The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau

By Kristin Harmel

Book Overview

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Kristin Harmel, the New York Times bestselling author who "is the best there is at sweeping historical drama" (Kelly Harms, author of The Seven Day Switch), returns with an electrifying new novel about two jewel thieves, a priceless bracelet that disappears in 1940s Paris, and a quest for answers in a decades-old murder.

Colette Marceau has been stealing jewels for nearly as long as she can remember, following the centuries-old code of honor instilled in her by her mother, Annabel: take only from the cruel and unkind, and give to those in need. Never was their family tradition more important than seven decades earlier, during the Second World War, when Annabel and Colette worked side by side in Paris to fund the French Resistance.

But one night in 1942, it all went wrong. Annabel was arrested by the Germans, and Colette's four-year-old sister, Liliane, disappeared in the chaos of the raid, along with an exquisite diamond bracelet sewn into the hem of her nightgown for safekeeping. Soon after, Annabel was executed, and Liliane's body was found floating in the Seine--but the bracelet was nowhere to be found.

Seventy years later, Colette--who has "redistributed" $30 million in jewels over the decades to fund many worthy organizations--has done her best to put her tragic past behind her, but her life begins to unravel when the long-missing bracelet suddenly turns up in a museum exhibit in Boston. If Colette can discover where it has been all this time--and who owns it now--she may finally learn the truth about what happened to her sister. But she isn't the only one for whom the bracelet holds answers, and when someone from her childhood lays claim to the diamonds, she's forced to confront the ghosts of her past as never before. Against all odds, there may still be a chance to bring a murderer to justice--but first, Colette will have to summon the courage to open her own battered heart.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1982191732
• ISBN13: 9781982191733
• Release Date: June 2025
• Publisher: Gallery Books
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 1.13 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 5.9" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

True to the core

9/13/25-9/18/25 THE STOLEN LIFE OF COLETTE MARCEAU by Kristin Harmel This was the book of the month for September with the Brenda Novak Book Club Group. I am not particularly fond of books that go back and forth from a different era to the current era, but I must say this novel did seem to do it smoothly and consistently in theme with each other. I truthfully didn’t mind it as much as I usually do. The story was heart rendering due to subject and that it was reality that some of it happened in real life to people our grandparents probably knew, even though the book was fictional. But there were survivors of World War Ii and some had stories to tell and were able to tell those stories. For this story there was a full circle of a happy ending where the main character was able to release her guilt but finding her family member and the young man she fell in love with writing to occasionally were both survivors still and reunited all together. Whether World War II was able to create these full circle stories in real life…I don’t think we will never know!

4 stars

THE STOLEN LIFE OF COLETTE MARCEAU by Kristin Harmel I loved this story of Parisian jewel thieves who are descendants of Robin Hood! Stealing jewels from vile and despicable people, then redistributing the proceeds to aid the needy and fund humanitarian organizations is just the sort of moral ambiguity I can get behind. If you love historical fiction as much as I do, this one has it all; a compelling protagonist with well-crafted minor and side characters, historical accuracy, and a dual timeline that flows and converges seamlessly. Were some plot points predictable? Sure, but I didn’t mind. IMO it didn’t take away from the emotional impact of Colette’s story. Overall, another well written, meticulously researched, and heartfelt story that had me turning the pages well into the night. Highly recommend! Rating: 4/5 ⭐️ Pub Date: 06.17.25 **ARC courtesy of Netgalley & GalleryBooks