Told primarily through the eyes of fictional sisters Yvette and Gabby, the story can be seen as an homage to the women whose brave actions were integral to the underground French resistance ... The book has it all: high fashion, spies, romance, loss, healing, mystery, sisterhood, friendship, and strong female protagonists. The two timelines can be a little confusing to keep track of, particularly as they take place only a couple of years apart, but in general, it is a fast-paced, well-told story that transports the reader to a memorable time in world history.
Ms. Mazzeo has written a compelling story, a tangled web of deceit, corruption, betrayal, courage and family intrigue. It reads like a spy thriller, moving at a fast pace, and even though the reader knows the successful outcome, the suspense never lets up.
The story Mazzeo tells here reads like a John le Carré novel, too incredible to be true—and yet it is ... This little-known but very important WWII story has the pacing of a thriller novel with the research acumen expected from this excellent writer.
The style is energetic yet informative ... A nail-biting account of state crimes and secrets, real world action pitting spy versus spy and diplomat versus diplomat.
In her latest elegant book of European cultural history, Mazzeo offers a colorful account of Ciano and Mussolini, the affairs and double-crosses that surrounded the diaries, and the courageous women whose efforts saved the manuscripts for posterity ... Intelligent and compelling, Mazzeo’s probing book delves intriguingly into the “moral thicket” into which a group of strangers found themselves plunged during the long, dark days of World War II ... A tantalizingly novelistic history lesson.
... riveting ... Mazzeo efficiently relates these complex events and renders empathetic portraits of the story’s main players. WWII buffs will be enthralled.
