Huguette - by Cara Black (Hardcover)

About the Book

"August 1945. Seventeen-year-old Huguette Faure is a survivor. The war has taken everything from her--both her parents and her sense of safety. Now, pregnant and on the lam, she cannot return to her childhood home in Paris. Forced to reinvent herself, she must outrun her father's enemies, who want her dead. After narrowly avoiding jail time--thanks to the help of a kind-hearted police officer named Claude Leduc--Huguette lands a job assisting a legendary film director. As her role develops from helping him with chores to cooking his books, she sees an opportunity to break free from the ghosts of her past once and for all"--

Book Synopsis

In the lawlessness of post-World War II France, a resilient young woman fights to survive and make a living, no matter the cost--from the New York Times bestselling author of Three Hours in Paris and the Aimée Leduc series

After Libération, spring 1945: Seventeen-year-old Huguette Faure is a survivor. The war has taken everything from her--both her parents and her sense of safety. Now, pregnant and on the lam, she cannot return to her childhood home in Paris. Forced to reinvent herself, she must outrun her father's enemies, who want her dead. After narrowly avoiding jail time--thanks to the help of a kindhearted police officer named Claude Leduc--Huguette lands a job assisting a legendary film director. As her role develops from helping him with chores to cooking his books, she sees an opportunity to break free from the ghosts of her past once and for all.

In this big-hearted story of resilience, New York Times bestselling author Cara Black offers a wholly original depiction of postwar France as well as introduces Claude Leduc--the man who decades later inspired his granddaughter, Aimée, to become a private investigator.

Review Quotes

Praise for Huguette

An Amazon Top 10 Best Books of the Month Pick
A Historical Novels Review Editors' Choice
A BookTrib Editors' Pick

"Cara Black's Huguette is a propulsive dive into the demi-monde of postwar France, full of moral ambiguity and striking characters."
--Sasha Vasilyuk, author of Your Presence Is Mandatory

"A fast-paced, gritty thriller . . . A wonderful novel about a natural survivor whose actions often fall outside the law, but who is so likeable that you cannot help but root for her . . . Highly recommended."
--Historical Novels Review

"Black is a consummate storyteller, and this fast-paced, enthralling novel features many of the elements her readers have come to expect: expertly drawn characters, a twisty plot, and richly detailed settings (here, a side of Paris seldom seen by tourists)."
--Library Journal, Starred Review

"Huguette's journey is extraordinary, and her courage and resourcefulness make for an engaging read. Black's fans may clamor for more of this extraordinary character."
--Booklist

"Vivid . . . [Black] renders the textures and social mores of postwar Paris with aplomb. Historical mystery fans will root for Huguette all the way to the novel's bittersweet end."
--Publishers Weekly

"No one creates humanistic historical crime & mystery tales quite like Cara Black."
--Bookreporter

Praise for Cara Black

"Heart-racing . . . Chances that you'll be able to put Black's thriller down once you've picked it up? Slim to none."
--The Washington Post

"Beyond Black's encyclopedic knowledge of Paris, her deft interweaving of WWII history and spycraft with a relatable female protagonist puts Three Hours in Paris on par with other top thrillers about botched missions followed by harrowing escapes."
--Los Angeles Times

"Black . . . excels at setting vivid scenes, creating lively characters and maintaining pulse-elevating suspense."
--The Wall Street Journal

About the Author

Cara Black is the author of twenty-one books in the New York Times bestselling Aimée Leduc series as well as the WWII thrillers Three Hours in Paris and Night Flight to Paris. She has won the Médaille de la Ville de Paris and the Médaille d'Or du Rayonnement Culturel and received multiple nominations for the Anthony and Macavity Awards; her books have been translated into German, Norwegian, Japanese, French, Spanish, Italian, and Hebrew.