Thanks to the publisher for the gifted e-copy.

Pam Jenoff writes some great historical fiction, and Last Twilight in Paris is the newest edition to the list. I enjoyed the multiple POVs, the dual timelines (even though they were only a few years apart), and the fact that I learned about an aspect of the war I wasn't previously aware of. We all know about the work camps, concentration camps, and death camps. I didn't know that there was a prison camp in an old department store building smack in the middle of Paris. All of the furniture and items that were stolen out of the homes of Jewish people were brought to this building, and the prisoners sorted and cleaned it all and then worked as salespeople as the higher up German officers "shopped" the items. to get sent back to their own homes. I knew the homes were ransacked and things were stolen, but I never really knew where it all ended up.

I also enjoyed reading about Louise's work as a Red Cross volunteer during the war. It gives us an inside look into the work the volunteers were doing to try to help the POWs.

As far as the rest of the plot, I was curious about what happened to the two parts of the necklace, and how Franny was involved. I liked that part of the story more than actually reading about Helaine and Gabriel, and I"m not sure why. I think it's because I never really bought their relationship, and Gabriel always struck me as kind of a sketchy character.

Jenoff always delivers a well written and. well researched novel.

Absolutely LOVED this one! Beautiful writing and storytelling from Pam Jenoff. I'm newer to her work and this makes me want to snag all of her backlist and read for days.

I swear, only Pam Jenoff can get me reading historical fiction again. I've long since taken a break from it. Our current climate just seems too similar sometimes and sometimes I just can't. But I received this book and sure enough, Pam drew me in. Not only that, she managed to teach me something I did not know about WWII. A camp in a department store? Absolutely wild. Full of heart, hope, yes - sadness, and triumph, Last Twilight in Paris is a thrilling ride with a twist. Jenoff does it again.

I received an advanced copy of this book, all opinions are my own.

Set against the backdrop of WWII and its aftermath, this novel weaves together two timelines that gradually reveal a powerful connection. At its heart are two resilient women, each navigating their own path in pursuit of truth and liberation. The unfolding mystery kept me hooked—I couldn’t wait to see how their stories would collide.

This was my first Pam Jenoff read, and I’m certain it won’t be my last. I loved how she seamlessly wove together two timelines and brought the story to a satisfying and emotional conclusion. Each woman’s journey was given the depth and justice it deserved, and despite the various issues and challenges presented throughout the book, Jenoff never lost focus on showing us how these two women lived—and survived—during wartime.

What stood out to me was how the characters could be so different, yet share such striking similarities. I also appreciated the mystery element—not just surrounding the necklace, but Franny herself. One of my favorite parts was the author’s note at the end. It added so much context and made me appreciate the story even more, especially knowing the amount of research that went into crafting such a powerful and moving narrative.

This historical fiction novel was inspired by true events. It is a story of two women, WWII, and the necklace that brought them together.

The story is told in dual points of view and timelines. Helaine was a Jewish woman living in Paris during WWII. Louise was an English woman who volunteered for the International Red Cross during the war. Eight years after the war ended, Louise found a gold necklace that looked like one she saw years ago during the war. She then sets on a mission to find the owner of the necklace and its missing other half.

This book was very well written. I enjoyed reading about both women and how the necklace brought them together. It was a compelling story.

I learned in this story about the Levitan Furniture Store in Paris. After the Germans invaded France, they took control of the store and turned it into a prison camp. It was also used as a store to sell to German soldiers items they had taken from Jewish homes.

“I’ve learned not to hold on to things. What’s important is the truth, …”

Pam Jenoff is known for finding little-known stories from history and turning them into novels. This one is about a Department Store in Paris that was turned into Jewish housing, while forcing the residents, mostly women, to sell things taken by the Nazis from Jewish homes. Gripping, sad and full of Parisian WWII facts I didn't know.

Despite a slow start, filled with painstaking detail and told from multiple POVs as well as timelines, this novel was beautiful and tragic on so many levels. When Louise (1953) finds a locket in a box at the donation store she works at in England, she is transported back to France during WWII where she is sure she had seen the necklace before.

