Goodreads Review: The Lost Girls of Paris

The Lost Girls of Paris by Pam Jenoff

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In 1946, New York City, a lost suitcase is found at a train station. Its owner disappeared. When Grace Healey, a young war widow, comes across this seemingly ordinary piece luggage, her curiosity gets the better of her and instead of turning it into station security, she takes it home.

The contents of the suitcase reveal a secret organization during the war. A female spy ring that recruited women from all over England with special skills and abilities. The chosen women are trained in intelligence, combat, weapons manufacture and survival skills. Using hidden radios, the young agents send coded enemy information to the allies from across the sea. As Grace digs deeper into this undercover operation, she discovers the lives of several extraordinary women.

Eleanor Trigg, a Russian who immigrated to England when she was young. Eleanor has the idea of creating a special an all female intelligence unit and sending them to Nazi occupied Paris to aid the undercover French Resistance.

One of these recruits, Marie, is a young single mother who is chosen for her ability to speak French. However, Marie lacks confidence and skill to work in the field. Seen as a constant failure to Eleanor, Marie is determined to prove herself in the efforts to win the war and return home to her daughter.

The lives of Grace, Eleanor and Marie are all intertwined as memories and long kept secrets are brought to the surface. The story of Eleanor's strength and Marie's courage inspire Grace to seek the truth of the lives of these women and the sacrifices they made.

What a book! Anyone who holds admiration for the women who worked in the war department in WWII would appreciate this story. Reminisces of Agent Peggy Carter back in her war days can be seen in many parts of the story. Eleanor, Marie and Grace, while three very different women with very different lives are only small representations of the real 'women at war,' and their stories that deserve to be told.