I should reveal that I have actually read the entire novel, and my notes below are the result of that. Also contains some spoiler information.
The Lost Girls of Paris follows in the footsteps of other recent novels presenting stories about women spies in WWII Europe, based on real events. There are two major threads to the story, separated by two years and an ocean. The first thread begins in New York in 1946, when Grace, a young war widow, literally stumbles on a suitcase whose belongings include a set of photographs of young women. The second begins in England, and winds its way to France, in 1944, with the story of the recruiting, training and deployment of female spies whose job it became to transmit information via wireless from enemy territory back to London. The two stories run parallel, mostly in alternating chapters, and eventually come together near the end of the book. The portion dealing with the actual spies was better written and more interesting to me than the post-war life Grace led.
I had not previously read any of Pam Jenoff’s books, though I’m aware she has written several that are set in WWII. Based on this, I would likely read another.
SPOILER ALERT.
Overall, I enjoyed this novel but I think The Nightingale and The Alice Network told similar stories much better. Two events in this book in particular let the story down. The first thing I struggled with was necessary for the plot line, but I still can’t figure out what on earth WHY Grace would open an abandoned suitcase, rifle through the contents and then take something out of it. As I said, necessary to the plot but REALLY? The second was when Marie is inserted into her post in France with no apparent cover story. Surely a single woman showing up in a town in occupied France at that stage of the war would need to have a reason to be there or stick out like a sore thumb. That her presence did not raise red flags immediately felt disingenuous.
The Lost Girls of Paris follows in the footsteps of other recent novels presenting stories about women spies in WWII Europe, based on real events. There are two major threads to the story, separated by two years and an ocean. The first thread begins in New York in 1946, when Grace, a young war widow, literally stumbles on a suitcase whose belongings include a set of photographs of young women. The second begins in England, and winds its way to France, in 1944, with the story of the recruiting, training and deployment of female spies whose job it became to transmit information via wireless from enemy territory back to London. The two stories run parallel, mostly in alternating chapters, and eventually come together near the end of the book. The portion dealing with the actual spies was better written and more interesting to me than the post-war life Grace led.
I had not previously read any of Pam Jenoff’s books, though I’m aware she has written several that are set in WWII. Based on this, I would likely read another.
SPOILER ALERT.
Overall, I enjoyed this novel but I think The Nightingale and The Alice Network told similar stories much better. Two events in this book in particular let the story down. The first thing I struggled with was necessary for the plot line, but I still can’t figure out what on earth WHY Grace would open an abandoned suitcase, rifle through the contents and then take something out of it. As I said, necessary to the plot but REALLY? The second was when Marie is inserted into her post in France with no apparent cover story. Surely a single woman showing up in a town in occupied France at that stage of the war would need to have a reason to be there or stick out like a sore thumb. That her presence did not raise red flags immediately felt disingenuous.