I'm convinced Kristin Harmel cannot write a bad book. I've read many of her fabulous historical fiction works and this one is right up there with her others. We are taken on thrilling journeys with Colette, a jewel thief descending from Robin Hood, who is trying to heal from the past while searching for answers to a mystery. The story unfolds in smooth flowing dual timelines revealing tragic events and family secrets, both heartbreaking and heartwarming. A great summer read to escape from the heat! My thanks to Gallery Books for providing a review copy via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

So beautiful and heart warming. This dual time line, switches between WWII and the present time when Colette is almost ninety and is proud of her achievement, funneling well over $30 million in stolen jewels to deserving organizations. One of the bracelets resurfaces at the Diamond Museum. As the bracelet reappears, it brings the painful memory back. Colette gathers her strength to find out where the bracelet came from.

This is a amazing historical fiction that captured this reader from beginning to conclusion. The author captivated her readers with this sweeping story told in dual timelines.
In Nazi occupied France a Mother and daughter are operating as jewel thieves stealing only from the corrupt to fund the resistance. They are descendants of Robin Hood and continue their legacy brilliantly. When her Mother and sister are captured by the Nazi's Collete continued the family business through her life.
Seventy years later a bracelet comes to a museum that 80 year old Colette hopes will provide some answers to her family's demise. The bracelet was sewed into her sisters dress when she was captured. Colette is determined to find the people behind the bracelet to lead her to those responsible.
I loved this book. It was about bravery and resistance to a deadly regime. Collette is a brilliant main character. Told so beautifully you will turn pages to conclusion and find yourself thinking of the amazing Collete and her accomplishments.
5 star read and I rate one of my top 5 favorite books of 2025.
Thank you with gratitude to the author, the publishers and Net Galley.

Oh my, what an amazing book!! I absolutely could not put it down! Dual timeline, in the 1940s you are following a mother and child in France. In 2018, you are following a woman who lived through the holocaust but lost so many. She's trying to solve an old mystery while living with the trauma of all of her losses. Such amazing characters and so much emotion, I wish I could read it for the first time again!! Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for an advanced copy of this amazing book in exchange for my honest review!

When it comes to writing historical fiction, author Kristin Harmel has, once again, proven herself to be quite the consummate storyteller. In “The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau, she spins an intriguing tale of jewelry thieves that’s set against a Paris backdrop during WWII. And despite the all-too-familiar historical theme, it boasts quite a unique premise that held me captive from start to finish.

Colette Marceau descends from a long line of jewelry thieves and spends her life trying to fulfill her family’s legacy of stealing from the corrupt to help those in need--think Robin Hood with a historical twist. And as a tragic casualty of war-torn Paris, she continually endeavors to atone for past sins while striving to make those she’s lost proud.

Flashforward 70 years, and Colette is living in Boston when an opportunity to finally right the wrongs of the past presents itself. The unexpected discovery of a long lost bracelet holds the key to getting answers to questions that have haunted Colette throughout the years. And, ultimately, the search for those answers sends Colette on a path that will lead her to finding so much more than she ever dared to hope for.

“The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau” is a face-paced, well-written saga with well-developed characters. It is also a tragic, unforgettable journey that will break your heart and then slowly piece it back together.

Wow! This is a good story. We have a Robin Hoodesce family stealing from the rich to help the poor. We have WW2 Paris under German occupation. And we have a family torn apart from by a senseless and cruel regime.

Collette was trained to be a thief by her mother, a calling passed down from Robin Hood. She and her mother stole jewels to help fund the French Resistance in Paris. But one job did not go as planned and Collette lost all.

Seventy years later she finds a bracelet she has been searching for, the one that cost her mother's life. Can she finally close the chapter on the past and feel whole?

This has some interesting twists and turns. The characters grow and learn, and the past feels real. I actually looked up to see if this was a real person. But alas, she is all fiction, but really good fiction!

Kristen Harmel has delivered another riveting World War II novel in “The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau”. She brings to life the effects of the horrors of that time and place on average people, whether Jew or gentile. We also see how one person’s actions can have a ripple effect on so many others. This is definitely a must read!

"Changing the world doesn't require money or power. It doesn't require influence or higher education. Most of the time it doesn't even require big, bold acts of courage. It simply requires us to look inside our hearts, to ask how we can help others, and to do what we can to stand for that which is right and just." from the author's note in The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau. This is what I loved about this book and all Kristin Harmel's books - she writes about normal people doing what is right and just.

The characters in this book steal jewelry, and many would say this is not right or just, but I love the idea that they do it for a good cause or the right reason. They steal from former Nazis and give to Holocuast education or museums - and the main characters justifies it for this reason alone, which gives her a morally complex personality. I enjoy reading books that take place in different time periods, and this book switches seamlessly between them. In the end, the characters end up together - it all works out and makes the reader feel good when they finish. I really enjoyed it and highly recommend it. Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the e-arc.

I truly enjoyed this book. I have loved all of the books I have read by Kristin Harmel and this one was no different. She does World War II historical fiction so well. I really liked how she created a story with the family being descended from Robin Hood and continuing the "family business" of stealing from the rich/nazis to give to those less fortunate or to help fund resistance war efforts. I did guess both twists at the end, but was glad I was right. Would definitely recommend.

I could not put this book down. Kristin Harmel has another bestseller for sure. I loved the characters and how the relationships build throughout the decades. Historical Fiction is my favorite genre and this author does not disappoint. She created a beautiful story. I highly recommend.

Kristin Harmel’s The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau is such an emotional and immersive novel! The story follows Colette, a jewel thief with a heartbreaking past, who is forced to face old memories when a lost diamond bracelet suddenly reappears. It also brings up memories of the night she lost her mother and little sister during WWII. The mix of past and present kept me hooked, as well as the twists. I also loved how the book explored history and justice, and how the past still impacts the present. It’s such a beautifully written and powerful story, I couldn’t put it down!