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Two stories, one in France before and during WWII and one in Boston 70 years later, are intertwined in this novel of crime, treasure, justice, and love. Colette was a young child when the war began, raised by her mother, Annabel, into a life of thievery—but only for good, never for personal gain. Stories of Robin Hood combined with methods of stealing jewelry provided the backbone of her upbringing. During the war, she and her mother targeted the Nazis. Then Annabel was arrested and executed, and Colette's younger sister went missing, with a diamond bracelet sewed into the hem of her nightgown. When the bracelet shows up years later in Boston, it may be the key to unraveling a mystery and finding Colette's lost sister. Terrible betrayals happen during the war, and strange coincidences and unlikely occurrences in Boston may have the power to undo decades-old damage. This very romantic story will provide a happy ending for those who need it. A good fit for public-library historical-fiction collections.

Library Journal
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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

Publishers Weekly
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In the affecting latest from Harmel (The Paris Daughter), an aging jewel thief searches for answers about the family she lost in WWII Paris. Colette Marceau, 89, volunteers at a Holocaust education center in 2018 Boston, which she secretly funded with proceeds from the millions of dollars in jewels she’s stolen. Colette follows the code handed down by her jewel-thief mother, Annabel, who insisted she steal only from those who are “cruel and unkind,” such as a dressmaker who collaborated with the Nazis. Memories of wartime Paris come flooding back when Colette learns that an upcoming museum exhibit will include a diamond-studded bracelet that Annabel recovered from a German officer who had stolen it from Annabel’s friend. Shortly after the episode, Annabel was arrested and Colette’s younger sister, Liliane, disappeared along with the bracelet. Convinced that finding the person who loaned the bracelet to the museum will help her find out what happened to Liliane, Colette seeks answers from the museum director about the bracelet’s provenance. As Harmel seamlessly interweaves the two timelines, she explores the danger Annabel and Colette put themselves in by thieving and the depravity of the Nazis. It’s a satisfying drama. Agent: Holly Root, Root Literary. (June)