20190112_123509.jpgHappy Tuesday!  Welcome to my stop on the The Lost Girls of Paris by Pam Jenoff blog tour sponsored by TLC Book Tours. Thanks to TLC for the invitation! Today I have a review of this fabulous book!

About the Book:

From the author of the runaway bestseller The Orphan’s Talecomes a remarkable story of friendship and courage centered around three women and a ring of female spies during World War II.

1946, Manhattan

Grace Healey is rebuilding her life after losing her husband during the war. One morning while passing through Grand Central Terminal on her way to work, she finds an abandoned suitcase tucked beneath a bench. Unable to resist her own curiosity, Grace opens the suitcase, where she discovers a dozen photographs—each of a different woman. In a moment of impulse, Grace takes the photographs and quickly leaves the station.

Grace soon learns that the suitcase belonged to a woman named Eleanor Trigg, leader of a ring of female secret agents who were deployed out of London during the war. Twelve of these women were sent to Occupied Europe as couriers and radio operators to aid the resistance, but they never returned home, their fates a mystery. Setting out to learn the truth behind the women in the photographs, Grace finds herself drawn to a young mother turned agent named Marie, whose daring mission overseas reveals a remarkable story of friendship, valor and betrayal.

Vividly rendered and inspired by true events, New York Times bestselling author Pam Jenoff shines a light on the incredible heroics of the brave women of the war, and weaves a mesmerizing tale of courage, sisterhood and the great strength of women to survive in the hardest of circumstances.

My Thoughts:

The Lost Girls of Paris is historical fiction storytelling at its finest. 

It’s 1946 in Manhattan, and Grace Healey is late for work. She is starting over because her husband was killed during the war, and she has to keep this job to make ends meet. 

As she rushes to work, things continue to go awry, when she happens upon a suitcase in Grand Central Terminal. Inside are a dozen photographs of women. In a moment of haste, she takes the photos with her. 

Grace later learns the suitcase belonged to Eleanor Trigg…And Trigg’s job? Leading a ring of female secret agents in London during the war. They worked carrying messages and operating radios, all in the name of the resistance. However, these women never returned home, and it’s not known why. 

Grace is determined to find out what happened to the women, and she is especially inspired by Marie, a young mother. I can’t say more because I don’t want to give anything away about the plot that isn’t already shared in the synopsis. 

Gosh! These women were so brave and inspirational, and I’m so grateful Jenoff brought their stories to life. For a well-researched historical fiction title, The Lost Girls of Paris has substantial page-turning suspense. The pace is quick, and the writing is creamy smooth. There are three narrators, and I was invested in all three. 

Overall, The Lost Girls of Paris is engaging, intriguing, suspenseful, and well-written. Fans of World War II fiction and wonderful storytelling will not want to miss this book! 

Thank you to the author and publisher for the complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

306f3876-6e89-47ec-87d6-af78556da6d6

About the Author:

Pam is the author of several novels, including her most recent The Orphan’s Tale, an instant New York Times bestseller. Pam was born in Maryland and raised outside Philadelphia. She attended George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and Cambridge University in England. Upon receiving her master’s in history from Cambridge, she accepted an appointment as Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Army. The position provided a unique opportunity to witness and participate in operations at the most senior levels of government, including helping the families of the Pan Am Flight 103 victims secure their memorial at Arlington National Cemetery, observing recovery efforts at the site of the Oklahoma City bombing and attending ceremonies to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of World War II at sites such as Bastogne and Corregidor.

Following her work at the Pentagon, Jenoff moved to the State Department. In 1996 she was assigned to the U.S. Consulate in Krakow, Poland. It was during this period that Pam developed her expertise in Polish-Jewish relations and the Holocaust. Working on matters such as preservation of Auschwitz and the restitution of Jewish property in Poland, Jenoff developed close relations with the surviving Jewish community.

Having left the Foreign Service in 1998 to attend law school at the University of Pennsylvania, Jenoff is now employed as an attorney in Philadelphia.

Pam is the author of The Kommandant’s Girl, which was an international bestseller and nominated for a Quill award, as well as The Diplomat’s Wife and Almost Home.

Have you read The Lost Girls of Paris, or is it on your TBR? Happy Reading! ~ Jennifer THR