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Title details for The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau by Kristin Harmel - Wait list

The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau

A Novel

by Kristin Harmel
ebook
Pre-release: Expected June 17, 2025
0 of 1 copy available
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Kristin Harmel, the New York Times bestselling author who "is the best there is at sweeping historical drama" (Kelly Harms, author of The Seven Day Switch), returns with an electrifying new novel about two jewel thieves, a priceless bracelet that disappears in 1940s Paris, and a quest for answers in a decades-old murder.
Colette Marceau has been stealing jewels for nearly as long as she can remember, following the centuries-old code of honor instilled in her by her mother, Annabel: take only from the cruel and unkind, and give to those in need. Never was their family tradition more important than seven decades earlier, during the Second World War, when Annabel and Colette worked side by side in Paris to fund the French Resistance.

But one night in 1942, it all went wrong. Annabel was arrested by the Germans, and Colette's four-year-old sister, Liliane, disappeared in the chaos of the raid, along with an exquisite diamond bracelet sewn into the hem of her nightgown for safekeeping. Soon after, Annabel was executed, and Liliane's body was found floating in the Seine—but the bracelet was nowhere to be found.

Seventy years later, Colette—who has "redistributed" $30 million in jewels over the decades to fund many worthy organizations—has done her best to put her tragic past behind her, but her life begins to unravel when the long-missing bracelet suddenly turns up in a museum exhibit in Boston. If Colette can discover where it has been all this time—and who owns it now—she may finally learn the truth about what happened to her sister. But she isn't the only one for whom the bracelet holds answers, and when someone from her childhood lays claim to the diamonds, she's forced to confront the ghosts of her past as never before. Against all odds, there may still be a chance to bring a murderer to justice—but first, Colette will have to summon the courage to open her own battered heart.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    June 17, 2025

  • Formats

    • Kindle Book

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Library Journal

      April 1, 2025

      As a descendant of Robin Hood, Colette Marceau takes her family legacy seriously. She's spent a lifetime stealing jewels from the undeserving rich and donating to people in need, including anonymously founding the Boston Center for Holocaust Education. Yet no number of good deeds can erase the guilt she feels over her younger sister's disappearance and death in Paris in 1942. When a bracelet linked to her sister resurfaces in a jewelry exhibition, Colette hopes to finally discover the identity of her sister's killer after 70 years. Teaming up to sleuth with both old friends and new, she soon wonders how different her life might have been had she made different choices all those years ago. The novel's twists and turns are fairly easy to predict, and those excited to read about jewel heists may be disappointed that Colette's thievery eventually takes a backseat to her search for answers. VERDICT As in her other popular World War II-set reads, Harmel (The Paris Daughter) ultimately delivers an emotional tale with likable characters and a feel-good ending. The moral ambiguity of the protagonist's choices should help keep conversation flowing for the many book clubs who call Harmel a favorite.--Mara Bandy Fass

      Copyright 2025 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • Kindle Book

subjects

Languages

  • English

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