I am loving the trend of strong female characters in books. And The Lost Girls of Paris is yet another standout in this genre. The Lost Girls of Paris is the story of a group of young women chosen to be a part of the resistance during WWII. Josie, Marie, and a crew of other women are chosen and trained by Eleanor Trigg and sent out to the field.

This story in told from three perspectives. Marie, Eleanor, and Grace (a woman who finds their photos a couple years after the war). Though it took a little bit to get the hang of the characters, once I did I was hooked. Each of these women were strong and had such compelling stories. Each part could have been a book on its own. It’s rare for me to say that, as with multiple viewpoint stories one is usually stronger than the other.

This book was riveting. I could not stop turning the pages. And at points my heart was racing, wondering what was going to happen next. I loved the book even more when I read the authors note and saw it was based on a true story. If you are looking for a book with strong women and strong female friendships, check this one out. I am hoping that someone buys the right to it and turns The Lost Girls of Paris into a movie!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book!

This was my second Pam Jenoff novel & it did not disappoint. This story drew me in right from the beginning. The story is intricately woven sharing the story of three very different women in varying circumstances. I grew very attached to Grace, Eleanor & Marie and really enjoyed reading how they were involved. WWII novels are among my favourite genres and I’m generally familiar with the topics but this was a new one for me. It made it all the better to know that the story, while fictitious, is based on actual events during the war. I thought the book was stellar.

“A remarkable story of friendship and courage centred around three women and a ring of spies during ww2”

What a great plot filled with strong women going above and beyond their station. Loved all the women and was rooting for all of them. I enjoyed their different missions and loved the idea of women spies in nazi occupied europe. (Which is historically accurate, but i has never heard of them before)

I have to say that Marie’s need to find out what happened to the lost girls feels a bit contrived and unrealistic. It’s so nessesery to the plot that I shake my head because I doubt anyone would go to such lengths.

Overall I enjoyed it and would recommend to anyone who likes historical fiction.

The concept of this book is amazing. I really looked forward to reading about women working on the warfront. Women playing a substantial role in the downfall of the Nazi party.
There are some things I really enjoyed and disliked about this tale, as well.
I thought the action throughout - once the women made it to France and faced adversity at about 61% in - was great! But these parts were so short! Then it would cut back to 1946 (2 years later) to a completely different time frame entirely.
Grace, was her name. The woman who looked through someone's suitcase at the train station and stole the photos inside. This didn't seem plausible to me. Who does that? There must have been a better way to unearth the espionage of the SOE of 1944. And why was the timeframe so short? 2 year difference... It just didn't seem necessary to switch time frames for 2 years difference.
Ultimately, even with the lulling lulls, I actually enjoyed the story. It all fit together rather well and it was nice that the timelines eventually crossed.

The Lost Girls of Paris by Pam Jenoff
Source: NetGalley and Park Row
My Rating: 5/5 stars

I have been so pleased with the quality of books I’ve come across so far this year! The Lost Girls of Paris is a truly spectacular read that had me hooked right from the very beginning.

The entirety of this story unfolds thanks to a mistake, a moment of impulse that leads Grace Healy on a search to uncover the truth of what happened to a dozen brave and selfless women during WWII. It is less than a year since the end of the war and with memories still fresh and trails still relatively fresh, Grace has leads she can follow and a strong desire to do so. What Grace doesn’t know is the can of worms she’s going to bust wide open when she uncovers the truth.

Grace’s search leads her to the world of one Eleanor Trigg, a most unusual woman who has risen rather high in the ranks related to the war against Hitler. Eleanor is calm, controlled, calculating, and trusted implicitly by her commanding officer, so much so that he authorizes her founding of a training program for female spies. What’s more, Eleanor is in full control of the program from recruiting to deployment; the women are Eleanor’s responsibility and she takes her responsibilities quite seriously.

Under Eleanor’s strict instruction her women are trained as radio operators meant to infiltrate occupied France and help disrupt any all plans associated with Hitler and the Nazi regime. Eleanor’s women are meant to blend in with the locals and when they are safely able to radio back information to London so the Allies can act accordingly. For a time, Eleanor’s women and their work allows London to plan, prepare, and execute some serious damage, but as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end and in the case of Eleanor’s women, the end is startingly awful.

As Grace continues to dig into the fate of Eleanor Trigg and her women, she discovers truths that many would prefer never come to light. The fate of Eleanor and her women wasn’t just a tragedy, but likely a homegrown plan meant to sacrifice a few in order to save many. What’s more, because of the time and the place, tracing the fate of each individual woman is going to virtually impossible meaning their families will never know what they sacrificed to bring evil down.

