Kristin Harmel has a proven track record of writing masterful historical fiction, including THE ROOM ON RUE AMÉLIE and THE WINEMAKER’S WIFE. Still, she has far exceeded expectations with her latest effort, THE BOOK OF LOST NAMES.

The novel moves back and forth across decades as readers become acquainted with Eva Traube Abrams. In 2005, Eva is a semi-retired librarian whose life is simple and boring. Sixty-three years earlier, she was a master forger who rebelled against the Nazi regime.

"I absolutely adored this book and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys fictional accounts of World War II or just appreciates a good story. It will break your heart and then patch it back together again.... THE BOOK OF LOST NAMES will mesmerize you."

Eva has attempted to forget her past, but when a newspaper article catches her eye, she is tempted to revisit her days as a forger. The image she comes across is The Book of Lost Names. After forging documents for children, she would encode their fake and real names into that book. Knowing that some would be too young to remember who they actually were, Eva kept The Book of Lost Names in hopes that they would be able to regain their true identity after the war. When the library was raided by the Nazis, she thought she would never see the book again. Decades later, she knows that she is the only one who can decode it.

As a student in 1942, Eva was forced to flee Paris when her father, a Polish Jew, was arrested. She and her mother made their way to a quaint town in the Free Zone. There, Eva was recruited to forge documents to help young Jewish children escape France to neutral Switzerland. Rebellion was always dangerous, and she had to navigate her work while also dealing with romance, deception and a shaky relationship with her mother.

Most works of historical fiction are dreary and depressing, focusing more on the history than the characters. THE BOOK OF LOST NAMES is well-researched, but the emphasis remains on character development. All of the characters (even the villains) are so well thought-out and engaging, and I was able to invest in them immediately and deeply. I found myself rooting for a certain love interest, wondering if I could trust a particular character, and cringing at the interactions between Eva and her mother that match my own experiences.

I absolutely adored this book and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys fictional accounts of World War II or just appreciates a good story. It will break your heart and then patch it back together again. While there is violence and gruesome death, the central themes are rebellion, family, love and, most importantly, trust. THE BOOK OF LOST NAMES will mesmerize you.