Set in Paris in 1944, the lives of Jean-Luc Beauchamp and Sarah Lafitte collide on a train platform one night, when Sarah and her newborn son are being transported to Auschwitz and Jean-Luc and his colleagues have been ordered by the “Boche” to help solve a problem on the tracks. In an instant, Sarah has pushed the baby into Jean-Luc’s arms and begged him to save her son. He has to react very quickly before anyone can see what has happened so he runs towards the toilet in the station only to be followed by a German soldier. In order to escape he is forced to overcome the soldier and steal his uniform, then he flees to the home of his girlfriend Charlotte, who he met when he was in hospital recently following an accident on the railway. With very little time to think about what they are doing the young couple set off to leave France with the baby. Assisted by the Resistance, they undertake a long and dangerous journey on foot to America via Spain. The story flips from 1953, when Jean-Luc and his wife, now known as Charlie, are living happily with their 9 year old son Sam, when their past catches up with them. We see what happens when Jean-Luc is arrested and returned to France on suspicion of kidnapping Sam and Charlotte goes on the run with Sam, only to be stopped at the border of Mexico by the FBI. She is taken for questioning while Sam is sent to Paris to be reunited with his birth parents who have survived Auschwitz against all the odds. It is a heartbreaking story told from the points of view of all of the five main characters. Jean-Luc and Charlotte are heartbroken at their loss of Sam who they love as their own, Sarah and her husband David, whilst initially elated at getting their son back, are devastated at his unhappiness and refusal to co-operate with their attempts to integrate him into his new life. But Sam’s shock, confusion and heartbreak at having been wrenched from the couple he knew as his parents is so well portrayed. It is clearly an impossible situation and I found myself empathising with both sets of “parents” whilst wishing that they would put Sam’s welfare ahead of everything. An excellent read for anyone who,like me, enjoys historical fiction set a wartime backdrop.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book. Set in France and America, towards the end of the Second World War and shortly afterwards, While Paris Slept tells the moving story of Jean-Luc and Charlotte, David and Sarah, and Samuel. I found it to be incredibly moving and beautifully written from each character’s perspective. The horrors that were inflicted by the Nazi’s are touched upon, but not in huge detail- the focus is on the characters in the book, rather than on specific crimes. I enjoyed this book very much and look forward to reading more by the author.

Mans inhumanity to man is once again put to the fore in this spellbinding book that will give you a rollercoaster of emotions. Although it touches on the holocaust this is only a small part of the story which starts off in occupied Paris in WW2 and continues in the US. After an arduous journey through the Pyrenees mountains, a young French couple continue their journey to the US and freedom with a baby that they have saved from certain death as it was destined to go to a notorious work camp with it's Jewish mother. The mother handed the baby over just before she was herded onto the train knowing that she might never see it again. The couple settled down to life in the US but have no idea what's in store for them. One thing that they know for sure is that they love the child as their own. A brilliant book that you won't want to put down

The story is told in two places and in two timelines: Santa Cruz,1953 - Jean-Luc and his wife Charlotte thought they could put the past behind them and enjoy new beginnings with their son, Sam, in America after fleeing Paris during Nazi occupation. That is until the police come knocking to pull him back... Paris, 1944 - Paris is under Nazi occupation. Jean Luc is a railroad worker and sent to work on the tracks at Bobigny where Jews are transported to Drancy, known as a transit concentration camp that housed Jews temporarily until they were deported out of the country to be killed. In a split second a young mother’s future changes by handing her new born son to Jean Luc before she is herded onto the train to Drancy. Two strangers’ lives are changed from that day forward, connecting them in an unimaginable way. An utterly compelling and engrossing read which I inhaled in matter of days (even though it’s just over 500 pages) - it’s heartbreaking, shocking, beautiful, compassionate, courageous, I could use so many adjectives to describe this emotional book! There is such a sharp contrast between love, hope and survival versus the cruelty, hatred and brutality of war and treatment of Jews during the Holocaust. It’s definitely uncomfortable and sad reading at times, the realisation of this dark, dark history in humanity, families torn apart, lives forever changed. It’s interesting to learn and understand lives of local citizens living under Nazi occupation, which was terrifying and divisive. No one living during these times escaped the atrocities happening all around them. A brilliant debut novel that I could not put down. A unique perspective on how the present is inextricably linked to the past, with powerful explorations of love, courage, parenthood, hope and survival, against all odds. Highly recommend for lovers of historical fiction set during WWII and anyone else who wants to read a deeply affecting and beautiful book.