Spying Behind Enemy Lines, suspense and romance await!
Another intriguing thriller in the British Spy Girl Genre, is added to through the book, "The Lost Girls of Paris". Marie is recruited by a clandestine agency within British military run by a Polish immigrant, Eleanor with great perceptive skills and attention to detail. Eleanor is tasked with locating young women, with strong French linguistic skills to interact with spies already in the field sent to sabotage the German regime after they occupy France. Marie and her associates are trained in radio communication and their unique code to send communications from the field regarding German movements, and as well as their supply needs to continue sabotage. She in turn relates missions for the saboteurs via timing of shipments, and planned military movements, and assignments for the group.
The story is told in two timelines with Marie and Eleanor featured in 1944 and the activities preceding the D-Day Event. The other story takes place in NYC, 1946 which features Grace, a war widow, who wants more to her life than a boring upper class lifestyle. She steals random photos from a suitcase at Grand Central Station (seriously?) only to decide to return them and discovering that the suitcase is gone (um, okay). She later realizes that the owner of the suitcase was a Brit visiting the U.S. Grace along with her deceased husband's best friend, who happens to fortuitously run into her in NYC (cuz it is such a small town and all) agrees to help her solve the mystery behind the pictures. Oh, did I mention that he lives elsewhere and works in field that enables her to solve this mystery? There are plenty of other implausible actions, so if you can't suspend reality, this isn't for you.
Honestly, if the book wasn't so well written and seemingly seamless in its telling, I would have pitched it, but I really was enmeshed despite the "flaws". I loved Marie and I wanted her to succeed. I admired her and the other young women, she trained with as they sought to bring down Germany and keep the British men safe. She knew how dangerous her task and was willing to die for it, even if her daughter grew up an orphan (the girl's father abandoned them). She made the story. Grace played the role to move the story forward, she is not quite as appealing as Marie and her story is not as compelling. If not for Marie, I may have abandoned the story. Initially this was barely a four but after several days a 3 seemed more fair, see summary.
Summary: I liked it but would not reread it. It worked but it had to many convenient happenstances to propel it forward. What person opens someone's suitcase and steals photos? Money okay, Jewelry yes, but photos? Then, later decides that there is a mystery to be solved connected to the pictures because something happens (see spoiler)? There was also a major event that I expected to be resolved that was never addressed after initially making it a big issue. spoiler spoiler spoiler spoiler spoiler spoiler spoiler spoiler spoiler spoiler spoiler spoiler ahead -> Foul play was suggested in Eleanor's Accident. Also, why the British files about this agency were sent to Washington DC, when U.S. had no connection to the young woman or their group of saboteurs. It was mentioned as the reason she may have been in U.S. Later we learn the reason Eleanor was in NYC, then the D.C. was completely dropped from the story. Finally, there was nothing to indicate that Grace had a certain skill set to be able to solve a mystery.
I wish the author had relied on Marie's character to get to the bottom of at least one mystery even the one Grace solved, I think I would enjoyed it so much more.
Those wanting a casual trip to yesteryear and a war behind enemy lines with a surprise romantic interest, will find this delightful. Those wanting a logical, rational story may want to consider a different novel.
The story is told in two timelines with Marie and Eleanor featured in 1944 and the activities preceding the D-Day Event. The other story takes place in NYC, 1946 which features Grace, a war widow, who wants more to her life than a boring upper class lifestyle. She steals random photos from a suitcase at Grand Central Station (seriously?) only to decide to return them and discovering that the suitcase is gone (um, okay). She later realizes that the owner of the suitcase was a Brit visiting the U.S. Grace along with her deceased husband's best friend, who happens to fortuitously run into her in NYC (cuz it is such a small town and all) agrees to help her solve the mystery behind the pictures. Oh, did I mention that he lives elsewhere and works in field that enables her to solve this mystery? There are plenty of other implausible actions, so if you can't suspend reality, this isn't for you.
Honestly, if the book wasn't so well written and seemingly seamless in its telling, I would have pitched it, but I really was enmeshed despite the "flaws". I loved Marie and I wanted her to succeed. I admired her and the other young women, she trained with as they sought to bring down Germany and keep the British men safe. She knew how dangerous her task and was willing to die for it, even if her daughter grew up an orphan (the girl's father abandoned them). She made the story. Grace played the role to move the story forward, she is not quite as appealing as Marie and her story is not as compelling. If not for Marie, I may have abandoned the story. Initially this was barely a four but after several days a 3 seemed more fair, see summary.
Summary: I liked it but would not reread it. It worked but it had to many convenient happenstances to propel it forward. What person opens someone's suitcase and steals photos? Money okay, Jewelry yes, but photos? Then, later decides that there is a mystery to be solved connected to the pictures because something happens (see spoiler)? There was also a major event that I expected to be resolved that was never addressed after initially making it a big issue. spoiler spoiler spoiler spoiler spoiler spoiler spoiler spoiler spoiler spoiler spoiler spoiler ahead -> Foul play was suggested in Eleanor's Accident. Also, why the British files about this agency were sent to Washington DC, when U.S. had no connection to the young woman or their group of saboteurs. It was mentioned as the reason she may have been in U.S. Later we learn the reason Eleanor was in NYC, then the D.C. was completely dropped from the story. Finally, there was nothing to indicate that Grace had a certain skill set to be able to solve a mystery.
I wish the author had relied on Marie's character to get to the bottom of at least one mystery even the one Grace solved, I think I would enjoyed it so much more.
Those wanting a casual trip to yesteryear and a war behind enemy lines with a surprise romantic interest, will find this delightful. Those wanting a logical, rational story may want to consider a different novel.