The Things that are Lost
Book description
The third book in Alan Kennedy's WW2 trilogy, The Things that are Lost takes up the story over a year after the events described in A Time to Tell Lies.
Following his disastrous encounter with John Cabot in Oxford, Alex finds himself posted back to the secret Torridon Training Centre - this time as teacher rather than pupil. His life becomes a kind of benign captivity, haunted by thoughts of Justine, who has made no response to his endless efforts to contact her. She has, quite literally, vanished.
His search for his lost love takes him finally to Paris in the dying days of German occupation.
The Things That Are Lost chronicles the efforts of two played-out SOE agents to rediscover each other. Set against the backdrop of the liberation of Paris in August 1944, they are aided by Madeleine, a woman haunted by the war-time compromises that have kept her alive.
A love story that explores one of the most shocking secrets of Paris under German occupation. A secret so disturbing that, even now, Parisians have decided it is best forgotten.
The book is available from Amazon as a Kindle download or as a paperback. Check here for ePub versions.
“The Things That are Lost is a love story, a spy story and an examination of a little known aspect of Paris under German occupation during WW2 - a novel that is hard to characterise but fabulous to read. As the characters edge towards denouement, so does the war. And it's heartless and cruel at times, as you'd expect, but it's also a stirring portrait of human love and courage. I'll be sad to let Alex and Justine go, but the conclusion of their story made for a very satisfying end to Alan Kennedy's well-researched, delicately written wartime trilogy. It would suit any reader with an interest in WW2 or who enjoys a thriller with complicated plotting, deft characterisation and intelligent, accurate research backing it up.” - Jill Murphy, The Bookbag
Cover illustration: Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1880), Portrait of Mademoiselle Irène Cahen d'Anvers ("little Irène"), Sammlung_E.G.