Night Boat to Paris

I've really enjoyed Stark House Press's recent spotlight on author Richard Jessup. He wrote over 60 novels, including the excellent five-book series of spy adventures starring Monty Nash. Additionally, Jessup experienced success with his western, The Cincinnati Kid, which was adapted into a Steve McQueen-led film. Along with reprinting Jessup's Port Angelique and Wolf Cop, Stark House Press also released the author's 1956 Dell paperback Night Boat to Paris as a Black Gat Book. 

Jessup's formula uses a familiar setup, often found in westerns, to drive the plot. The concept is the retired gunfighter, bandit, or bounty hunter wrangled back into “one more job”. By the mid 20th century, imaginative authors had transformed the idea into a more contemporary setting, often in crime fiction, as con-artists, heist specialists, and other seedy fellows are convinced “one more job” will score the grandest prize of all. Under the hands of thrilling writers like Lionel White and Dan J. Marlowe, those novels thrived with threads of desperation and treachery while the anti-hero judged his self-perception and worth.

Night Boat to Paris is unique in that it combines this same concept, the retired gunman back on the trail, with a sweeping European spy chase. Jessup's superb plot, melding heist and espionage, recalls the high-adventure cornerstones like Jack Higgins and Hammond Innes. Yet his prose is comparable to the conversational tone of Donald Hamilton's memorable Matt Helm novels. 

In the book's opener, Reece, a former British secret agent, is minding his own business running a small bar in England. His former boss calls him back into action to chase down a microfilm that every country in the world is clamoring for. While the details of the microfilm, its current owner, and the nefarious parties involved are all dense and too specific, the mission is simple: knock over a highly influential dinner party and steal the microfilm from the Russian. 

Reece and intelligence design a heist operation, one that is disguised as a simple hit and run, stealing money and jewelry from all the suits and ties. Under this operation, Reece hits the streets to recruit the best heist guys in the business. The lucrative payout is enticing, and soon Reece and his gang of thieves are training at a farmhouse in France. This is the best part of heist novels for me – the organization of who does what and where. I just love how these jobs come together in vintage paperbacks. Any author worth his salt can infuse so much characterization and subplots into this portion of the heist build-up. Jessup introduces a clever rivalry between the men and two Italian specialists. This will pay dividends in the book's stirring finale. 

Soon, Reece and the men are in full-swing and begin the heist. As always, complications ensue, and changes are made on the fly. The book's second half morphs into getaway mode as the team escapes into the French countryside to avoid the law. It's here that Jessup plays a few more wild cards by introducing a female character who will play a hand in Reece's escape strategy. Additionally, a surprise twist reveals that one of the men is a secret Russian operative.

Night Boat to Paris is the best book I've read thus far in 2026. Jessup was just a phenomenal storyteller, and his stand-alone crime-fiction, spy, and heist novels are top-shelf entertainment. This is an easy recommendation. Get on this Night Boat to Paris as soon as possible. 

Get the book HERE.