Set in 1947 post WWII (I like that period) with flashbacks to 1939 so that it covers a nice long period we have an unusual story. A Private Investigator and strangely enough for the time a female - still women are not quite emancipated for this to be an occasion for a raising of eyebrows if the occupation is mentioned! Allie finds herself happy in her job but hankering for a lost love, always at odds with her socialite mother who is horrified at her daughter's job and wishes she would just get married and move in the same social circles that she does.This is just the background. We then come to the main core of the story. Helen of Troy's gold jewellery has been lost. The Soviets had initially taken them over to be shipped back to Moscow but our Clive and Mary a real Bonnie and Clyde pair just takes off with the jewellery hoping that over a long period of time the theft would be buried and forgotton.
Working alongside the FBI Allie does a deal - find David her long lost love and she will do her utmost to pass on whatever information she has so that the jewellery could be recovered and returned to whatever country it belongs to. Plots, side plots, murder, the involvement of the East Germans and the Soviets all are part of the plot.
The story in itself is not fabulous but I liked the period setting of the story. Slightly old fashioned and orthodox, it was a different scene from the usual spy/jewellery heist scenario. A pleasant read.
I think this time period sounds so interesting and I love heist books so this looks like a good read for me!
ReplyDeletei haven't read a lot of heist stories. i do like the look of this novel.
ReplyDeleteI really like WWII era fiction with an Asian setting-I enjoyed your post a lot
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