In May 1940, Nazi Germany marched into France. Within a month, France had fallen to the might of the Third Reich. With France occupied by the enemy, England was in danger. Now, only 21 miles at the narrowest point (150 miles at the farthest point) separated England from this deadly foe. Something had to be done. In June 1940, the Special Operations Executive (SOE) was established. Their mission was espionage; agents would subvert and sabotage the Nazi regime by blowing up bridges, factories, and trains, as well as cultivate local resistance and guerrilla warfare.

Starting in November 1940, SOE agents were recruited and subjected to arduous training before being parachuted behind enemy lines. Although many SOE agents were male, more than three dozen were women from all walks of life and from all over the world. These women were fluent in French and were trained as couriers or as radio operators. Prime Minister Winston Churchill was a staunch supporter of the SOE: “And now go and set Europe ablaze.”

The Lost Girls of Paris, by Pam Jenoff is a fictionalized overview of the women of the SOE. This book opens in New York City one year after the end of World War II. Grace Healey, a war widow, is rushing through Grand Central Station on her way to work. En route, she spies an abandoned suitcase filled with photos of different women. Something about those women’s faces pulls at Grace, and she sets out to discover who they are.

A tale of strength, support, and survival, The Lost Girls of Paris highlights the heroism and sacrifices of 39 women whose efforts aided the Allies and, ultimately, won the war.

***
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Harlequin Trade Publishing through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

One morning on her way to work Grace finds a suitcase at the train station. She finds a set of twelve photos and before she knows it she has left the train station with the photos. Grace learns that the photos and suitcase belonged to a woman named Eleanor Trigg. Eleanor was the leader of a network of female secret agents. The photos were of twelve of her agents that was unaccounted for. Grace tries to learn what has become of these brave women. I loved this book. I had a hard time putting it down. What those women did was brave at a scary time in the world.

I really enjoyed this historical fiction book. Some of the characters and events are based on fact but there is no way the author could adequately capture the heroics of the many women who served at the SOE.

Yes women did play a role in WW's and this tells you of the lives of some of the women in the SOE who deployed to France to help serve their country. What their life was like, the risks they took, and betrayals. And how 2 women tried to bring these betrayals to light.

I think this book is what I hoped The Alice Network would be. Telling the story of women agents in France during WWII, Jenoff covers some tough ground about the realities of war. The book is well written and heartbreaking. Made me want to read Code Name Verity again.

I love historical fiction this was a really good read thank you to net galley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book it was a great experience

With most of the men at war and definitely more obvious than women if left at home, the best people for special war operations were women.

1943 - Eleanor was the woman in charge of the recruiting and placement of the women.

Eleanor knew it was very dangerous for the women to be doing these covert deeds as well as knowing that they are not as strong or physically equipped as men, but the women were definitely less easy to spot or were they? She had to prove to the men in charge that the women she chose were the right ones, and the women could carry out the operations.

1944 - Marie was recruited for one of the dangerous jobs in France since she spoke fluent French.

Marie went through training with Eleanor who was strict and difficult but with Marie knowing she really wasn't. When Marie was sent on her first mission. she was terrified as each woman had been, but the job needed to be completed.

1946 - Grace found a suitcase in Grand Central that had an envelope with photographs of women. This was after the war, and these photographs made Grace curious about who these women were and why that specific suitcase had been abandoned.

Grace needed to find out why the photos were in this abandoned suitcase, who these women in the photos were, and what the connection was to the past and to the war. Grace was also avoiding or was she unconsciously enjoying the company and attention of her dead husband's best friend, Mark.

We follow the lives of these three women in alternating time periods as Pam Jenoff does her magic of detailing and informing us about their private lives, their roles in history, and the situations they were in and had been involved in.

Historical fiction fans as well as women's fiction fans will devour this marvelous book.

THE LOST GIRLS OF PARIS is another beautiful, well-researched Pam Jenoff creation.

DO NOT miss reading this book. 5/5

This book was given to me via NetGalley by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I love learning something new about WWII history is Ms. Jenoff’s latest novel. I had no clue that women were trained and then dispatched to the field to be radio transmitters. These women were true heroes and most have their life for the cause. I’m happy I got to learn about them.

A wonderful well written book. My knowledge of the SOE ( Special Operation Executive) was pretty limited. They were truly brave courageous women .The book was very well written and included more than enough fiction to pull you into the story.

