The Paris Network

The Paris Network is a brilliant tale weaved between the past and the future.  It follows Laurence, a bookstore owner, in France during WWII and Jeanne, a retired police detective, living in the US in 1993.  I know it sounds like a weird combination, but you quickly learn the connection and are intent on finding out more.  Laurence runs a small book store in her small town where she prescribes books to lighten the heavy burden of life.  When Germany occupies her small town and begins banning books, Laurence starts a secret bookclubb to help cope.  They read books that are banned as a way to resist.  When reading banned books doesn't seem like enough anymore, Laurence finds herself diving deeper into the resistance.  
After Jeanne's mother's death and while trying to reconcile while her mother always held her at a distance, Jeanne learns about a shocking secret.  She travels to France with her father to help uncover the secrets from their shared past. I received an ARC from Netgalley. This book gives you a perspective of what it was like to live under German occupation.  The dual timelines were easy to follow.  Siobhan Curham dove deep into the emotions of the characters addressing all of the difficult topics that come along with war.  I was emotionally devasted for the rest of the day when I finished reading this.  My only criticism is that the book was a slow starter and focused more on Laurence in the beginning.  I didn't feel the connect to Laurence until her character develops more later in the book.  I was missing the dual timeline aspect in the beginning of the book that made it magical later on.