Title: A Murder in Paris

Author: Matthew Blake

Genre: Thriller/Mystery

Publisher: Harper Collins

Publication Date: 3rd July 2025

Rating: 4/5

Cover:

Summary:

WHAT IF A MEMORY COULD GET YOU KILLED?

Imagine the past returning to you in fragments.

A hotel room, a pillow, a lifeless body.

Your ordinary, innocent life upended by one flash of memory.

You can’t remember what led to the crime.

All you know is that you must return to the scene, to the clues that lie waiting in Room 11.

But this is a mystery that goes far beyond that room, that night, that murder.

Are you ready to unlock the truth?

Review:

A Murder in Paris is a twisty and compelling tale of memory and, more to the point, the fallibility of memory. It follows both a modern timeline with memory specialist Dr Olivia Finn trying to uncover the truth of her elderly grandmother’s murky past in Paris and a 1945-set timeline following her grandmother herself. Memory is such a fascinating topic and the concept of repressed or implanted memories makes for a deeply unsettling and twisty mystery. It is impossible to know quite who and what can be trusted in A Murder in Paris with the far reaching and harrowing consequences of World War Two still playing out many decades later. I found the parts set in 1945 particularly intriguing and found the character of Olivia’s grandmother layered and heartbreaking. The tension in the story ratchets up perfectly as we learn more and more about the truth behind the many layers of psychological trauma and pain that multiple characters are dealing with and the reality of a huge manipulation becomes devastatingly clear. I found A Murder in Paris an addictively propulsive read from the beginning and loved the themes of memory, secrets and lies. I would definitely recommend if you enjoy twisty and nuanced mysteries. 

★★★★

Thank you so much to Anne Cater of Random Things Blog Tours for inviting me on this tour and organising it. I kindly received a copy of the book from the publisher. My review is entirely my own honest opinion.

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