Paris Noire — Francine Thomas Howard

Paris Noire, the title of which refers to the immigrants of color who flocked to France in the 20s and 30s, is a “wonderful tale that is sure to appeal to most readers, especially romance and historical fiction lovers,” according to Library Journal. Among the diaspora is Marie-Therese Brillard from Martinique, and her children Colette and Christophe. They settled in Montmartre, a vibrant neighborhood teeming with musicians, writers, and artists, and began the arduous task of building a new life in a new land. The rigors of World War II only added to the adversity beneath which Marie-Therese struggled. Its culmination should offer her relief, and yet… When Colette and Christophe are swept up in the jubilation following the Nazis' departure, each embarks upon a passionate love affair that Marie-Therese fears will cost them their dreams -- or their lives. Twenty-year-old Colette begins a dalliance with a white Frenchman, a romance forbidden for the quadroon child of an immigrant. Her older brother Christophe becomes the lover of the beautiful wife of a French freedom fighter, a relationship Marie-Therese suspects can only end in heartache and bloodshed. Adding yet another complication is the man she calls Monsieur Lieutenant, the handsome black soldier whose mere presence intrigues Marie-Therese as no man has before.

Set against the turbulent backdrop of wartime France, Paris Noire is a dramatic and engrossing novel that brings to vivid life the remarkable people once relegated to the fringes of history.