Last Twilight in Paris - a powerful WWII-era story featuring two strong women.

This dual-timeline novel starts in 1943, in Paris. Helaine has just been arrested. Her husband Gabriel, a cellist, is missing in Germany and she realizes that coming from a wealthy, influential Jewish family has not protected her. The story shifts to 1953, England where Louise, a married mother of two, remains haunted by the time she volunteered for the Red Cross during WWII. In a secondhand store, she finds a heart necklace, which she recognizes as a piece of jewelry one of the prisoners in a German camp they visited had tried to have smuggled out by her friend Franny. After Fanny took the necklace, she was killed, allegedly in a car accident. Louise had suspected that her friend's death was connected to the necklace. Now, with the necklace in her possession, she is determined to uncover the truth about her friend's death. Her search takes her to the former building of Lévitan, a former luxury department store that was converted to a place where the Germans stored and sold looted possessions of Parisian Jews. It also served as a prison camp for those arrested and forced to work there. This was where Helaine was taken when she was arrested. 

Pam Jenoff has written many riveting historical novels about WWII and its aftermath. Last Twilight in Paris is a powerful story that sheds light on a lesser-known aspect of the German occupation of Paris - the story of Lévitan. Jenoff has created two strong female characters and an intriguing mystery. If you are a fan of historical fiction, chances are you are familiar with this author. If not, this book is a perfect introduction to one of the top authors in the genre, who writes stories that need to be told.

Many thanks to Park Row for the gifted advance copy. 

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Historical Fiction.

Publication Date: February 4, 2025.

Please "like" this post if Last Twilight in Paris sounds like a book you might like to read. I'd love to know. Scroll below the photo and click on the red outlined heart on the lower right-hand side of the page. Comments can also be left below.