Pam Jenoff's 12th novel, Code Name Sapphire, is the gripping account of three women caught up in danger during the Nazi occupation during World War II. After losing her fiancé and her unborn child, German artist Hannah Martel escapes to her cousin Lily's house in Belgium. Hannah, eager to get out of Europe, makes inquiries with a local resistance network known as the Sapphire Line, run by the prickly Micheline and her brother, Matteo. As the network's primary purpose is to ferry downed airmen across the border, Hannah ends up joining the Sapphire Line as an agent while waiting for her own escape. But a series of mistakes and betrayals will put all three women, as well as the line, in serious jeopardy.
Jenoff (The Woman with the Blue Star; The Lost Girls of Paris; The Orphan's Tale) alternates among the three women's perspectives, revealing details about Hannah and Lily's close but complex relationship and Micheline's work in building and overseeing the network. Matteo, who is important to all three women, proves invaluable to the Sapphire Line's work, but the narrative belongs to the women. Jenoff expertly explores the complicated emotions and trade-offs faced by ordinary citizens at the time: Lily's fervent wish to escape the Nazis' notice; her husband's quiet care for medical patients after he loses his professorship; Hannah's impatience and boredom; and Micheline's reluctance to trust anyone. Code Name Sapphire is a worthy addition to the growing stack of World War II stories honoring the courage of anonymous agents, especially women, who refused to let the Nazis win. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams