call from one of his friends who he was in the Army with. He and Mack go way back with each other and still keep in touch. They were in Afghanistan together and were almost killed by a terrorist Mustafa somehow they survived and were able to tell all about it.

But now Mack and his wife Giselle live in Paris and work for Paris and American Governments He is getting upset and wants to get this guy, he calls Pono and Pono gets on a plane for Paris. When he gets there he finds out that Mark and Giselle have been kidnapped. He takes on the task of finding them and Mustafa before Paris is burned to the ground.

It was very interesting and informational about Paris. You really need to buy the book to find out what happens to all of them!

I would recommend the book to friends!

[Jay Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mike Bond is my favorite author and I jumped at the chance for an ARC through NetGalley. Mike is a lyric author and his books are nothing short of works of art. The descriptions are not as intense as some of his earlier works, but he still provides a beautiful narrative that evokes images of great detail. This is Pono's third outing as the main character, and in this story it is much more about him and his relationships with his brother soldiers. I could not put this book down once I started reading it, and even at the end I had to take some time to savor the story. I won't rehash the plot, but the style of writing flowed and supported the action every step of the way. Do yourself a favor. Buy this book and set aside some time to read it.

[Carlos Mock · Rating 1 out of 5]

Goodbye Paris by Mike Bond

This is a horrible book. I finished it, but it was torture. Raging Islamophobia that might be tolerable, since the plot is about a Muslim terrorist plot to destroy the Eiffel Tower, but because it constantly blames Islam and the Islamophile politicians for all of France's problems, it was dull and not effective.

The author uses the first person point of view, which makes caricatures of the characters. The plot is repetitive since at every nook and cranny racist islamophobe theories are spewed. It's been a long time since I've read anything this fake.

I only bought the book because Steve Berry recommended it on my BookBub feed. I hope they paid him well to sell it because it's the last time I take any of his recommendations.

[Doug Yonce · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve always enjoyed Mike Bond novels for their excellent attention to detail and well-designed plots. As a result, I jumped into this book not having read previous entries in the series. I was not disappointed. With non-stop action and strong character development, Bond’s take on terrorism is addictive and timely.

[Patricia Moren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another enthralling story by Mike Bond. This one is based in Paris and centres around the Islamist infiltration of the city. Some great characters and suspense and tension all the way through. Great read.

[Domenico · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can tell that Mike Bond is a poet. His word choice and the way he structures the narrative have that rhythm and flow, which makes the book all the more interesting to read, especially given its 1st-person viewpoint. That 1st person narrator is another strong point because it limits how much we can know about what's really going on and keeps us as off-balance as the main character, Pono. The action was also well done, written so as to be clearly understood what was happening.

My reservation, what keeps me from giving the book top grades, is its bleak worldview. It's so relentlessly defeatist and negative about Islam and France and, well, everything. Yes, things are bad, but so bad? This is illustrated, in my view, by how Bond portrays the fire at Notre Dame, which in the story happened before the action begins. (As an aside, I'm not sure if this was quickly inserted after the real fire or it's an incredible coincidence.) In Bond's telling, Notre Dame was destroyed by terrorists, burned out, demolished into a stone shell, all of its timeless artistic and spiritual glory gone. So depressing. But in reality, Notre Dame was damaged, badly, but all of her most important treasures survived and remain for us today. The world of Pono Hawkins is a sadder one than ours.

Another ding, from my point of view, is the unnecessary amount of sexual detail. I'm no prude; I'm a married dad of five. I don't need the sex to be described to me if you tell me they had sex. Otherwise, it's just indulging adolescent male fantasy.

The characters apart from Pono were fine, albeit they didn't stray too far from stereotype. The aggressive female cop, the weary bureaucrat, and so on.

Nevertheless, I still give the book four out of five stars because the premise was interesting and the plotting and action were compelling enough to keep me wanting to come back to the book and find out what's next, how it will be resolved, and who lives and dies.

[Toni · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the third book in the Pono Haawkins series. I didn’t have a hard time initially getting into this book. I was surprised by the reference to the destruction of Notre Dame since that was a fairly recent occurrence.

This is pretty straight forward action adventure thriller but I wasn’t captured by the main character or cared to root for him. That made it a slog to get through this title. All the references to Islamic terrorists made my eyes roll up into my head. I do enjoy action adventure but don’t really resonate with how the bad guys were portrayed here. I am sure this is absolutely believable but it was over my head and that fact alone made me not want to keep reading on. I persevered in order to put out this review but I wanted to DNF this at 16% .

This has a strong first person narrative and everything really is there to make a first rate action adventure book but it just wasn’t in my wheelhouse. I can’t really explain why. Maybe if I saw this on the big screen it would make more sense to my brain. The story had good flow but the strange chapter breaks seemed to throw me off for some reason.

If you love action adventure, definitely pick this book up. It will give you all the feels. It does that well. I just couldn’t connect with the main character and that fact alone made it fall flat for me.

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.

[Scott Parsons · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pono Hawkins who is surfing in Hawaii receives a call from a friend in Paris who asks for his help. Given their shared history in Iraq, Pono flies to Paris and finds himself in the middle of a frantic hunt for a terrorist named Mustafa. The latter is suspected of masterminding a plot to crash an airplane into the Eiffel Tower or detonate a nuclear bomb in Paris. Pono's friend and war buddy is captured by the terrorists and he and the French special forces set out in a race to save him and sabotage the plot.

