Paris Undercover
A Wartime Story of Courage, Friendship, and Betrayal
Matthew Goodman, Ballantine Books, 2025, 448 pages
Book Review published on: December 23, 2025
Paris Undercover. A Wartime Story of Courage, Friendship, and Betrayal reads like a well-crafted piece of historical fiction, but it is a true story, which makes it more fascinating. Matthew Goodman’s book takes place during World War II and provides the reader with a glimpse into the world of occupied France. Readers feel the mounting tension as German forces invaded, rapidly defeated, and then moved to seize the country. German forces entered Paris without firing a shot; they came with an air of liberators but in short order, their occupation became oppressive. The country was divided into three sectors: the forbidden zone to the extreme north, the occupied zone in which Paris and 60 percent of the population resided, and the southern nonoccupied zone that was managed by the Vichy French. The story develops and takes place with a German administration and military governing a defeated France.
The protagonists of the story could not be more unassuming or different. Etta Shiber is an American widow and Kitty Bonnefous is an English divorcee. Both middle-aged women are close friends, living together, and who find themselves in Paris as the German occupation takes place. As the Germans quickly take control of the country and the capital, it is not long before Kitty, who staunchly but quietly supports the UK, decides to take matters into her hands. As a volunteer member of American Hospital in Paris, Kitty took on the dangerous role of driver for the Ambulance and Transport Service. Due to her humanitarian position, she had nearly unfettered access to all of France and had established human networks across the country. It was Kitty who was the catalyst and change agent and an unwitting Etta who created an escape line from the northern forbidden zone to southern non-occupied zone for UK and French service members.
The book highlights the audaciousness of the ladies’ planning and execution. Under the watchful eyes of the Germans, the ladies coordinated the intelligence, logistics, money, and actual movement of approximately fifteen UK and fifteen French service members. Their human network included priests, members of the U.S. embassy, and French peasants. The stories of those they helped escape were dangerous and took a toll on the women personally. In the end, the Gestapo captured them both and shut down the escape line. Etta spent eighteen months in prison before returning to the United States in a prisoner exchange. Etta later published a memoir of their work and became a celebrity. Kitty spent the rest of the war languishing in a Nazi prison, completely unaware that a book had been written about her.
The book is well written and interesting. The story would resonate with anyone who has an interest in World War II history. The story of two enterprising women who actively resist the German occupation at great risk to themselves is a marvel. The story of their imprisonment and survival is equally astonishing. Paris Underground is an examination of the human spirit to fight and help your fellow man, I highly recommend it.
Book Review written by: Col. Robert Sherrill, U.S. Marine Corps, Retired, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas