Last Twilight in Paris by Pam Jenoff

4 stars

Moving historical fiction wrapped in an espionage thriller set in France and England during World War II, focused on a small group of Jews imprisoned as workers in a grand Paris department store, the Levitan, to sort goods taken from Jews homes and put up for sale for Germans.

Two parallel stories converge: the first set in post-war London where Louise Burns works in a second-hand thrift shop and finds one half of a two-part heart necklace in a dropped off box. She recognizes the nicked necklace as one she came across while volunteering for the International Red Cross across enemy lines in Germany during the war. Her friend Fanny, a singer performing for POW’s after they dropped off supply boxes to them, had asked Louise to smuggle the necklace back to Paris for her. Louise, fearful, declines just before Fanny dies based on a suspicious car hit and run. Louise, mired in a suburban life with young kids and husband  Joe stlll shell-shocked from the war, takes up the hunt to figure out the origins of the necklace for some sense of purpose and escape from the tedium her life has become.

The second story centers on Helaine Well, the only daughter of a wealthy, connected Jewish family in Paris who’s been homebound by overly protective parents in reaction to a childhood illness. Helaine yearns for freedom, ultimately falling in love with a celloist she meets when out walking the neighborhood. From her we get a emotive, powerful first person perspective on Paris as the Nazi’s eventually occupy the city and ship Jews to prison camps. Helaine ends up imprisoned in the Levitan department store, desperately searching for word of her celloist.

The mystery of the inter-connectedness of the stories rachets up tension, with an surprising and thought-provoking reveal that brings closure.

A great read!

Thanks to Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for an advanced reader’s copy.

Stacy DeBroff

Stacy DeBroff, founder and CEO of Mom Central.com and social and digital consultancy, Influence Central, is a social media strategist, attorney, and best-selling parenting author. A sought-after expert for national media, she trend-spots regularly with national brands and speaks frequently to national and international audiences on a wide range of subjects, including influencer marketing, social media, entrepreneurship, and consumer trends. A passionate cook, gardener, reader, and tennis player, she adores this new chapter of post-college-age parenting.