The Bottom Line: The Lost Girls of Paris is an absolutely engrossing book that I finished in just two sittings. While I do like the past meets present trope, I would have been fine without it in this read because the past and the story of the lost dozen was just too good. I found myself reading at lightning speed to get through the chapters related to Grace in order to get back to the chapters related to Eleanor and her women. After reading the author’s note, I understand there is very little historical information related to the actual women’s spy network so many liberties had to be taken in the production of this book. I didn’t and still don’t care! The liberties taken are wrapped around what historical information there is, and that combination makes for a fascinating read. The Lost Girls of Paris is an absorbing read that very well may make my top ten of the year! Yeah, it’s that good 😊

This is a deeply satisfying read for fans of historical fiction. Grace, implausibly but go with it, finds and opens an abandoned suitcase in Grand Central Station in 1946- and removes 12 photos of young women. This leads down the path to Eleanor Trigg, who created and ran a program to infiltrate women into occupied France as part of the SOE. Jenoff does a good job of describing tradecraft and the feel of those who run assets. Marie is one of those women- incredibly brave and in many ways out of their element but determined to do their jobs as radio operators or saboteurs. When they begin to go missing, Eleanor desperately tries to find out what's happening. No spoilers- there's tension here that you should experience. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I very much enjoyed this= I read it in a day because I was unable to put it down.

I really enjoyed The Lost Girls of Paris. I got so invested in “the girls” and worried about them when I wasn’t reading the book. I found myself picking up the book at every available moment. I’ve read other books about WWII, but this book offered a fascinating view of the importantance of women in war efforts. Strength, friendship, heartache and mystery...this book supplied them all. This was my first book by Pam Jenoff and I can’t wait to pick up another. Thank you to Netgalley and Park Row Books for an advanced copy of this book. It’s a winner!

A favorite genre of mine, and this did not let me down. The Lost Girls Of Paris is inspired by true events and is truly fascinating. I became invested in the story and really cared about the characters- what more could you want? I hate to admit that I never knew anything about these women of WWII and look forward to learning more after reading this book. This was a quick read for me and I highly recommend it if you are a fan of historical fiction.

Thank you NetGalley and Park Row for the opportunity to read and review this novel.

Thank you to the publishers for an advanced copy of The Lost Girls of Paris to review. All opinions are my own.

Pam Jenoff’s writing and storytelling is like fine wine - it gets better with age/novel, if that is at all possible. Pam continues to educate her readers on different aspects of WWII. The Lost Girls of Paris starts out in New York - with Grace finding a suitcase in Grand Central Station. What follows is Grace’s determination to find out everything about pictures in this mysterious suitcase. Grace uncovers the story and history of The Lost Girls of Paris. She learns about Eleanor Trigg, the leader of the Female Secret Agents out of England. Eleanor is convinced she can train and deploy women into German/Nazi occupied France to do the job men were failing to do because it was no longer safe for men to be out and about. Ms. Trigg sets out to find women and in the novel we learn about their lives, training, covert operations, and how these women’s lives turn out. The story is rich in female heroism during WWII - something many WWII books do not touch upon.

You can tell by the writing; Pam Jenoff does a tremendous amount of research in writing her novels, and it shows. She leaves her readers wanting more, so much more!

Another winner for Pam Jenoff - I will absolutely be suggesting and recommending this wonderful novel to all of my reader friends who enjoy Historical Fiction, as well as to my book club!!

Wow!! Made me proud of the girls/woman of WW2 in Paris. The story is told in 3 views. Marie and Eleanor that were there and then a few years forward Grace. Couldn't put the book down.

Lindas Book Obsession Reviews “The Lost Girls of Paris” by Pam Jenoff, Park Row Books, January 29, 2019

Pam Jenoff, Author of “The Lost Girls of Paris” has written a captivating, enthralling, suspenseful, intriguing, intense, emotional, edgy and thought-provoking novel. Kudos to Pam Jenoff for her amazing well written novel that vividly describes the characters and landscape in the story. I appreciate the historical research that went into this story. The Genres for this story are Historical Fiction, inspired by true events, Partial Fiction, Suspense and Espionage. The time-table for this story is 1946, and just during the war and after the war. The author describes her dramatic and colorful cast of characters as complex and complicated.

