The Black Swan of Paris (2020)

by Karen Robards

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232	9	116,353	(3.84)	11
"A world at war. A beautiful young star. A mission no one expected. Paris, 1944. Celebrated singer Genevieve Dumont is both a star and a smokescreen. An unwilling darling of the Nazis, the chanteuse's position of privilege allows her to go undetected as an ally to the resistance. When her estranged mother, Lillian de Rocheford, is captured by Nazis, Genevieve knows it won't be long before the Gestapo succeeds in torturing information out of Lillian that will derail the upcoming allied invasion. The resistance movement is tasked with silencing her by any means necessary-including assassination. But Genevieve refuses to let her mother become yet one more victim of the war. Reuniting with her long-lost sister, she must find a way to navigate the perilous cross-currents of Occupied France undetected-and in time to save Lillian's life."--… (more)

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Showing 1-5 of 9 (next | show all)

Just bad timing on reading about war (

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iamkbee | Apr 7, 2022 |

Tale of a nightclub singer and her manager, along with other members of her family involved in the French resistance. More of a love story than a historical fiction novel. Dragged at times, but finished it. (

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Pmaurer | Nov 14, 2020 |

Singer Genevieve Dumont is able to move through Nazi occupied France with ease. Her celebrity allows her to bypass searches, and to travel where others cannot. Her manager, Max is a British spy, who takes full advantage of Genevieve's privileges. When Genevieve learns that her estranged mother has been arrested and is awaiting torture, she does everything she can to rescue her.

The characters throughout this story were dynamic, well rounded and easy to relate too. The story itself was well paced and interesting. I found myself unable to put this book down, I just had to know what happened next. Overall, well worth picking up. (

)

JanaRose1 | Oct 2, 2020 |

This book had a very slow buildup and was just too long. Sadly, I found it a struggle to get through the book, and, in my opinion, not worth the read.

The plot was intriguing, but by the time it got interesting I was no longer interested. I did not care for the main characters, Genevieve and Max. Eventually I resorted to skimming through chapters just to get through it.

I think this was more of a romance novel than historical fiction. Just not for me. (

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BettyTaylor56 | Sep 10, 2020 |

Spies abound in this tale of occupied Paris, featuring a singer who makes a public show of collaborating with the Nazis while feeding their secrets to British spies. Events become complicated as the D-Day invasion approaches and a resistance cell is captured - a cell which includes the mother of Guinevere Dumont and her sister, an SOE agent. Parts of this novel push the boundaries of plausible, but overall it makes for a good, enjoyable story and likely of interest to WWII historical fiction fans. (

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wagner.sarah35 | Jul 25, 2020 |

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Canonical title

Original title

Alternative titles

Original publication date

2020

People/Characters

Important places

Important events

World War II, German Occupation of France

Related movies

Epigraph

What is the use of living, if it be not to strive for noble causes and to make this muddled world a better place for those who will live in it after we are gone?
- - Winston Churchill

Dedication

For my three sons, Peter, Christopher and Jack, with all my love

First words

When the worst thing that could ever happen to you had already happened, nothing that came after really mattered.

Quotations

Last words

(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)

Disambiguation notice

Publisher's editors

Ohanjanians, Emily

Blurbers

Original language

Canonical DDC/MDS

813.54

Canonical LCC

PS3568.O196

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▾Book descriptions

"A world at war. A beautiful young star. A mission no one expected. Paris, 1944. Celebrated singer Genevieve Dumont is both a star and a smokescreen. An unwilling darling of the Nazis, the chanteuse's position of privilege allows her to go undetected as an ally to the resistance. When her estranged mother, Lillian de Rocheford, is captured by Nazis, Genevieve knows it won't be long before the Gestapo succeeds in torturing information out of Lillian that will derail the upcoming allied invasion. The resistance movement is tasked with silencing her by any means necessary-including assassination. But Genevieve refuses to let her mother become yet one more victim of the war. Reuniting with her long-lost sister, she must find a way to navigate the perilous cross-currents of Occupied France undetected-and in time to save Lillian's life."--

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