The Jeweler of Stolen Dreams
1942: Innovative jeweler Suzanne Belperron secretly collaborates with the Resistance while still maintaining her career as designer in occupied Paris. When her lover and former business partner is captured by the enemy, Suzanne tries to arrange his escape, and schemes with an American socialite to sell jewels in the U.S. to facilitate the escape of Jews from Nazi-occupied France.
In 1986, Violine Duplessi possesses the uncanny gift of psychometry, the ability to sense the story of an object by simply handling it. A mystical inheritance from a 16th-century ancestor, Violine’s heritage as a “Daughter of La Lune” has at times brought her trouble, and she has attempted to abandon it. She works as an appraiser for a boutique auction house and at times collaborates with the Midas Society, an international society that attempts to return stolen works of art to their rightful owners. While assessing a vintage Louis Vuitton trunk, she and the current owner, handsome senatorial candidate Paul Osgood, come across a hidden trove of vintage jewels. Violine’s gift returns with a vengeance; she senses extreme pain and trauma resonating from the hoard.
What is the connection between the innovative jeweler and the secret treasure found by Violine and Paul? This intriguing dual-timeline story, told through Violine’s first-person voice and Suzanne’s diary entries, reveals unexpected connections between Paul, Violine, and Suzanne, and provides Paul and Violine an opportunity to right past wrongs. Belperron was an actual jeweler who designed for Schiaparelli, Arletty, and the Duchess of Windsor, among other celebrities. This novel shines light on the jeweler and her work while providing a satisfying read full of romance and mystery.
