On the historical fiction front Pam Jenoff did not let me down. I found her use of the Levitan Department Store in Paris and the POW Camps informative nd engrossing. Yes, the book is compulsively fast moving and creates the wartime period vibrantly. However, except for Franny, I had difficulty believing in the characters who drive the story. In my mind they were props to tell a story and not a story in themselves. Additionally, too many of the events seemed contrived. In sum, I wanted to be blown away, but, I wasn't.

I love Pam Jenoff’s writing and she has written another compelling historical fiction novel. If you love historical fiction, dual timelines and WWII intrigue, this one’s for you!!

Set between 1953 London and Paris during World War II, the novel centers on Louise Burns, a former Red Cross worker, who discovers a puzzling necklace that brings new light to the long-unsolved mystery of her friend Franny’s wartime death.

At the heart of the story is Louise and Franny’s deep bond, which propels Louise’s search for the truth about what happened to her friend. As the plot unfolds through flashbacks and recollections, readers witness the strength of their friendship and the powerful emotions that tie them together.

Jenoff’s detailed research sheds light on lesser-known facets of the Holocaust, including the haunting past of the Lévitan department store and the harsh realities faced by Jewish prisoners in Nazi-occupied France.

The novel stands out for its rich emotional layers, compelling female leads, and a suspenseful, engaging mystery.

🎧The story bursts to life in audiobook format, thanks to the outstanding performances of Saskia Maarleveld and Thérèse Plummer.

These gifted narrators masterfully navigate the novel’s shifting timelines, infusing each character with emotional depth and distinct voice. Their narration captures every heartbeat of tension, heartbreak, and resilience, especially as the heroines confront the harrowing choices of wartime.

With flawless pacing and an extraordinary ability to express even the subtlest emotions, they elevate Jenoff’s richly layered storytelling. The result is a powerful, immersive listening experience that lingers in your mind and heart long after the final chapter.

Last Twilight In Paris is Pam Jenoff's most remarkable novels to date! (imho) Once again I learned something about the WWII era I never learned in school history classes or during college WWII history classes and that is one of the main reasons I love historical fiction. Impeccably researched, beautifully written. Highly recommended.

Jenoff is one of my favorite historical fiction authors. I love discovering stories about history that are typically not known at all. If I had not read this book, I probably would never have known about Levitan and it's history with the Nazi's. While it wasn't as heartbreaking as novels surrounding the concentration camps during WWII, there are still horribly sad moments. So many people experienced loss and devastation during those years in countless ways. I love that authors like Pam take the time to research and bring those stories to life. It's so important to give them all a voice through books.

Highly recommend if you are a historical fiction fan.

Thank you Park Row Books and Pam Jenoff for the gifted eARC of Last Twilight In Paris. Pam Jenoff’s books are guaranteed to take you on a heartbreaking journey through history while highlighting strength, love and hope. I always enjoy a book that brings true facts to a fiction story and a necklace is a beautiful way to connect these stories of Helaina and Louise together. If you enjoy historical fiction, add this book to your TBR!

Another well researched and thoughtfully written WWII novel from this fabulous author. I really enjoy when an author can introduce another unknown element of the effects on people during the war and this book does it very well.

Thank you to Netgalley, Park Row Books, and Harlequin Audio for an advanced reading copy and an advanced listening copy provided for an honest review.

This story is told in dual narratives and timelines following Helaine in Paris at the beginning of World War II and Louise in 1953 London as she searches for answers in the death of her friend Franny while working with the Red Cross in 1944. Helaine was sick as a child and her parents have become very protective of her keeping her indoors. She longs to explore the city and meet other people her own age, and when she falls in love with a musician, the conflict puts a strain on her relationship with her parents. When Louise comes across a necklace that looks like the one that was in the possession of Franny when she died, Louise resolves to find out the truth about what happened all those years ago. Her journey will bring her to the former department store Lévitan, where Jews were imprisoned by the Nazis and forced to go through their belongings to redistribute to the Nazi officers.

I really enjoyed following Louise through her journey to find out what happened to her friend as well as her memories of the past. While I was a bit frustrated by the bubble that Helaine was raised in leading to her naivete of the world going on around her, especially when her new husband kept her in the dark as well, I still enjoyed reading about her experiences. I was interested to learn about the history of Lévitan as that was an aspect that I had not read about prior to this book. I thought the story came together beautifully in the end. I will say that there was a supporting character in the book that set off red flags for me a little too obviously and I had a hard time believing that one of the main characters trusted this person so much. It sent me off on a few rants and probably cost the book a half star though I rounded up for my rating.

I primarily listened to the audiobook for this read. It was narrated by Thérèse Plummer and Saskia Maarleveld. This was my second listen by Plummer, and Maarleveld is a favorite of mine. I definitely recommend the audiobook if you enjoy them. Both narrators did a great job with the storylines for both of the main characters.

Recommended to historical fiction lovers that enjoy World War II reads.

There were many heroes during the war. I love the stories of the ordinary people doing extraordinary things.

In another brilliant World War II historical fiction novel, Pam Jenoff brings the stories of Louise and Helaine to life as Louise, adjusting to her postwar housewife role, discovers a necklace that she’d seen while working for the Red Cross in occupied Europe. Looking for Helaine, the original owner of the necklace, with her former boss Ian’s help, Louise discovers the history of Levitan, a department store turned Nazi prison during the occupation of Paris and Helaine’s story there. However, the investigation and what it uncovers brings more secrets and uncomfortable truths to life, so Louise must do her best to figure out the mystery before the truth disappears. Helaine and Louise are excellent, fascinating characters, and their unique wartime and postwar experiences really bring them to life by offering insights into their personalities. The timeline skipping really helps the mystery develop and keeps readers guessing, while the historical details and atmosphere are so well-written and really immerse readers in the novel, the mystery, and occupied Paris. Based on the true history of the Levitan department store in Paris during the occupation, this dual-timeline World War II historical mystery novel is a fantastic new read that Jenoff’s fans will love.

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.