What follows is a story going back and forth in time and perspective - between the original owner of the necklace and Louise, determined to solve the mystery of where it came from and why it was important. Romantic and hopeful while being steeped in hard history, this was a great read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a digital ARC of this title!

Just when I think I’ve read everything about WW2, I learn more. This one was absolutely fantastic! I loved the dual timelines and how they intertwined! Such a fantastic story.

I really enjoyed this one, the mix of historical fiction and mystery was great. There was also some romance which I appreciated. Really intriguing story and always interesting to learn!

Last Twilight in Paris is one of those books that you can look ahead and know what is going to happen, but it is ok as you don't know how that one major incident is going to affect the main characters and all the other people around them. So even though you could see the writing on the wall, you, the reader, are still sitting on the edge of your seat turning the pages as fast as you can. There are three different time periods, but the book flows seamlessly between them as the characters weave in and out of each other's lives. This book based on a true event during the occupation of Paris. is not a "typical holocaust story", but nevertheless shows the inhumanity once again of the Nazis.

Although I usually like Pam Jenoffs books, this was not my favorite. The plot was unrealistic ae
So were the characters.

First, thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I have read quite a number of historical fiction books centered around the events of WWII and I am continually amazed at the number of different experiences shared in these stories. Pam Jenoff introduced me to another such story. Last Twilight in Paris is inspired by the true story of Levitan, a department/furniture store in Paris that was converted into a warehouse used to house goods stolen from the Jews. This former store also served as a Nazi prison for privileged Jewish prisoners who were put to work unloading, cleaning and refurbishing these items, which were then displayed for sale to German officers during the war. Many of the prisoners were later transferred to Drancy where they died.
It is a dual timeline that takes place in the 1940’s and 1953. One storyline follows Helaine, a Jewish girl who falls in love with a cellist and has a difficult relationship with her parents. Helaine’s non-Jewish cellist husband is traveling when she is captured and put to work at Levitan. In the later storyline we meet Louise, a British woman, who worked for the British Red Cross, and now is a wife and mother in post-war England. Louise stumbles upon a mysterious (but somehow familiar) necklace and embarks on a journey to determine it’s history.
Pam Jenoff touches on many themes in this book: friendship, family, romantic relationships, resiliency, love, and hope. I enjoyed both storylines and the unfolding mystery. This is a well-written, engaging story and another reminder of the unthinkable events from WWI that we must never forget.

Set in London in 1953, this is the story of a woman trying to find out about the dead of a friend. Louise discovers a necklace in a pawn shop and knows that she has seen it before and it might help her solve the mystery. This is full of twists and turns in post war Europe. Definitely a must read.

LAST TWILIGHT IN PARIS begins after the war has ended and Louise is trying to adjust to life as a mom and wife even as she finds herself struggling to deal with her wartime activities and the loss of her friend, Franny. With each twist, Louise delves head long into the past as she tries to find answers of the necklace, what Franny’s death has to do with it and the little-known history behind the department store, Levitan’s use as being a Nazi prison for Jewish prisoners. This was one book that sounded interesting and at times was really good, but it dragged in several spots within the story. I really enjoyed seeing how Louise’s past work at the Red Cross during the war and what happened to her at that time. What I really enjoyed was seeing this little-known aspect of World War II that I didn’t know about. The writing is fast, and the storytelling is very well done. The area I struggled with was Louse’s interactions with her old boss, Ian, in the present time and I really didn’t connect all the way with her as a character at times. It took me several days to get through this book as I kept getting tossed out of the story with the aspects of Louise and Ian’s substory within LAST TWIGHLIGHT IN PARIS.

Pam Jenoff delivers a story about the aftermath of World War II and the Nazi’s despicable pattern of stealing possessions from the Jewish people they were imprisoning and killing among others. I highly enjoyed Helaine’s story as the dual storylines played out within the pages of LAST TWILIGHT IN PARIS. There was a hint of mystery, interesting actions from Louise & Helaine’s lives that captivated me. If you haven’t read one of Pam Jenoff’s books before, you might want to try this one. I look forward to seeing what this author delves into next for her readers.

