Paris, July 1942: Sarah, a ten year-old girl, is brutally arrested with her family by the French police in the Vel' d'Hiv' roundup, but not before she locks her younger brother in a cupboard-their secret hiding place-in the family's apartment, thinking that she will be back within a few hours.
Paris, May 2002: On Vel' d'Hiv's 60th anniversary, journalist Julia Jarmond is asked to write an article about this black day in France's past. Through her contemporary investigation, she stumbles onto a trail of long-hidden family secrets that connect her to Sarah. Julia finds herself compelled to retrace the girl's ordeal, from that terrible term in the Vel d'Hiv', to the camps, and beyond. As she probes into Sarah's past, she begins to question her own place in France, and to reevaluate her marriage and her life.
This was a really good book. I didn't know anything about this part of WWII history. Parts of it were heart breaking and I couldn't put the book down. Highly recommend this book.
This was a really good book. I didn't know anything about this part of WWII history. Parts of it were heart breaking and I couldn't put the book down. Highly recommend this book.
To the Power of Three by Laura Lippman
Josie, Perri, and Kat have been best friends since third grade-the athlete, the drama queen, and the popular beauty. Growing up in an affluent suburb of Baltimore, they enjoy privileges many teenagers are denied. But on the final day of school one of them brings a gun with her. And when the police break down the door of the high school girls' bathroom, locked from the inside, they find two of the friends wounded, one of them critically....and the third is dead.
This is a pretty good story but I found it a little difficult keeping track of all the characters because of all the flipping back and forth to different time periods. The conclusion was a little different than expected.
Human Remains by Elizabeth Haynes
Police analyst Annabel wouldn't describe herself as lonely. Her work and the needs of her aging mother keep her busy. But Annabel is shocked when she discovers her neighbourès decomposing body in the house next door, and she is appalled to think that no one, including herself, noticed the womanès absence. Annabel sets out to investigate, despite her colleaguesè lack of interest, and discovers that such cases are frighteningly common in her hometown.
A chilling thriller and a hymn to all the lonely people whose individual voices haunt its pages. It shows how vulnerable we are when we live alone, and how easily ordinary lives can fall apart when no one is watching.
This book was very different and really makes you think about living alone and therefore dying alone. It kept my interest and made me want to keep reading to see what would happen.
Human Remains by Elizabeth Haynes
Police analyst Annabel wouldn't describe herself as lonely. Her work and the needs of her aging mother keep her busy. But Annabel is shocked when she discovers her neighbourès decomposing body in the house next door, and she is appalled to think that no one, including herself, noticed the womanès absence. Annabel sets out to investigate, despite her colleaguesè lack of interest, and discovers that such cases are frighteningly common in her hometown.
A chilling thriller and a hymn to all the lonely people whose individual voices haunt its pages. It shows how vulnerable we are when we live alone, and how easily ordinary lives can fall apart when no one is watching.
This book was very different and really makes you think about living alone and therefore dying alone. It kept my interest and made me want to keep reading to see what would happen.
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