A missing, unpublished manuscript by the infamous Josephine Murant who was a resistance fighter and imprisoned, a maid at a party who is tricked into carrying out a real murder and meets Josephine in Fresnes Prison, and a woman who hosted parties with grand events that got Margot arrested.

The event at one of her parties which was faking a murder that turned out to become a real murder had her maid, Margot Bisset, arrested.

We then meet and follow Josephine's niece and a museum curator, Clement, as they try to find the missing manuscript in hopes that it will give information about Josephine's life during the war and insight about her books for his exhibition.

They also are on a quest to find out who really murdered Peggy Schramsburg at the notorious woman, Tilly Munro’s, party.

We get to enjoy the French villa as they look for the book and go back and forth between present day and the days Josephine was in the war, her friendship with Margot, and her writing career.

We also learn of the Phrix Rayon Factory where the women had horrible working conditions with chemicals that caused blindness and burned their skin.

THE FRENCH GIFT is another marvelous book by Ms. Manning with a mystery within.

This book is for fans of WWII, those who enjoy discovering hidden facts about someone’s life, those who love rare books, as well as for those readers who enjoy seeing friendships blossom even in times of war.

Excellent!! Enjoy when you read it. 5/5

This book was given to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.