The Lost Girls of Paris (spoilers at the end)

 The Lost Girls of Paris (2019) by Pam Jenoff

1946, Manhattan

Grace Healey is trying to rebuild her life life after losing her husband during the war. She works for a man who is helping immigrants rebuild their lives after coming to the United States during or after the war. She is late to work one morning and find it necessary to go through Grand Central Station to avoid a traffic jam resulting from an accident. The Station has haunting memories for her--it's where she waited in vain for her husband to arrive for a quick trip home before shipping out. An accident prevented her young soldier from ever leaving the States. When she sits down to get her bearings, she finds an abandoned suitcase tucked beneath a bench. Her curiosity gets the better of her and she the suitcase. Among an odd collection of items, including a pair of baby shoes, she finds a bundle of photographs—each of a different woman. In a moment of impulse, Grace takes the photographs and quickly leaves the station. She notices the name Trigg on the suitcase as she shoves it back under the bench. She's shocked later to read that Eleanor Trigg was killed in an auto accident earlier that day. When she returns to the Station, the suitcase is gone. Something about the faces in those photographs speaks to her and Grace decides to investigate.

1943-1944, London & France

When male agents in France begin to go missing at an alarming rate, Eleanor Trigg, confidential secretary to the Director of SOE (Special Operations Executive), suggests a force of female agents--young women are more plentiful in the occupied nation and it would be less likely that agents would be spotted. The Director makes her the head of the women's division and she supervises the training and deployment. Things go well until the Allied forces prepare for D-Day...and suddenly the largest ring of agents goes silent. Eleanor had suspected something was going wrong with the radio transmissions, but had been denied clearance to go to France herself and investigate. Twelve of Eleanor's agents go missing without a trace. 

Both Eleanor and Grace work to find out the truth behind the women's disappearance. And both are shocked to find betrayal at the heart of the answer. And having discovered the truth after Eleanor's death, Grace determines to find justice for the women who never made it home.

My take: First up, the good. I enjoyed Jenoff's prose. I found myself reading through this effortlessly and thoroughly enjoying her writing. I loved the build-up--both to Grace's involvement in the story and Eleanor setting up the women's division of SOE. I liked watching Grace and Eleanor try to figure out what went wrong with the mission. The relationship between Grace and Mark worked well and I do like that Marie decided she still needed to sort some things out personally before getting serious with him (instead of a nice tidy wrap-up to their romance and off into the sunset together). And I could tell that Jenoff did her research on this period of the war. 

But...SPOILERS!

Marie--the one agent of the twelve who actually makes it out of France (though we don't know it till the end)--seriously? She sticks to none of her training. None. When in danger, she's supposed to destroy her radio. She doesn't. When capture is ensured if she doesn't get the heck away from her "cover" apartment (and out of France all together), she stays put. When captured, the last thing she's supposed to do is give up her second code "check", she does. When her superior (also the man she loves after a very brief period) reminds her of her duty (not to do what the Germans tell her to do), she gives in to "save" him. Anyone with a smidgen of sense knows that as soon as she gives in, the Germans will kill them both because they'll have no more use for them. It's a miracle that she doesn't die.

Marie started out great. I like her character a lot. Until she got to France--where she fell in love and all her training went out the window. 

The story was pretty solid. The setting was great. The mystery and intrigue well done. I just wish Marie hadn't messed things up so royally in France. ★★★ and 1/2

First line: If not for the second-worst mistake of Grace Healey's life, she never would have found the suitcase.

Last line: She crossed the avenue toward Grand Central, unencumbered and unafraid, and started through the doors of the station, headed for the life that awaited her.
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Deaths = 10 (three hit by car; one bled to death; three boat sank; one shot; one poisoned; one blew up)