This novel is fast-paced, tense, obsessed with terrorism and reeks of Islamophobia. But the Islamophobic aspect deals with the incursion of radical Muslims into France and the growing rifts in society. I would have been turned off except that it was an essential part of the plot and the attitudes of the lead characters.

Thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for providing me with an ARC.

[Randal White · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the first time that I have read one of the author's books. Bond writes in a fast moving, exciting, and thrill packed manner. This time, the main character, a former Special Forces soldier, is off to France to rescue one of his fellow soldiers, who has been kidnapped by a Islamic terrorist. Oh yeah, and to save Paris from a nuclear bomb that the terrorist also has.
Honestly, I found the story to be improbable. Too many coincidences and side plots. I found the book reminded me of the old "Mack Bolan" genre. The Islamaphobia expressed was rather unsettling, and easily proved wrong by doing a little research.
I'm sure that this book will appeal to a particular set of readers. Just not to me.

[Viccy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pono Hawkins is in Tahiti for a surfing competition. He is retired Special Forces, but no one ever really retires from SF. He receives a call from a former buddy and flies to Paris only to discover Mike, and then his wife, Giselle, has been kidnapped by Mustafa, a terrorist who captured Pono and Mike and held them captive in Afghanistan. Pono is going to kill Mustafa if it is the last thing he ever does. The final quarter of the book was quite an adrenaline rush, but the first three-quarters were tedious, at best. Pono spends way too much time pondering his sexual activities. There is a lot of internal dialogue and not enough action. Maybe if I had read the first two books and knew the character better, I would have liked this one more.

[Andy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the first book that I've read from Mike Bond. Although this is the third book in the Pono series, skipping the previous two books does not make the storyline confusing or make you feel like you were missing something.
The book was obviously just edited and updated recently due to several references and conspiracy theories to the Notre Dame cathedral catching fire in Paris.
The main plotline focuses on some Islamic terrorists and their attempts to detonate a nuclear bomb. The book is pretty action packed but unfortunately seems to be pretty islamophobic, painting a picture that most Muslims are out to take over the world, starting with Paris.
Unfortunately for me, this rhetoric was too strong and got in the way of the story in several parts which just got in the way of the story.
Thanks to NetGalley for the Advanced Review Copy of the book.

[Doreen Keele · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review via NetGalley. This was quite an intense thriller and it definitely kept me reading! It is full of twists and shocks. I highly recommend this novel.

[Sandra Pipitone · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so strange reading as the cathedral was destroyed: sometimes fiction is stranger than Truth! Again a book that makes you wonder WHAT is happening to the world as we know it? Scary, with the way things are.

[Ciprian Bujor · Rating 4 out of 5]

As usual, a well constructed book, narative, kind of right wing opinions, but nothing disturbing. Good knowledge of covert operations and of the realities on the ground. A good read.

[Todd Simpson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fabulous story that had me hooked from the beginning. I like Mike Bonds writing style, and the amazing character he’s put together in Pono Hawkins. I’ll be going back to read the first two books in this series ‘Saving Paradise’ and ‘Killing Maine’ after enjoying this story so much. The standout for me is that there is always something happening, and he easily kept my attention for the full 343 pages. I found myself reading faster and faster, I loved it.
Pono Hawkins thought the ISIS bombmaker Mustafa al-Boudienne was dead, so it was quite a shock to hear that he was still alive and had made his way from Syria into France. With a Muslim terrorist of Mustafa’s calibre coming into the country it could only mean bad news. France had already seen it’s fair share of blood shed at the hands of a few radical fanatics, and it had no desire to add to the death toll. The CIA and the DGSE knew that Pono was the only person that had seed Mustafa up close and could possibly identify him, so Mack had somehow convince him to leave his relaxed lifestyle of surfing in Tahiti and get on a plane to help track down the terrorist. If you enjoy Action Thrillers, then you will love this book. 5/5 Star Rating.

Verified Purchase - Amazon Australia

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Goodbye Paris is the third installment from Mike Bond's Pono Hawkins series. I have not read the first two books from the series and feel as though this one can be read as a stand alone. It is my first experience with Mr Bond's writing and it will not be the last.
Goodbye Paris is about Pono Hawkins, a Special Forces agent veteran. He finds out a once thought to be dead terrorist, Mustafa, is alive. Mustafa is planning to destroy Paris. Pono teams up with other agents to catch Mustafa and his fellow terrorist friends before it is too late.
I enjoyed Goodbye Paris. This thriller took me on quite a "hang on to my seat" ride. It is so packed with action, twists and turns. My head was spinning with how fast paced the plot was. It is definitely a five star read. I would love to see what had happened prior in the series. Great read!
I received this book from the publisher. This review is 100% my own honest opinion.

[Diana Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This contemporary fictional story is interwoven with enough true facts and very recent history as to make it a frighteningly real scenario. The ex military American hero with his devil may care life attitude is snapped back into combat mode when sent to France to recognise a former enemy from his past and to rescue a comrade and his wife from the enemy's clutches. The love story evolves through the plot as he teams up with an agent whose husband was previously killed and her family. The tension holds throughout the story and the reader needs to continue to unravel the plot before putting the book down. Highly recommended.