Synopses & Reviews
Romantic suspense amid the chaos of a world at war. The year is 1940. As England braces for invasion and the German army overruns Europe, two American sisters in Paris risk their lives to save a downed British airman from Nazi arrest. Linda Rossiter and Eleanor Masson soon realize the price they may pay when they read this ominous public notice: "All persons harbouring English soldiers must deliver same to the nearest Kommandantur not later than 20 October 1940. Those persons who continue to harbour Englishmen after this date without having notified the authorities will be shot." On Christmas Eve, the Gestapo sets a trap, and death is only a step behind the two American women.
About the Author
Carolyn Hart is the winner of multiple Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity Awards. She is a cofounder of Sisters in Crime. Her prolific career has included the enduring Death on Demand series as well as the Henrie O and Bailey Ruth books. In 2007 she received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Malice Domestic convention. Hart's mysteries and suspense novels have sold more than 3 million copies. Her fiftieth novel, Dead, White and Blue, will be published in May 2013. Hart's books range from taut standalone suspense novels to three series that have captivated readers of traditional mysteries. She is best known for her Death on Demand series about Annie Darling, an eager and fun-loving owner of a mystery bookstore on a sea island, and her husband, Max, who specializes in solving problems, though he insists he isn't a private eye. Earlier in her career, Hart wrote several suspense novels, including Skulduggery and The Devereaux Legacy, both of which have been reissued as part of the Seventh Street Books™ Carolyn Hart Classics line. Visit her online at www.carolynhart.com and www.facebook.com/AuthorCarolynHart.
Reading Group Guide
Book Club GuideEscape from Paris
1. Who does the title refer to?
2. What was it like to live in France during the German Occupation? How was life on the home front in America? (See below.)
3. Linda Rossiter and Eleanor Masson have entirely different feelings about helping RAF fliers escape. Contrast Linda's terror of the Gestapo with Eleanor's eagerness to fight the Nazis.
4. Raphael Masson, Andre's brother, has spent his life within the parameters of the law. He follows the law. What should be- what can be - his response to Vichy rule?
5. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. How does the Gestapo exemplify this maxim?
6. The vignette of Fraulein Selig, the famed opera singer, is a true story as is the trainload of Jewish children. Does the recollection of particular heartbreak help us remember with a sense of immediacy the horror of the Holocaust?
7. Rene and Yvette Bizien are fighting for their own survival. Are Yvette's actions understandable?
8. On November 11, 1940 Parisians flowed by the thousands to lay flowers at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arc de Triomphe. On Christmas Eve, devout Parisians defied the curfew to go to Midnight Mass. What do these two events tell us about national pride and religious conviction?
9. Did Escape from Paris give you a greater sense of connection to the war years?
10. Why do we need to remember the war?
Carolyn Hart | 9781616147938 | TR | 6/11/2013 | IN | $13.95 $15.00
Prometheus Books; Seventh Street Books