Rhys Bowen’s annual standalone is a WWII novel about a woman who turns her life around after a surprising divorce and finds an unexpected new life in France just before the Nazis invade.
In 1938 Ellie Endicott is stunned when her husband of 30 years suddenly asks for a divorce because he is in love with another, younger woman. Ellie quickly gets advice from a solicitor and demands half their assets instead of the flat he offers her. Instead of taking this love-nest her husband once shared with his mistress, she demands a substantial settlement, then takes his Bentley and heads to France.
Determined to recapture the joy of a youthful trip to the Cote d’Azur, Ellie’s kind heart finds her accompanied by Dora, an elderly spinster dying of heart disease who wants to see France again before she dies, and Mavis, her housekeeper who is fleeing an abusive husband. Along the way they rescue young Yvette who is fleeing from an attacker.
The descriptions of their trip across France are vivid and interesting. (I quickly got out a map so I could trace their route.) When the Bentley breaks down in the seaside village of Saint Benet (based on real-life village Cassis), they fall in love with its charm and the relaxed way of life. They are quickly accepted by the villagers who include an ex-pat English couple, a gay couple, the chef of the local tavern, a simple man and his mother, a handsome fisherman, and an English Viscount.
When Ellie hears of an abandoned villa above the town, she is determined to see it. Once she does, she falls in love and is determined to rent and restore it. Soon she and her friends settle into life in the villa and are happy enough to contemplate staying there permanently – until the Nazis invade France.
At first it seems the Nazis are only interested in northern France but eventually Saint Benet is overrun with Nazis. The rest of the book is about Ellie and her friends dealing with the war. With no way out of France, Ellie and her friends do what they can to help with the war effort. (No spoilers here!) The drama of the war is exciting and (somewhat nerve-wracking) but the plotlines are satisfyingly resolved at the end.
Like her previous standalones, this novel was so complex and the characters so interesting, it left me sort of hoping it might be the first book in a new series. So far, her standalones have remained just that, but one can always hope! — Cathy Akers-Jordan