It is just after the war, and Grace Healey, now a widow has come to live in New York, while dealing with her loss. A tragic car accident forces her to go through Grand Central to get to work. She trips over a suitcase. Grace sees a name on the outside, and curiosity gets the best of her, and she opens it up. She cuts her hand on something and sees that it is an envelope with pictures that are in lace. They are young women , some dressed in uniforms. Grace tries to see if someone is looking for a suitcase or pictures. Short on time, Grace puts the pictures in her pocket-book and heads for work.

Grace learns that the suitcase belonged to a woman named Eleanor Trigg, the leader of recruited females in England used as spies that were sent to France during the war. Twelve of the women disappeared and never came home. Grace, with the help of her deceased husband’s friend start to look for more information.

In the pictures are young women named Marie and Josie, amongst others. They were a group of women operatives working for Britain’s Special Operations during the war, stopping and sabotaging efforts of the German as much as they could. It was extremely dangerous, and could mean these young women’s death. Some handled the radios transmitting information, and others blended into the French countryside getting information. Some would blow up things to stop the Germans.

It seems that these women had a friendship and sisterhood that kept them going. They were brave and courageous. Unfortunately their positions were compromised by betrayal from possibly someone in London. Why are these girls missing?

Grace wants answers as to who, what and why this happened. This novel has twists, and turns. There is danger, murder, betrayals, and heart-break. This is an intense and edgy novel that I would highly recommend for those readers who enjoy a thought-provoking novel. I received an ARC from NetGalley for my honest review.

This historical novel opens in 1946 Manhattan where Grace Healey is hurrying to get to work and beating herself up for a bad decision she’d made the night before. Due to a car accident, she is forced to cut through Grand Central Terminal. She trips over something on the floor and nearly goes sprawling. She locates the offending object and it is a suitcase that has obviously been forgotten. Curiosity gets the better of her and she opens the case. Inside, is women’s clothing and a few photographs. Without giving it too much thought, she takes the photos and puts the case deep beneath the bench, but she can’t put the women in the photographs from her mind as easily.

Jenoff has a real talent for descriptive prose. Every time she describes something, whether it’s walking to work in downtown Manhattan to the countryside in England, the reader is able to picture it and can almost feel the rumblings of the trains beneath her feet or the delicate smells of the countryside.

The author also draws her characters so carefully, the reader begins to think of these women as someone she might like to know better. The reader can feel the angst of Marie trying to decide what is best for her daughter as she, herself, decides whether to join Eleanor Trigg’s ring of women agents.

If you’re a fan of historical fiction, you’ll definitely want to read this book. If you only read one historical book this year, read this one. In either case, you’ll not be disappointed.

I loved this book and like other books I’ve read by this author the characters are memorable and stay with me long after the book is done.
I loved the setting anc time period of this book and all the twists and turns .
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this book!

I will give the Lost Girls Of Paris a 3.5 stars more than a 4. The storyline is intriguing and kept my attention, but it is just an entertaining story. Whether this is fictional or based on truth, I find historical fiction fascinating. Women like the women in the SOE were amazing brave and unique. I believe my favorite character was Grace because her tenacity and grit brought truth and recognition to all the women lost on this mission, especially Eleanor. I would recommend this story to anyone who enjoys WWII historical fiction and strong female characters.

Thank you Netgalley for the advance copy.I will give the Lost Girls Of Paris a 3.5 stars more than a 4. The storyline is intriguing and kept my attention, but it is just an entertaining story. Whether this is fictional or based on truth, I find historical fiction fascinating. Women like the women in the SOE were amazing brave and unique. I believe my favorite character was Grace because her tenacity and grit brought truth and recognition to all the women lost on this mission, especially Eleanor. I would recommend this story to anyone who enjoys WWII historical fiction and strong female characters.

Thank you Netgalley for the advance copy.Hi

I loved this book! The twisting of two tales and how they intertwine was very well done. The characters were well developed and you really feel for them throughout the book. Every time I had to put it down I was being pulled back to it thinking, what's going to happen? I still think about this book even though I finished it a few weeks ago. A book that sticks with you is worth every minute.

3.5 Women operatives during WWII, and the dangers they faced. I just adored these characters, become very invested in their welfare, wanted them to succeed where the men had failed. When the OSE realized their male agents were being captured, so many men were gone fighting, they stood out like sore thumbs. It is suggested by a woman named Twigg, that females would more easily blend in, and accomplish what they needed to accomplish. She is given control of this very secret program.

