During WWII Josie Andersen and Arlette LaRue worked for the Resistance in Paris. They were so successful stealing secrets that they were known as the Golden Doves. Their notoriety made them targets of the Gestapo. They were hunted down and imprisoned in Ravensbrook where terrible medical experiments were performed on the prisoners. Arlette’s son Willie was also taken prisoner, but he disappeared. At the end of the war, they were released from Ravensbrook, but Willie was missing.
In the 1950’s, the two women come together again. Josie is working for the US government in Operation Paperclip keeping track of scientists brought to the US to keep them from Russian Intelligence. She is tasked by the government to find the doctor who performed the infamous experiments at Ravensbrook. Arlette has been given information on where Willie might be. This quest takes them from Europe to French Guiana.
This is an extremely well written and researched novel. This is the third novel by Kelly I’ve read. I think in some ways it’s the best. It reintroduces some of the characters from the Lilac Girls, another novel set partially in Ravensbrook.
The characters of Josie and Arlette are very convincing. They were both brave women who cared about their loved ones and wanted he help women injured during the war. The book is long, but the author keeps you reading with cliffhangers at the end of some chapters.
The afterward is worth reading. It details how the book was conceived and relates where it is based on fact. I highly recommend this book if you enjoy excellent historical novels.
I received this book from Penguin Random House for this review.
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