The French Illusion

The French Illusion opens with Paul and Chelsea Tanner enjoying an idyllic honeymoon—one planned down to the second and shared broadly on social media by the bride. On their fifth day of vacation bliss, they embark on a long day trip to the beaches of Normandy. Everything is going according to plan... until it isn't. Paul and Chelsea are abducted in an elaborate and sophisticated operation, and the pair are individually ransomed to their respective families.

As each family scrambles to find the requested cash, they are reminded that contacting the authorities will lead to the immediate deaths of the young couple, as will failure to pay by the deadline. The story's point of view bounces between the captured couple and their families, showing how each group handles the stress and terror of the situation. This is also where things start to fall apart for me.

Chelsea's parents immediately cede control and decision-making to their 24-year-old son, a college student and bartender. "Sam will know what to do," they muse, despite also revealing that they "were slowly beginning to believe that Sam enjoyed tending bar more than going to class." The family is embroiled in the most intense situation of their lives, yet the parents rely on their young son as the voice of experience. Their confidence seems well placed, though, because Sam is somehow an expert in hostage situations: "They probably want a clean hand-off, with no cops around. Once we see Chelsea and know she's okay, then we'll release the money, probably to some shady bank offshore. She walks free. But we have to eyeball her first." Sam always has the answers, despite admitting that he is "new at this." Chelsea's family lives in Washington, D.C.—something as simple as having a family friend with professional experience in this area would have avoided the absurdity. Instead, Sam knows everything required to navigate the situation, and that first unrealistic turn hampers my connection to the story.

Things only get worse. We learn that this is not the first time an American couple has been snatched in this manner. In a desperate attempt to locate those still being held, the CIA decides to infiltrate the terrorist ring. They stage a wedding between two undercover agents and send the fake newlyweds to Paris in the hopes that they, too, get picked up by the same group. To avoid losing another set of Americans, they plan to track them the entire time. Keep in mind that the novel regularly mentions how many thousands of Americans honeymoon in Paris every year; simply creating the same scenario seems highly unlikely to attract the same perpetrators, who have only snatched three couples over the last three years.

However, the agency decides that while the bride can be an agent, the groom must be a civilian. Because this is a John Grisham novel, that civilian must, of course, be a young lawyer.  

"Okay, the obvious question right now is, why me? Why not use one of your own? You must have hundreds of young single males on your payroll, all superbly trained. Why go outside the agency?"

She replied, "That is the obvious question. There are two reasons. The first is the element of danger. If, by chance, this gang were to find out that it had been infiltrated by one of ours, death would be immediate. No questions asked, no hesitation whatsoever. Losing an agent is not in our plans."

You can see where the explanation immediately falls apart.

I wanted to like this one a lot, but for a book penned as an homage to John le Carré's great spy novels, it has major plot holes that le Carré would never have tolerated. Furthermore, the pacing is off, to the point that I was legitimately convinced this was all setup for a cliffhanger that would only be resolved in a sequel. Thankfully, this is a standalone novel that concludes the story. I do not predict there will be a sequel.