The book follows the women as they train, friendships are made, stories are shared. Once deployed to Paris, a few find each other, working for the same circuit. Josie and Marie, one fearless, the other determined to complete her mission. Two timelines, a few years apart, picked up a year after the war has ended, when a young woman finds a suitcase, abandoned in Grand CentrAl Station. Inside, a group of pictures, that will lead her on a trail to putting some erongs, right.

A fast paced story, told well. That is except for the romantic bits, which seemed almost thrown in as an aside. Those didn't work for me, found them a little too obvious snd well corny. Still a interesting read, with some great characters.

ARC from Park Row books.

Wow! Another great historical fiction novel by Pam Jenoff.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a copy of this book.

The Lost Girls of Paris takes you inside the lives of young women who are placed as secret agents out in occupied Europe during WWII. These women, based on real-life women who were SOE's in WWII, put their lives in danger as they work as radio operators situated right in the guts of the war.

The story is told in two timelines: 1944 and 1946 when a suitcase with mysterious photos of women is found after the war ends, which gives us a glimpse into life right after the war.

I'm so impressed by the research done on this book and highly recommend it to readers of HF who love stories about strong women!

This historical novel tells the story of the British women who were dropped into wartime France to help the French resistance. The story is told by Grace, an American woman in post-war New York, and the device used to get her started researching the British women is somewhat contrived. I enjoyed the part of the story set in Britain and France. The brave women who left their homes and families to serve in the war, and whose roles were largely ignored by the post-war male military story-tellers, is a compelling and interesting one.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

What an amazing story! I couldn’t put it down! This is the story of the women of the Special Operations Executive (S.O.E.), a clandestine group of British operatives that were dropped behind enemy lines in France towards the end of WW II. It consisted of mainly men, but women were used towards the end of the war since they were less conspicuous. The women’s purpose was to drop behind enemy lines and disrupt Germany’s plans. This included sabotage and manning radios. When they were caught, they were handled harshly and just disappeared.

This story is told from three differing viewpoints, Eleanor Trigg, the woman in charge of the girls, Marie, one of the young women who was recruited and Grace, a woman who lives in New York City that becomes involved in an unexpected manner. Using this technique, you become thoroughly invested in the story. All three story lines are unique and you want to keep reading to find out how they all come together and who makes it out alive.

This story is full of intrigue and story twists. I did some research and found that Eleanor and Marie’s characters and story lines are based on real people and events, although the names have been changed. This story brings little known events in World War II history to life and I highly recommend it to both teen and adult readers. Once you start reading, you won’t be able to stop.

The Lost Girls of Paris is one book that stays with you long after reading it. I don’t read very much historical fiction, however, when I saw that Pam Jenoff’s The Lost Girls of Paris was available for review, I jumped at the chance. Jenoff takes historical fiction to a new level with this novel about female spies during WWII. The characters are well-developed, the writing is bold, and the powerful females are exciting to read about.

It is hard to choose a favourite aspect of The Lost Girls of Paris to review. Although, I must say that I really loved the fierce female characters in the book. The story is told from the perspectives of 3 different women. There is Grace, who discovers the suitcase and photographs of the missing SOE women. Her actions are daring and determined. Also, Eleanor is a secretary for the SOE (Special Operations Executive in Britain) who becomes the leader of the female agents being trained. I found her to be a bit abrasive, but it fits with her position and title. Lastly, there is Marie, an agent who’s story of perseverance, skill, and hardship is sometimes terrifying to read.

Pam Jenoff’s previous novel, The Orphan’s Tale is an incredible story set during WWII, so I had a pretty good feeling that The Lost Girls of Paris would be just as well-written. Inspired by actual events, the story takes a little while to get going, but once it does, it becomes a really thrilling page turner. The dual-timeline switches between 1943 and 1946 (during and post WWII.) As Grace is uncovering details about who the girls in the pictures are, the story switches to Marie and Eleanor’s story. Everything eventually all comes to a head in a powerful climax.

It is so enjoyable to read a book about amazing women who are on the front lines during WWII. The intense training and camaraderie that Jenoff describes in the novel are fascinating. Some of the tools that the spies used and the method of using a radio to transmit messages are amazing and admirable. It took so much skill and knowledge for these SOE agents to code and decode messages.

If you enjoy a great spy novel, this is one book to try. The Lost Girls of Paris is a well-crafted novel that contains some fascinating females. I am really excited to read what Jenoff writes next!