During World War Two Josie Anderson, the daughter of an American ambassador, and Arlette LaRue, a native Parisian and new mother, joined the French Resistance and became known as the Golden Doves, stealing many of the Nazis’ secrets and becoming heroes in Occupied France. But when they are finally arrested and sent to Ravensbrück concentration camp, Josie and Arlette witness the true horrors of Hitler’s regime. Josie’s mother, a renowned Jewish singer, is experimented on by a sadistic Nazi doctor and Arlette’s young son is taken from her to be given to a “good” German family. Against the odds the two women survive and attempt to rebuild their lives in postwar America and France. Josie begins working for U.S. Army Intelligence but finds herself at odds with the American way of dealing with valuable Nazi war criminals and Arlette works at a cafe, still holding out hope that her son is alive. When both women are given an opportunity to achieve what they desire most, they immediately agree but will discover that while the war ended nearly a decade ago, they are still in just as much as danger as before.

While there are some flashbacks to Josie and Arlette’s time as resistance fighters and concentration camp prisoners during World War Two, a vast majority of this 500-page thriller is set in 1953 as both women attempt to achieve their own missions. For Josie this is hunting down and eventually apprehending a Nazi doctor that experimented on her mother and for Arlette, to be reunited with the son who was taken from her. Both storylines are as compelling and it is very clear that Ms. Kelly did an astounding amount of research. This is perhaps the biggest strength of the novel. Having studied World War Two and it’s aftermath for close to fifteen years I was struck by how much research Ms. Kelly put into this book and it pays off.

From the start, I was hooked on this story and found it very hard to put down. Something that is quite the feat given how long the book is and sometimes it can be difficult to hold the reader’s attention for that long. It is fast paced and the story moves smoothly, easily interweaving “present” scenes with flashbacks from the past. Usually I don’t like flashbacks throughout a novel but Ms. Kelly was able to do this part very well. These flashbacks weren’t overly long but just enough to give the reader vital information about Josie and Arlette’s actions during the war.

There isn’t anything about this book I would change. Ms. Kelly manages to take several post-war topics like the Nazi ratlines and Cold War tensions and blend them perfectly together. All the characters are well developed and while at it’s base it is a historical fiction piece, there are many mystery/thriller aspects to it that might interest readers who typically don’t gravitate towards historical fiction. The ending does given an indication that Ms. Kelly could turn this into the first book of a series and I hope she does. I enjoyed reading Josie and Arlette’s story and hope she continues it in the future.

5 out of 5