This book explores a new-to-me side of WWII: that of British female radio operators in occupied France. The story focuses on three women : Eleanor, the woman in charge of the women agents; Marie, one of her operatives; and Grace a woman in America after the war who investigates the organization.
I found the story interesting and exciting and tense. The events seemed realistic and believable. I became invested in the lives of all these women as they fought or searched for answers from the war. I could never had done what those agents did in the war.
If you like books about WWII, especially focusing on the women who fought alongside the men, then read this new book by Pam Jenoff.
I received an advance review copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Such COURAGEOUS Women. WWII was hell for everyone, but these woman with various motivations servered undercover in France doing what their men could not. Many did not come home.and suffered terribly at the hands of the brutal Nazis. This is a wonderfully research book documenting their valor. Great story line tells of their training, adventures and struggles or freedom. Sadly, much was done to cover up their contribution. But in this historical novel their voices are heard! Thank you to the unlisted and Netgallery for an advance copy of this book. I am a Pan Jenoff fan forever.

While this book had promise and I read it quickly mainly to find out what happened there were some glaring things I couldn’t get over. I don’t really want to spoil the book but I just didn’t like it. It was too much things that just weren’t rational or felt realistic. Disappointed.

While I haven't had the fortune of reading a Pam Jenoff book before, I'm glad to have started off my venture into this author's works with The Lost Girls of Paris. As I perused NetGalley for ARCs, I immediately stopped at the image of this book's cover. The premise immediately grabbed my attention. As a United States History teacher, I'm a sucker for any historical fiction surrounding the events of World War II. However, over time, I have noticed that most of these books feel too nuanced and expected, so I was looking for a new take on the topic. The Lost Girls of Paris fulfilled that for me.

The book starts off in 1946 with the story of Grace Healey, a young widow who stumbles upon a briefcase containing photographs of young women like herself. Curiosity takes ahold of her and she finds herself on a whirlwind adventure to discover the originations and endings of the women in the photographs. We find out the girls are British operatives who are trained to lead covert lives, while trying to further the Allied cause in occupied France. The story alternates between one operative in particular, Marie, and the head of the operation, Eleanor.I'll leave it at that though, because too much more would spoil it!

Again, this was my first Jenoff novel, but it will certainly not be my last. Her storytelling ability was profound. The novel was filled with moments of joy, suspense, and gratification. Typically with historical fiction, it is easy for myself as the reader to determine the plot twist of the novel, but this one kept me guessing at every turn. I was also unaware of the details surrounding the SOE (Special Operations Executive), so naturally, I did some outside research after reading to look into it more. I'm so very appreciative that Jenoff stuck to fact when constructing this novel. It was obvious she did a tremendous amount of research to ensure this book would stay true to the historical event. More importantly, Jenoff made me care about the characters she spent time writing about. These women were incredibly brave and tenacious to carry out the missions necessary to further a larger cause. I would easily recommend this book to anyone, even those who are not particularly fond of historical fiction.

Rating: 5 bright shining stars

This new book by Pam Jenoff, author of “The Orphan's Tale”, is a winner! I was impressed by how masterfully she pulled together all the various aspects of this work of historical fiction. Per the author, the book’s germination was based on little known facts about a group of women who were dropped into France towards the end of WWII to work with the French Resistance to help defeat the Germans. It’s told from three perspectives.

Grace Healey is the main protagonist of the post-WWII storyline. She is a war widow who is trying to build a life for herself in 1946 era New York City. She comes across an abandoned suitcase in Grand Central Station, and finds a packet of photos of about a dozen women which for some inexplicable reason she keeps. This kicks off her quest to find out more about the women.

Eleanor Trigg is a no-nonsense assistant to the SOE (Special Operations) commander in embattled London during WWII. In 1944, He grudgingly gives her permission to train and place a team of female agents in the field in France. From there we meet some of her recruits at their Scottish training camp, and follow them on their assignments behind enemy lines in France. Marie is the secret agent whose story is most extensively detailed in the book as the third main narrator of the book.

The timeline shifts between Grace, to Eleanor (both during and after WWII), and then Marie. The storylines are deftly woven together to form a colorful tapestry of a world torn asunder, and the lengths some of these unsung heroines were willing to go to try to help knit it back together. The emotions displayed by all the characters were in keeping with their situations.

