The Paris Apartment

An apartment, priceless art, and two pendants, all combine to create a puzzle dropped into Aurelia Leclaire’s lap upon the death of her secretive and sensible grandmother, Estelle Allard. When Aurelia opens the door to the inherited Paris apartment, she is greeted by the stare of a startlingly beautiful woman in a portrait propped against a table facing the door. As she works her way through the rooms, unoccupied since 1943, she comes to the heart-breaking conclusion that her grandmother was a Nazi sympathizer. What else would explain the opulence she amassed during the war? Determined to try to return the artworks to their rightful owners, Aurelia calls in Gabrielle Seymour, a respected art restorer. They soon discover that Estelle Allard’s story is much more complicated than either of them could imagine.

The Paris Apartment combines several of my reading passions: WWII, strong women, and Paris. Kelly Bowen, though considered a Romance writer, is in my opinion clearly at her best when she writes more in the Historical Fiction genre. Her work is well researched, and her characters are fleshed out and fully believable. Though she bounces around between many character’s points of view and two time periods, I never felt lost in any way. What a lovely story of love and redemption!