The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau

Beautifully written, well thought out, and moving, The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau will steal your heart as well as having you turning the pages! Colette Marceau has been stealing since her childhood. Her mother stole as did her grandmother. It is a unique family tradition of taking from the cruel and evil and giving to those in need. If you are getting strong Robin Hood vibes you are not alone!

Colette has lived a long life and has stolen a massive amount and has given to to worthy causes. She can steal just about anything. But when a long missing bracelet from her past shows up at a museum in Boston, her past comes rushing back to her.

1942 – Occupied France

Annabel Marceau has taught her daughter, Colette to be a successful thief in order to fund the French resistance during WWII. But one horrible and fateful night, Annabel is caught by the Germans and Colette’s four-year-old sister, Liliane has disappeared with half of a diamond bracelet sewn into her nightgown. Colette is told that her sister’s body was found floating in the Seine.

Told in two timelines, The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau shows the horrors of occupied France, the holocaust, and the quest for survival. It also shows the bonds of family, and those doing what they can to help those in need. It shows us Colette as a young girl and as a woman who has lived a long life. A woman with a heavy heart and survivor’s guilt. She has spent her life stealing to help those in need even though the most precious things of all have been stolen from her – her mother and sister.

Kristin Harmel has written another gripping, moving, and thought-provoking tale about family, loss, grief, love, history, and survival. This is the second book I have read by Kristin Harmel, and I look forward to reading many more in the future.

Thank you to Gallery Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.