The French Gift - Kirsty Manning

5/5 ⭐

I am not the biggest fan of historical fiction, but there was something about this one that just captivated me into reading it all in one day.

Maybe it was the fact that the present-day scenes were more frequent than the flashbacks to the past. Maybe it was the museum and artifact talk that made my little nerd heart happy. I really can't put my finger on what it was. But I was left at the end of this with the biggest satisfied grin on my face.

It opens with the scene that changes the life of one of our main characters, Margot, on the night of a party that went horribly wrong. And the friendship that bloomed between her and Josephine, a resistance fighter, in a prison cell during World War II.

Back in the present time, Evie is tasked with preparing Josephine's possessions for showcase in an exhibit to honor her life and work as a popular mystery author. Exploring her past raises more questions than answers as Evie, her son, Hugo, and the museum curator Clement search for a missing manuscript and look to solve the decades-old mystery of what really happened the night Margot was accused of murder.

Between the past and present Manning paints dual portraits of France. One in the midst of WWII and the occupation. And then modern time. Both are vivid and heart-wrenching in their own ways.

The story built tension in such a way that I didn't know what was gonna happen until it was happening. And by the big revelation at the end, the gasp that left me was audible.

11/23/21

*This review was previously posted on my Google Site.

Comments

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