A Parisian department store, a mysterious necklace and a woman's quest to unlock a decade-old mystery are at the center of this riveting novel of love and survival, from New York Times bestselling author Pam Jenoff.
London, 1953. Louise is still adjusting to her postwar role as a housewife when she discovers a necklace in a box at a secondhand shop. The box is marked with the name of a department store in Paris, and she is certain she has seen the necklace before, and that it holds the key to a friend's mysterious death from when Helaine worked with the Red Cross in Nazi-occupied Europe. Following the trail of clues to Paris, Louise seeks help from her former boss Ian, with whom she shares a romantic history. But nothing is as it seems, and there are forces determined to keep the truth buried forever.
Paris, 1943. Helaine and her husband, Gabriel, have just settled into marriage when the Germans invade France. The couple is soon torn apart, and Helaine, a Jew, is sent to the Lévitan, a once-glamorous department store that now serves as a Nazi prison. Here, she must endure the atrocities of war and decide how much she is willing to risk to reunite with her husband once more.
Inspired by the true story of the Lévitan, “The Department of Stolen Heirlooms” is both a gripping mystery and an unforgettable story about sacrifice, resistance and the power of love to transcend in even the darkest hours.