I’ve read many books of historic fiction set during World War II where the story is told from a woman’s perspective. This one doubles the technique by following two women — one a young well-to-do Jewish woman in Paris and the other a British woman serving as a Red Cross volunteer in Germany during the war. The two stories are woven together as the narrative jumps to 1953 and the English woman tries to solve a mystery surrounding a lost and found necklace.
The most interesting part of this story was learning about the Parisian department store that served as a prison for Jewish women of a certain influence.
The least interesting part was the pedestrian writing which really dragged the story down. Each sentence and clause was packed with way too many adjectives… The dialogue was stilted and the coincidences that moved the story forward were terribly contrived.
Frankly there are so many gripping narratives of this era, I would not spend my time on this one.

I always enjoy how much research Pam Jenoff puts into her novels. I always learn something new from her and Last Twilight in Paris is no exception. I enjoyed this book and loved the audio too!

Pam Jenoff writes great historical fiction. Unfortunately, this title fell a little short for me. Perhaps it caught me at the wrong time.

It’s 1953 and the war is over but many are still haunted by the damage to the country and to their psyche. Louise is married and has a family, but things are a bit unsettled. In a London thrift shop where she works parttime, she finds a necklace that brings the war memories rushing back. She saw this same necklace the night her good friend died. Franny was a singer who entertained the troops by volunteering to sing for the Allied POW’s when the Red Cross was delivering care packages. That meant going into enemy territory to the prisons where the men were held. Franny befriended Louise who was a Red Cross volunteer and Louise was devastated when her friend died suddenly. Now the necklace Franny held that last day has just resurfaced and brought back all Louise’s memories of the brave singer.

Louise is now on a mission to find the matching half of the necklace. When it was created, there had been a second half that was shared with a close friend or partner. Now that Louise has found Franny’s half, she is determined to discover who had the other half. Perhaps she might uncover some clue that will help her figure out if the necklace had anything to do with Franny’s mysterious death. In her pursuit of the other half of the necklace, Louise goes back to Paris and re-connects with the man who was her boss at the Red Cross. She had a brief fling with him during the war and still finds him attractive. After Franny’s death, he dismissed Louise’s concerns about it being a possible murder and tried to get her to move on. But now Louise won’t let it go and she is determined to follow all clues to the necklace and to the night Franny died.

Louise’s commitment to finding the truth is linked to some guilt she has always felt over refusing to help Franny out. She’s also torn over her troubled marriage and the recent meeting with her old boss. As she investigates, she learns more and more about a women’s prison in a former department store, the Levitan, that was used by the Nazis to incarcerate women. Louise thinks there might be a connection between the singer, the necklace, the prison and Franny’s actions prior to her death.

Jenoff leads readers along by connecting the dots as Louise doggedly pursues the truth. One piece of information leads to another and still there are roadblocks along the way. The characters are nicely drawn and much of the story focuses on Helaine and her cellist husband who are integral to the investigation. Readers will be invested in their stories and seek the same answers as Louise. The author was inspired by the real Levitan and ultimately brings everything together as the facts are uncovered. Though the ending was a bit rushed, the overall conclusion was satisfying.

This is my first Pam Jenoff novel, and I will definitely be reading more by this author. This is a well-written, entertaining, dual timeline historical fiction novel set during World War II that draws from actual places and events. I loved this new perspective on WWII that I was not aware of. and this book is the perfect example of why I love to read historical fiction!

I loved this book. The dual timeline/dual main character format really worked here. A young woman who goes after love and then is heartbroken by her husband's departure and her estrangement from her family. Another young woman who wants to help during WWII and escapes her own life of uncertainty.
I was unaware of the story of the Paris department store Levitan where Jewish residents of Paris were detained and imprisoned. There is so much history in the streets of European cities and the atrocities that took place during WWII. This book is part mystery, part love story, part strong female characters.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for access to this eARC.