There was not a wrong step in this book. It showed the very real precipice that the world was on in the midst of WWII, and the extraordinary lengths ordinary women were willing to go to in order to help pull it back from the brink. There was suspense and pathos; sadness and a fight for survival. Ultimately I cared about every single woman in this book. I think that we owe a debt of gratitude to the women who died unreported and unacknowledged during the war. They should now be brought out of the shadows of history. Thank-you to the author for bringing them to my attention in such a relatable fashion!

‘Thank-You’ to NetGalley; the publisher, Harlequin; and the author, Pam Jenoff; for providing a free e-ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
(Any quotes shown above were taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication.)

I've read very nearly every book by Pam Jenoff, and The Lost Girls of Paris seems to be far and away her best book yet. She's taken her signature style of focusing on the role of women in different aspects of World War II, and this time highlighted some particularly brave and unique women- those serving as spies in occupied France. Readers are offered three perspectives- that of Grace, living in New York shortly after the war, who stumbles upon a suitcase containing some photos that she feels tell a story; Eleanor, charged with creating and managing a team of women sent as spies, and Marie, one of the women recruited and sent to France. There is fear and tension simmering through this book- the organization Eleanor creates is established due to the rapid pace at which men in the field have been killed or arrested- and the stakes are truly life and death. Jenoff has written three women who are distinct and interesting, and the story is fascinating and heartbreaking. Both fans of Jenoff's previous books and those who were drawn by the tension of stories such as Kate Quinn's The Alice Network will be scooping this one up.

An intriguing, emotional story of a group of young British women recruited by the SOE in the months leading up to D-Day they worked as radio operators and couriers getting messages from and to the Allies in an attempt to disrupt the Germans and to aid the resistance. In 1946 in New York City Grace finds a suitcase under a bench in Grand Central Station, in it are photographs of 12 young women in uniform. When Grace learns that Eleanor Trigg, the owner of the suitcase has been killed in a car accident just outside the station she sets out to learn what she can about Eleanor and her girls. Told in alternating points of view and moving seamlessly between 1943 and 1946 we become a part of the lives of these girls and the dangers they faced. This is a fascinating, albeit painful, story that grabbed me and held on until the end.

I seem to read a lot of books pertaining to the two World Wars and I almost passed on this one. That would have been not only a mistake but a loss. Pam Jenoff has woven a story about the women who became a part of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) and were dropped from England into France as radio operators between 1943 and 1944, just ahead of the allied invasion. That story, already told and put to bed, has been left to be discovered by Grace Healy in New York in 1946.

Running late for work and looking for a shortcut which might get her to her office sooner, Grace happens on a traffic accident and has to make a detour through Grand Central Station. She finds an abandoned suitcase, neatly packed containing among other things a pack of carefully wrapped photographs in a piece of lace inside an envelope. The photographs were of young women some dressed in military uniforms, others in smart street clothes. The photographs yield the secrets to be unfolded in this book.

The writing is engrossing and the movement between countries and years is seamless. I was totally involved in the story and regardless of the foregone conclusion dictated by the title I was foolishly hopeful. When the writing is that good that you not only become invested psychologically but emotionally you know the writer has more than achieved her goal.

Lost Girls is based on a real female operative, Vera Atkins, and the women who served under her leadership. Although the story has been fictionalized it is infuriating believable. When I finished this book I was reminded of an old TV commercial. Two older men climb a hill, take off their jackets and get into a slug fest. The import behind the fight is that they are world leaders and are going to do battle instead of sending millions of their citizens to kill one another. If only war was that easy to resolve.

Thanks you NetGalley and Harlequin for a copy.

Seen through the eyes of three women, The Lost Girls of Paris tells of the establishment, training, and deployment of young British women as undercover operatives in France during WWII. Based on factual events, the majority of the narrative takes place in 1944. Then there is a separate story taking place in 1946 as a young American widow serendipitously learns of these women’s activities during WWII. She becomes determined to find out more about what happened to these women and why. This is one part of the story that didn’t quite ring true to me. What made it so urgent that she just had to learn more, even at the expense of missing work?

I also questioned why Marie, so devoted to her young daughter, would take such risks with her life, first by going to France on a dangerous mission and subsequently, by taking chances while in France that could lead to her capture and death.

