"The Black Swan of Paris" by Karen Robards

The Black Swan of Paris (June 30, 2020) by Karen Robards.

<This is a standalone novel.>

It is Paris, 1944. It hasn’t yet been dubbed as such, but D-Day is approaching, and the Germans are desperate to know when and where. Genevieve Dumont (newly 25 years old) is a celebrated star singer, but she’s a smokescreen, too. Her fame and beauty have made her the unwilling darling of the Nazis, but this privilege allows her to go undetected as an ally to the Resistance. Genevieve thinks she’s closed off her emotions until she hears word that her estranged father, Baron Paul de Rocheford, has been killed, and her estranged mother, Baroness Lillian de Rocheford, has been captured by the Nazis. She and the Resistance know that torture is imminent. Once Genevra de Rocheford, she hasn’t shared this with Maximillian (Max) Georges Bonet. He’s supposedly a 44-year-old French citizen who’s medically unfit for military service and so acts as Genevieve’s manager. In reality, he is 34-year-old British agent Major Max Ryan, Special Operations Executive (SOE). Not wanting her mother to become yet another victim of a brutal war, Genevieve reunites with her estranged older sister, Emmanuelle (Emmy) Granville. Genevieve has caught the attention of Herr Obergruppenführer Claus von Wagner, and, as much as he makes her skin crawl, she suspects that he knows where Lillian is being held prisoner. Genevieve isn’t as done with her family as she thought.
        WWII Paris is an uncommon setting for WWII historical fiction novels that I’ve read. This war story/historical thriller is simultaneously painful and exquisite. Robards’ careful research is reflected in the story’s intense realism and meticulous historical detail. There are a couple graphic scenes of torture depicted, so know this truly isn’t a story for the faint-hearted. There are moments that made my heart pound, my mind scream, and sometimes, I wanted to hide, too. This story is suspenseful, emotional and gut-wrenching and is also part spy novel plus romance story in a theatre of resounding bravery with Paris as its backdrop. It is bold and absorbing.