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Summary

Grace is trying to rebuild her life, after losing her husband during the war. One day, as she was on her way to work, and passing Central Station, she finds an abandoned suitcase  under a bench seat. On opening it, she finds photographs of a dozen different women. For some reason that she can’t explain she quickly closes the suitcases and hurries off with the photographs.

After spending time researching the photos, she discovers that the owner of the suitcase was Eleanor Trigg, the leader of a group of female secret agents who were sent to Europe during the war to help with the war effort.

Grace finds herself drawn to these photos. She can’t leave them alone and feels she must find out more, if only to find the families so she can pass on the photos.

This story is inspired by true events during world war two and shines a light on the incredible bravery of these otherwise ordinary women.

My Thoughts

I found this story to be inspiring, troubling and unforgettable. One of my favourite genres is world war one and two historical fiction and this book didn’t disappoint.  I was so caught up in the story of these girls, that I didn’t want to be finished reading the book. I even read the last couple of chapters, very slowly, a couple of pages at a time, to delay the ending. I really didn’t want it to end.

I found The Lost Girls Of Paris to be a page turner which didn’t disappoint. This is the first book that I’ve read by this author but I now plan to read her previous book,  The Orphan’s Tale.

Recommendation

“Fraught with danger, and filled with mystery, and meticulously researched, The Lost Girls Of Paris is a fascinating tale of the hidden women who helped win the war” – Lisa Wingate, New York Times best selling author of Before We Were Yours

“Pam Jenoff’s meticulous research and gorgeous historical word building lift her books to must-buy status. An intriguing mystery and a captivating heroine make The Lost Girls Of Paris a read to savour” – Kate Quinn, New York Times best selling author of The Alice Network

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

About the author

Pam is the author of several novels, including her most recent The Lost Girls of Paris and The Orphan’s Tale, both instant New York Times bestsellers. 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 masters 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 practiced law at a large firm and in-house for several years. She now teaches law school at Rutgers – Goodreads.com.au

Published in 2019 by Park Row. Paperback 34 pages

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Images: Goodreads