The Paris Orphan

Starred review from July 29, 2019
Lester (The Paris Seamstress) reveals secrets from a WWII romance in this rich and riveting novel. In 2004 France, Australian art handler D’Arcy Hallworth has been hired to pack up photographs at the French estate of Lieu de Reves for shipment to Australia for an exhibition. She meets American Josh Vaughn, the photographer’s agent, and discovers that her mother, Victorine, may be the little girl in some of the photos from the 1940s. Romance blossoms between D’Arcy and Josh as she seeks to uncover the truth behind her mother’s appearance in the photos. In a parallel 1942 narrative, Jessica May is a New York model whose stalled career leads her to become a photojournalist, working as a war correspondent in Europe. There she meets Dan Hallworth, a handsome, respected American officer. Lester’s novel is modeled after real-life characters and is imbued with realism, highlighting the horrors of WWII and the discrimination faced by female correspondents. Readers will become engrossed from the very first page as mystery and romance are expertly combined into one emotionally charged, unforgettable story. Agent: Jacinta di Mase, Jacinta di Mase Management.