The Lost Girls of Paris

by Pam Jenoff

[kimbacaffeinate]

Grab your earbuds, a bottle of wine and travel to 1946, Manhattan where Grace Healey,  a young widower finds an abandoned suitcase in Grand Central Terminal. The suitcase belonged to Eleanor Trigg, former leader of a group of female secret agents who were deployed out of London during the war. The tale that unfolds has us crossing into Soviet-controlled France as twelve woman work undercover to undermine Hitler. They placed these brave young women undercover in Occupied Europe and worked as couriers and radio operators to aid the resistance, but they never returned home and their fates were a mystery.

Graces curiosity regarding the photos and Eleanor soon have her investigating with a little help from a friend. The story that unfolds was riveting. Told in from multiple perspectives - before, during and after the war, we get Grace's story,  Elenor's, and a young, single mother named Marie a young spy posing as a French woman.

Jenoff pulled me in from all angles and the different story lines were equally strong. Marie's story perhaps touched me the most from her bravery to the climatic events that unfolded around her. I devoured her chapters. Along with Grace I demanded to know her story. I laughed, wept and found myself experiences her emotions.

While rich with period details and historical details the story focus is more character driven.  There are two romantic threads, one of growth and one of fate. One will leave you hopeful the other in a puddle. You will come to admire all three women and this group of female spies and their role in WWII.

Elizabeth Knowelden, Henrietta Meire, and Candace Thaxton each did an outstanding job of capturing these characters from Grace's curiosity to Marie's strength. The book lends itself perfectly to audio from the pacing to the story lines and there was no confusion as to whom was speaking as we hopped from Paris, London, Germany and New York. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer