by Pam Jenoff
First published 2019
Grace Healey walks through Grand Central Terminal in 1946 Manhattan when she spots an abandoned suitcase under a bench. Inside she finds twelve photographs of different women. Grace discovers the suitcase belonged to Eleanor Trigg, who ran a network of female secret agents operating from London during World War II. These twelve women worked as couriers and radio operators in Occupied Europe to support the resistance, but none came home. Grace decides to uncover what happened to the women in the photographs. Her investigation leads her to Marie, a young mother who became an agent and went on a dangerous overseas mission. Marie's story reveals the bonds between these women, their bravery under fire, and the betrayals they faced. Grace learns how these agents survived impossible situations and the price they paid for their service. The novel draws from real events to show the strength women found in each other during wartime.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, mystery, world-war-ii, 21st-century, espionage
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, intimate, suspenseful
Tropes: found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Europe, London, Manhattan, New York
Period: 1946, World War II
377 pages · Hardcover · Park Row
Content warnings: death, violence, war