I wouldn’t go that far, although the pacing is good, and the middle of the book does have a sense of imminent danger. The cover and inside pages have other reviewers praising The Paris Architect as a thriller. It’s often the side stories that are more interesting – ordinary Parisians who risked their all to take in Jews (often strangers) and help to smuggle them across borders. The cast of characters is interesting but could be considered a bit run-of-the-mill: the selfish high-society mistress the caring, compassionate industrialist the ruthless, relentless Gestapo officer the Wehrmarcht officer who shows not all Germans are killing machines. The Paris Architect is interested in the themes of redemption and what inspires us sacrifice our own comfort for others. Does he risk his own life to save a stranger’s, to get the design prize and further his career, or does he play it safe?

Approached by a wealthy industrialist to build a hiding place for a Jew in exchange for a small fortune and the opportunity to design an armaments factory for the Germans, he finds himself in a dilemma. Like other Parisians, he’s doing it hard – food shortages, rations for every type of good imaginable, and trigger happy Germans walking the streets. Lucien Bernard is an egotistical, ambitious, and downright greedy architect who has fallen on hard times due to commissions drying up in war time.

The Paris Architect joins the club, set in – surprise! – Paris, in 1942, as German Occupation is well and truly hitting home for the populace. Most readers could name a few novels that focus on Nazi Germany Schindler’s Ark, The Silver Sword, The Reader and The Book Thief all spring to my mind immediately. This book is available now in bookstores.

The paris architect