Additionally, I was frustrated by the author’s use of foreshadowing. It made things a bit too obvious, leaving me rather unsurprised when those events ultimately take place. ”Suddenly she was struck with an uneasy feeling that he should not leave. .. . she could not help but feel that she had lost him forever.”

Sometime reading a story told from multiple POVs allows me to get a better picture of what’s going on. In The Lost Girls of Paris, I found it distracting rather than illuminating, keeping me from emotionally connecting with any of these three women.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Lost Girls of Paris by Pam Jenoff follows three women: Eleanor Trigg, the leader of a secret group of female operatives during World War II; Marie, one of Eleanor's agents who left her daughter behind to help the mission; and Grace, an American woman who stumbles across a mysterious suitcase after the war that includes pictures of 12 girls.

As the novel alternates between the three women, we learn more about Eleanor's operation, Marie's work and Grace's question to discover who these women are and what happened. At times, it was difficult to line up the timelines of Eleanor and Marie leading to minor confusion. Overall, I loved the way the story unfolded and it told a beautiful story of the bravery and resilience displayed by all three women in the face of incredible circumstances.

4.5 stars

I wasn’t planning on reading this book. I had previously read two books by Pam Jenoff, and while I thought they were important books on the Holocaust, I just didn’t connect with the characters. I was offered an advanced digital copy by the publisher but didn’t immediately accept it. Then a lovely Goodreads friend sent me a paper version of the advanced copy. Then I saw some rave reviews by some of my trusted Goodreads friends. Those were enough things to convince me to read it and I’m really very glad I did. If I hadn’t read it I would have missed learning about such admirable women, courageous women who played an active and important role during WWII. I found this to be a fast paced, tension filled story that had me hooked enough to read it in two days because I came to care about the characters.

The focus of the story is on three women, spanning from England to France to the US from 1943 to 1946. Grace Healey, finds a suitcase in Grand Central Station that leads her on a search to find out about the women whose pictures she has taken from the suitcase. Eleanor Trigg works for the Special Operations Executive in England and her job is to run the top secret program placing women in France as radio operators, but who actually play a variety of roles to sabotage the Nazis. Marie Roux is one of the women recruited by Eleanor, selected because of her perfect French. There were other women, too, most notably Josie who befriends Marie on her first day of the arduous training. There are lesser characters, one of whom I fell in love with , the little boy Sammy, a Jewish refugee who comes to Grace’s attorney boss because he needs a place to live.

To say more about the plot would be giving the story away, so I’ll just say that it was harrowing and poignant. It was about brave characters who wonderfully represent the real brave women who took on these dangerous missions. It was about friendship and about women realizing their worth and strength in these endeavors, previously reserved for men. There have been a number of books over the last few years about women who played a role in WWII, the unsung heroes who acted as spies, decoders, mathematicians and in the case of this book, their mission was sabotage against Hitler and the Nazis. Pam Jenoff is among the writers deserving of praise for bringing to our attention the bravery and the contributions of the women of the SOE. While Jenoff makes a point of telling us in an ending note, that this story was inspired by some real people and events, this is a work of fiction. She made it feel very realistic, created characters who could easily have been the brave women of the SOE.

I received an advanced copy of this book from Park Row/Harlequin through NetGalley.

If you love historical fiction with a bit of mystery, this is a book you will not want to miss!

This book is told in multiple time periods, but these time periods are only a few years apart. It all takes place between 1943 – 1946 and is told from the perspective of three women – Eleanor, Marie, and Grace.

Eleanor is put in charge of the newly formed all female operatives unit within SOE (Special Operation Executive). Her job is to recruit, train, and deploy these women into the field. Marie was one of the operatives recruited by Eleanor. She was hesitant and questioned whether this was the path she should be headed down, but became determined to see it through. Last, but not least there is Grace. She lives and works in New York following a personal tragedy. On her way to work one day she finds a suitcase that has been left behind in Grand Central Terminal. Her curiosity gets the best of her and she opens it. Once she sets eyes on its contents she becomes obsessed with solving the mystery of who the suitcase belongs to and the mystery that lies within it.

Each of these women showed considerable strength and growth as the story progressed. Their determination, devotion, and sacrifice were admirable. It was a great pleasure to read a story about three strong women working their way through their fears, doubts, and showing remarkable courage!

This is the second book by Pam Jenoff that I have read and I cannot wait to see what she writes next!