I have read about Kristin Harmel novels but it was the first one I read.

Paris, 1942: In the midst of the Nazi Occupation, Annabel Marceau begins stealing from Germans and funnelling money to the French Resistance. But when she takes a pair of valuable bracelets from a high-ranking Nazi officer, she finds herself - and her two young daughters - in the line of fire, with devastating consequences.

Boston, 2018: Colette Marceau, now in her eighties, has spent a lifetime determined to find out what happened to her mother and sister that fateful night. When one of the missing bracelets surfaces at the Boston Diamond Museum, can she finally find the answers - and justice - she has been looking for?

Kristin Harmel is very interested in the WWII period and she clearly has researched a lot about it. This gives to this story a very vivid backdrop, with the early years of Colette Marceau’s life in Paris. Colette is 14 during the war and she is therefore old enough to understand what happens when friends of her family are taken away, and when her own family falls apart. The evocative writing brings us into the WWII Paris, the events at the Vel d’Hiv, the ambivalent attitudes of some officials, but also the powerful network of resistance. And Colette becomes a part of that network by stealing jewels, as her mother and generations before, to make the world a better place.

The novel goes back and forth between those years and 2018, and how Colette’s life has developed. She has continued to steal all her life, always with the same goal, and with success. But this bracelet turning up in a museum brings Colette back to those war years and helps her to find the answers she was looking for all her life.

I liked the theme of being an agent of change throughout the book, over generations and generations (although the idea that Colette is a descendant of Robin Hood was distracting from the story). The idea of doing something wrong, even illegal, to correct wrongs that had been done in the past is food for thought. And I found the relationships between the characters very strong, reminding us that beyond our blood family, there are sometimes bonds that create another family around us, bringing many good things to our lives.

I enjoyed reading this novel and discovering Kristin Harmel. The author’s note is a great read as well and I feel a lot of admiration and respect for her realising how she managed to write this book when cancer was dominating her life. Impressive.

Thank you to NetGalley and Headline for giving me the opportunity to review this book. All opinions are my own.

#AlltheDiamondsinParis #NetGalley

Paris, 1942: Anabel Martinet is a jewel thief, she been told she’s a descendant of Robyn Hood and she steals for the good. France is occupied by the Germans, it makes her blood boil to see their wives and mistresses and traitors and collaborators wearing expensive jewellery, she has no qualms about picking their pockets and funding the French Resistance. When she takes a pair of valuable and unique diamond bracelets that belonged to a Jewish friend from a high-ranking Nazi officer she puts her family in danger and it has devastating and long lasting consequences.

Boston, 2018: Colette Marceau is almost ninety, she has lived with the trauma of when the Nazis arrested her mother and the loss of her little sister Liliane and her father’s desertion for decades. Her mum taught her the tricks of her trade, and has continued stealing and secretly uses the money to fund a range of charities and good causes. She has a remaining link to the past, one of the diamond bracelets and it made in 1920’s by master Jewish jeweller Max Besner. Colette can’t believe it when the second is included in an exhibit at the Boston Diamond Museum, she hopes she can finally find some answers and justice, for what happened to her mother, Liliane and the Rosman family.

I received a copy of All the Diamonds in Paris or The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau from the publisher and in exchange for an honest review. In her latest dual timeline blockbuster, Kristin Harmel looks at topics such as, loss and grief, getting revenge and finding hope, is stealing justified if it’s for a good cause and to right a wrong and how diamonds are the ultimate currency, not just pretty and sparkly and they can be dangerous as well.

Five stars from me, I really liked the characters in this book, especially Colette and her assistant Aviva, Marty and Lucas and a must read for lovers of well written and historical fiction that will make you think outside of the box and especially about theft and the Holocaust.

What can I say about this book it certainly captivated me and there was twists and turns in the book. It is about lost love and heartache.

