The Paris Deception

The Paris Deception is a Historical Fiction story set around two young women who risk their lives in Paris during WWII to protect stolen artwork from falling into Nazi hands. 

Sophie is an art restorer at the Jeu de Paume art museum in Paris. When the Nazis take over the city, she makes it her mission to save art pieces the Nazis have looted from the private collections of Jewish patrons and other pieces the Third Reich have deemed 'degenerate modern art' and have set for destruction.

This story was inspired by the real life of Rose Valland, a French art historian who worked at the Jeu de Paume museum in Paris and did all she could to stop the Nazis efforts. The main plot centres around Sophie who reaches out to her long-lost sister-in-law, Fabienne and asks the talented artist if she can create forgeries of artwork the Nazis have stolen so she can hide the originals in the hopes that they can be returned to their rightful owners at the end of the war. 

This Historical Fiction slow-burn art heist story is well-researched with detailed descriptions of many art pieces but don't worry - you don't have to know your Picasso from your Dali or da Vinci to enjoy this book. I'm not an art aficionado by any means but I found myself googling a few of the pieces mentioned and this story has inspired me to watch the movie The Monuments Men and learn more about this topic.  

The Paris Deception balances historical and artistic details with a story that includes the human side of war - complicated family dynamics, friendship and the resiliency and bravery of a small group of people who risked much to save art and culture as they did whatever they could to impede the Nazi's reign of terror and its future impact on the world.

My Rating: 4 stars

Author: Bryn Turnbull

Genre: Historical Fiction (WWII), Canadian

Type and Source: Hardcover from public library

Publisher:MIRA

First Published: May 30, 2023

Book Description from GoodReads: From internationally bestselling author Bryn Turnbull comes a breathtaking novel about art theft and forgery in Nazi-occupied Paris, and two brave women who risk their lives rescuing looted masterpieces from Nazi destruction.

Sophie Dix fled Stuttgart with her brother as the Nazi regime gained power in Germany. Now, with her brother gone and her adopted home city of Paris conquered by the Reich, Sophie reluctantly accepts a position restoring damaged art at the Jeu de Paume museum under the supervision of the ERR—a German art commission using the museum as a repository for art they’ve looted from Jewish families.  

Fabienne Brandt was a rising star in the Parisian bohemian arts movement until the Nazis put a stop to so-called “degenerate” modern art. Still mourning the loss of her firebrand husband, she’s resolved to muddle her way through the occupation in whatever way she can—until her estranged sister-in-law, Sophie, arrives at her door with a stolen painting in hand.

Soon the two women embark upon a plan to save Paris’s “degenerates,” working beneath the noses of Germany’s top art connoisseurs to replace the paintings in the Jeu de Paume with skillful forgeries—but how long can Sophie and Fabienne sustain their masterful illusion?