Just when I thought there could not be any new spin on the WWII theme I am proven dead wrong! Something I have learned in reading this genre is that there is always one more unique and interesting story to be discovered. At first I thought if you read on WWII novel you've read them all. I mean how many different ways can the same story be told? An infinite number of ways is the answer. Infinite! I love this, it means there is always something new and fresh waiting just around the corner for me.
With that being said, on to the review! Kirsty Manning does a brilliant job telling the stories of three women, on, Evie, a widow, shop owner and mother of a teenage boy is set in the present day. Evie's deceased husband was the great-nephew of Josephine Murant, a french mystery writer in the same league as Agatha Christie.
Josephine Murant is the next POV, her story centers around her involvement in the French resistance during WWII, and her subsequent arrest and incarceration in Fresnes prison and then the work camp at the Phrix Rayon factory. Josephine documents her experiences in the margins of a french copy of "The Phantom of the Opera", sent to her by her mother. She keeps the book carefully concealed from the Nazi guards and other prisoners.
Josephine's cellmate is the third POV, Margot Bisset. Margot is a former maid to society jet setting couple the Munro's, at whose Bastille day celebration an American socialite was shot and killed. Margot was framed for the murder, arrested and thrown in jail with Josephine. Wary at first of each other, the two women slowly become friends, and as conditions get worse, their friendship solidifies into something more enduring and longer lasting, inspiring never ending loyalty and love between them.
I loved this story, the mystery was an added bonus. This is a well crafted mystery that keeps you guessing until the very end. The author blends the three women's stories together skillfully, the story flows from one POV to the other with no disruption. The characters are well developed, we get a true sense of who they are. This is very important to me. If I don't connect with the characters I don't enjoy the book. One of the reasons for reading is the connection you feel with the characters. It is definitely in this novel. An A+ for the ending, I sue did not guess this one. I was wondering how the author was going to wrap up all three stories without leaving any ends dangling. She did it brilliantly, that is how! Wonderful!
5 stars, highly recommend, one of the best historical fiction novels I have read this year. This book premieres 11-2-21, don't miss it.
Thank you to William Morrow Publishing and Net Galley for the free ARC, in return I am leaving my honest review.

i loved the use of the lost transcript and it's use to the story. I loved getting to know the characters and go on this journey with them. It was a wonderfully done story that was beautifully written.

“The French Gift—A Novel of World War II Paris”
By: Kirsty Manning

Intrigue, Murder, Double-Crosses and Unlikely Friendships

In this beautifully engaging dual time-line story, Evie Black, the niece of famous French Agatha Christie-style mystery writer and WWII Resistance fighter, Josephine Murant, is challenged to sort her Aunt's possessions and create a posthumous exhibition of her collected works.

When Evie and her son move into Murant’s Cote d’Azur estate and beging reading and sorting through her Aunt's materials, chilling revelations about Murant’s imprisonment by the Germans unfolds.

Carefully detailed in the margins of a French-language copy of “The Phantom of the Opera,” Evie’s Aunt kept detailed records of her life at the German-run Fresne Prison, along with information about her cellmate, Margo Bissett.

Bissett, a former house maid for wealthy Riviera homeowner’s, is incarcerated falsely for murder. She and Murant, over the duration of German imprisonment, work camps, and forced factory work, become the closest of friends.

This friendship was frequently tested, yet always endured—during starvation periods, illnesses, air raids and bombing strikes, and especially when the rayon factory acid pipes were opened to fill pails that could create caustic incendiary mutilating and killing hazards. Murrant and Bissett always kept each other's best interests at heart.

These and more astounding surprises and secrets are revealed in this elegantly and poignantly evolved story of two women caught in the snares of the ruthlessness and brutally of war, whose genuine friendship and personal sacrifices in the face of monumental odds is a testament to the power of love conquering all.

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The Book Maven’s Journal—Reviews for Word Connoisseurs

REVIEWER: J.Hunt
STAR RATING ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️


“The French Gift—A Novel of World War II Paris”
Author: Kirsty Manning
Genre: General Fiction | Historical Fiction |
Publication Date: 02 November 2021
Publisher: William Morrow and Custom House

With Sincerest Appreciation to NetGalley, Author Kirsty Manning, and William Morrow and Custom House Publishers for Providing this Advance Reader’s Copy for Review.

Kirsty Manning has crafted a tri -narrative! In France, in modern times, there is Evie Black, a seller of rare botanical books and prints from her Paris shop. This may be the last summer she spends with her teenaged son before he goes off to university. Her other major task is helping with the exhibition of her husband’s deceased great aunt Josephine, a renowned author famous for her mystery books and resistance efforts during WWII.

