The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau

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)