Three Women. Two generations. Their friendship survived
the war. Their secret survived even longer.
Monique and Audrey, one French and one British, grow up in
French Algiers on the coast of the sparkling Mediterranean Sea. Best friends,
they keep each other’s secrets into adulthood when World War II changes their
world and Algiers sides with the Hitler-based Vichy government. Audrey joins
Charles DeGaulle’s resistance army, the French Foreign Legion, while Monique
stays to work in the underground resistance aiding the Allied invasion of North
Africa.
In present day, American born great-granddaughter Nicole, a
graduate student in archaeology, goes to North Africa for an internship. The
now centenarian Monique (Mimi), debilitated by a stroke, urges her to find the
Desert Rose. Nicole finds different types of desert roses, but none are the
right one until she stumbles onto information that hints the desert rose might
not be a flower after all. While Sami, her instructor in Algiers, helps her
find the desert rose, he also has to protect her from people who want the
heirloom ring Nicole wears which has its own secret.
Will Nicole find the secret before it’s too late?
My Thoughts:
In this dual timeline story, we have three women who's past and future all intertwine. The past story line gives us Monique's and Aurdrey's story, from the time that they met as young girls to World War 2 which leaves a huge mark on both women's lives. In their different parts of the world, they fight the best they can, love wholeheartedly, and both experience losses that are life changing. Between them they have a secret that both have decided to tell no one.
Fast forward to 2019 and Nicole, the great-granddaughter of Monique gets too go to her Mimi's far away homeland of Algiers on an archaeological trip. With a mission from Monique to find the desert rose, Nicole sets off on an adventure of a lifetime. Little does she know of the danger she will encounter and the deeper truths that she will discover.
I enjoyed the back and forth between the two major timelines and all three of the women's perspectives. This was a first for me to read about the War's reaches to North Africa. The searching for the secret was interesting and the telling of it was both heart wrenching and heartwarming. I was not expecting that.
I was provided a copy of this novel from the author. I was not required to post a positive review, and all views and opinions are my own.
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