The second narrative voice is Margot. She was a servant on the cusp of WWII in a great house on the French Riviera. One evening at a gala, a murder occurs, and Margot is unjustly accused and found guilty. She is sentenced to prison and then onto the Phrix Rayon Factory in Germany. There she encounters Josephine, the journalist and a vocal resistant to the Occupation. She is the third narrator. Josephine was betrayed by someone and must endure the harsh conditions of brutal factory life with the other women. Josephine and Margot form a true friendship through shared suffering, loyalty and courage.

Early on, astute readers can anticipate major plot points. But that does not detract from the author’s descriptions, unfolding of relationships, a bit of romance, mystery and details about a part of Nazi Germany and the fate of French resistant members not usually emphasized in fictional accounts. Recommended. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher of providing this title.

I’d like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for this e-ARC. All opinions are my own.

I wanted to like this book. It fell flat for me. It was good, but I guess it just wasn’t for me.

The French Gift is a moving dual timeline historical novel about WWII, friendship, and a murder mystery. During the present time, Evie is finding out about her great-aunt Josephine and her part in the French Resistance. Josephine Murant had been incarcerated at Fresnes Prison and in Anrath with Margot Bisset, who was convicted of murder. This was an excellent book. If you enjoy historical WWII fiction, this is a must read. Thanks to author Kirsty Manning, publisher William Morrow and Custom House, and to NetGalley for providing a copy of this book for an honest review.

This book is set in two time periods with three different women narrating their stories. They are tied together by secrets and a mystery.

Evie Black's story is set in present day. She is Australian, was married to Frenchman Raph and has a teen son named Hugo. Raph died 18 months previously and Evie is now in charge of Raph's Aunt Josephine's estate , Villa Sanary in the French Riviera.

Margo Bissett was a maid for the wealthy couple at Villa Sanary during the 1940's. She is accused of murdering a wealthy American guest during a party but she was most definitely set up. You read this immediately as this is how the book starts. She is told to hide on the terrace and when the fireworks start, Margo is meant to fire a loaded gun into the air. This is the start of "murder" as a party game and her employers insists it's all a prop to start the game. She is arrested and her employer suddenly knows nothing about this "game."

Josephine Murant is a wealthy Parisian and accomplished author of crime/mystery novels. She was also involved dicreetly with the resistance movement during WW II. When she is arrested and placed in Anrath Prison she meets Margo and takes her under her wing. The conditions described are quite awful and the big twist with these two women are revealed around the 90% mark.

Evie Black eventually figures out the mystery of her Aunt Josephine and convicted killer Margo Bissett.

Publication date is November 2, 2021 by William Morrow and Custom House. Genre: Mystery and General Fiction.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced reader's copy of this book. I was not compensated for the review, all opinions are mine.

Was good but not great. Needed more details. I also feel the ending was rushed. Was just alright for me.

Kristy Manning is an author I was unaware of. Having fallen in love with her voice while reading The French Gift, I will be looking for more of her work. Interesting, well drawn characters and beautiful descriptive phrases all centered around very interesting storylines. Loved it!

Evie is tasked with helping to create an exhibition of her husband's great aunt, a famous mystery writer, after his sudden death. Having never talked about her time in prison during the war, a part of Josephine's life has remained a mystery. Told by both women as well as Margot, a convicted murderer, this is a compelling read showing the strength and courage of these women.

This story is told through three women, one in present day France, and the other two during WWII in France and in a German labor camp. Present day is Evie Black, an Australian living in France. Evie lost her French husband Raph about eighteen months prior to the beginning of the story. Her son, Hugo is entering his last year of school and has become withdrawn since the death of his father. Evie owns a quaint bookshop in Paris that specializes in rare botanical books, illustrations, and manuscripts. Joséphine Murant is the recently deceased great-aunt of Evie’s deceased husband, Raph. Josephine was a world renowned mystery author, who was imprisoned during WWII for being a liberator. Josephine met Margot Bisset, a young maid from the South of France, who was convicted of murder. The story begins in Côte d’Azur (French Riviera) in a villa named Villa Sanary. Upon Josephine’s death a Paris apartment and Villa Sanary were bequeathed to Raph, Evie, and Hugo. Evie has been contacted by museum curator Dr. Clemente Tazi about an upcoming exhibit featuring artifacts from Aunt Josephine’s life. In the present day, Evie and Clement work together to gather materials for the exhibit and to search for a rare rejected first manuscript.They also discovered that Josephine and Margot knew each other in prison and that Josephine believed Margot was innocent. I enjoyed the getting to know all three women through present day and flashbacks.

This was a great story and one I hadn’t read before. It has a different spin on WWII. I knew nothing about Anrath Prison and how the women were forced to work in such awful conditions. I have read many, many WWII novels, but this was a different viewpoint. I also liked how the murder mystery was included. These characters are richly drawn and the descriptions of Villa Sanary are beautiful. I also enjoyed the slow burn love story and how it shows that older people can have a second chance at love too. Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow Paperbacks for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.