Code Name Sapphire by Pam Jenoff

HerKentucky Whiskey Glass Rating: 🥃🥃🥃🥃

Publisher’s synopsis: A woman must rescue her cousin's family from a train bound for Auschwitz in this riveting tale of bravery and resistance, from the bestselling author of The Lost Girls of Paris

1942. Hannah Martel has narrowly escaped Nazi Germany after her fiancé was killed in a pogrom. When her ship bound for America is turned away at port, she has nowhere to go but to her cousin Lily, who lives with her family in Brussels. Fearful for her life, Hannah is desperate to get out of occupied Europe. But with no safe way to leave, she must return to the dangerous underground work she thought she had left behind.

Seeking help, Hannah joins the Sapphire Line, a secret resistance network led by a mysterious woman named Micheline and her enigmatic brother Matteo. But when a grave mistake causes Lily’s family to be arrested and slated for deportation to Auschwitz, Hannah finds herself torn between her loyalties. How much is Hannah willing to sacrifice to save the people she loves? Inspired by incredible true stories of courage and sacrifice, Code Name Sapphire is a powerful novel about love, family and the unshakable resilience of women in even the hardest of times.

HerKentucky review: The body of fiction about female spies in World War II that has popped up over the past few years seems overwhelming and exhaustive.  I often feel like I’ve read them all, and sometimes start to wonder whether there are any new stories to be told in the genre. However, Pam Jenoff — an author, law professor and former diplomat — consistently delivers smart, complex and compelling stories. Ms. Jenoff’s latest novel, Code Name Sapphire is a fast-paced tale of love and espionage in occupied Belgium.

Jenoff interweaves the story of Jewish cousins Lily and Hannah with that of Micheline and Matteo, siblings who front a resistance network. The novel is fast-paced, heartbreaking, and filled with the reminder that many Europeans were faced with unthinkable choices during the Nazi era. Ms. Jenoff loosely based the novel on a real-life mission to liberate a train bearing prisoners bound for Auschwitz.

As two love triangles unfold alongside betrayals and a complex rescue mission, the narrative becomes a little convoluted. I feel like this book needed one more rewrite to tighten the plot and explore the characters. It’s a well-researched historical novel that captures the heartbreak and resignation of prisoners headed toward certain death. Ms. Jenoff paints a compelling portrait of the character Lily in her journey from sheltered housewife to defiant prisoner. I wish the other characters had felt as multidimensional and realistic.

This is a good read for those of us who love the WWII historical novel, particularly the subgenre of female spy networks. I’d skip it if you’re only mildly interested in these works.

Pre-order Code Name Sapphire on Amazon or Bookshop.org

Please note that I received an Advanced Review Copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review of this work. This review contains affiliate links; I will receive a small commission for purchases made through the links in this post. This commission does not impact the purchase price of the item.

The London Seance Society by Sarah Penner

HerKentucky Whiskey Glass Rating: 🥃🥃

Publisher’s synopsis: From the author of the sensational bestseller The Lost Apothecary comes a spellbinding tale about two daring women who hunt for truth and justice in the perilous art of conjuring the dead.

1873. At an abandoned château on the outskirts of Paris, a dark séance is about to take place, led by acclaimed spiritualist Vaudeline D’Allaire. Known worldwide for her talent in conjuring the spirits of murder victims to ascertain the identities of the people who killed them, she is highly sought after by widows and investigators alike.

Lenna Wickes has come to Paris to find answers about her sister’s death, but to do so, she must embrace the unknown and overcome her own logic-driven bias against the occult. When Vaudeline is beckoned to England to solve a high-profile murder, Lenna accompanies her as an understudy. But as the women team up with the powerful men of London’s exclusive Séance Society to solve the mystery, they begin to suspect that they are not merely out to solve a crime, but perhaps entangled in one themselves…

HerKentucky Review: I really wanted to like this book. I adored Ms. Penner’s debut novel, The Lost Apothecary. The earlier novel was fast-paced and fun, but this one simply falls flat. The plot feels very convoluted, with obvious red herrings and partially-reliable narrators. The setting was potentially fascinating, but the narrative kept getting bogged down in cliches, like the “scientific minded” protagonist who couldn’t possibly believe in ghosts — until, predictably, she does. I’d recommend re-reading The Lost Apothecary and skipping this one altogether.

Pre-order The London Séance Society on Amazon or Bookshop.org.

Please note that I received an Advanced Review Copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review of this work. This review contains affiliate links; I will receive a small commission for purchases made through the links in this post. This commission does not impact the purchase price of the item.

The Magnolia Palace by Fiona Davis

HerKentucky Whiskey Glass Rating: 🥃🥃🥃🥃🥃

I absolutely love Fiona Davis’s work. Her meticulously researched historical fiction centers around some of New York City’s most iconic buildings. The Magnolia Palace, a January Book of the Month selection and New York Times Best Seller, centers around a Gilded Age mansion — the Henry Clay Frick house —later preserved as a museum, the Frick Collection.

Now, let’s go ahead and get the frame story issue out of the way. Many historical fiction novels rely on a frame story to set up the core story. And, all too often, the frame stories are laughably bad. One of the reasons I adore Ms. Davis’s novels is that she creates framework stories that are compelling and relevant, weaving together two compelling and well-written stories. The frame story of The Magnolia Palace finds 1960s model Veronica at a photoshoot gone awry, locked in the Frick Collection with museum intern Joshua during a blizzard. The earlier parallel story unfolds as Lillian Carter, seeking to leave behind her past as infamous artists’ model Angelica, takes a job as private secretary to Helen Frick, the daughter and heiress of industrialist and art patron Henry Clay Frick. Ms. Davis presents a fascinating story of deceit, stolen jewels, and the curation of a legendary art collection through these timelines.

The Magnolia Palace is a must-read for lovers of Gilded Age art and architecture. I received an ARC via NetGalley and read on my Kindle in about a day. I couldn’t put this one down — Ms. Davis’s prose was beautiful and lush to just the right degree. This one gets five of five whiskey glasses from me.

Order The Magnolia Palace on Amazon or Bookshop.org.

Please note that I received an Advanced Review Copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review of this work. This review contains affiliate links; I will receive a small commission for purchases made through the links in this post. This commission does not impact the purchase price of the item.