The book concentrates on Colette in a dual timeline from World War 2 and 2018. Her Mother was killed by the Germans and she was a jewel thief and her little sister Lianne disappeared the night that Colette and her parents were arrested and was found later murdered by someone. In 2018 a bracelet that was part of a set appears and Colette wants to find out who the owner is.

As the book went on I kind of guessed what some of the outcomes were which were really good the book was brilliant and I liked every bit of it.

The main character was strong and was interesting to see what happened to her in the end.

Would certainly recommend this book.

A jewel of a novel! 📖💎💍

One for all WW2 fiction readers. The story starts in Paris in 1942, following Anabel Martinet and her family. Anabel is a jewel thief, from a long line of thieves thought to be related to Robin Hood, stealing for good only. Anabel starts to train her eldest daughter, Colette, on all the arts and intricacies of stealing. However, times are dark and when the German’s take Paris, the family find their friends are taken from their homes and sent to camps.

Anabel steals for the resistance, despite the dangers, but matters come to a head when she steals back some bracelets belonging to her missing friends. This action holds consequences for the entire family.

Years later, Colette lives in Boston 2018 and has successfully lived her life as a jewel thief, providing money for good causes. However, she discovers an exhibition where one of the bracelets has surfaced and is being shown. Here starts an investigation as to what has happened in the past and the journey of both the bracelets.

A lovely story including much historical detail. Some of 80 year old Colette’s exploits are slightly unbelievable, but this novel will give you the feels. The WW2 details are very emotional and thought provoking. As the bigger picture of the family and bracelets unravel, there is an interesting link to jewellery that remains, once life has moved on.

Well recommended!

Thank you to Netgalley, Headline, Mountain Leopard Press and Kristin Harmel for access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

'If you can take from people who are cruel and unkind and use what you've taken to make the world a better place, then what you have done is heroic, not criminal'.

Colette Marceau is a skilled jewel thief. As a direct descendant of Robinhood, she learned from her mother, who learned from hers and so on. When she loses her mother, sister, and young love during the Nazi Occupation of France, she decides she must continue where her mother left off and steal to help fund the French Resistance. But no amount of stealing for good will help wash away the pain of not knowing what happened to her sister. Even after she moves to America, after the war, and continues to steal but this time in order to set up and fund a Holocaust centre, she can't get over the guilt that maybe she's to blame for her sister's disappearance. However, when one half of a diamond bracelet turns up at an exhibition, decades after the war ended, a half that was last seen on her sister, maybe there's a chance to finally put an end to the mystery.

'All the Diamonds in Paris' is a dual-time story that follows Colette's life in Occupied France as well as her current life in America. Usually with dual-time stories, I much prefer the historic storyline to the contemporary but oddly it was the modern timeline that drew me in. I enjoyed trying to uncover the mystery of the jewels and the resolution to so much unhappiness and thought this story was a nice, lovely read overall but there were times when I believed things wrapped up a bit too tidily to be believable. Overall though, the firm fans of Harmel's as well as readers looking for an enjoyable historical fiction book will enjoy page-turning this one.

'...diamonds never really belong to anyone. They'll witness births and deaths, war and peace, feast and famine, and yet they'll live on...'.

I loved the way this book was written. Set in two different time periods - the Second World War and 2018.
Wonderful characters, a strong storyline with some emotional parts. But whilst this book was well paced, I felt it lacked depth in some places and skimmed over some of the historical events which could have been described in more detail.
A good read overall.
I particularly enjoyed reading the author’s note at the end of the book.
3.5 stars

this book was another corker by an author that has her genre down to a pat. we are taken into a world ive never come across in the war time novels. i havent really seen the thieving side come in to a story before. but i liked it alot. and it felt like a small win and justice for those having to brave through that time. and if you ask me the whole stealing concept wasnt really when you know who and why they are doing what they are doing( sorry bad of me morally to think that but hey this is the Nazis. i dont care!)
its almost like a Robin hood theme to it but better because they really are taking from the bad guys and helping those in need. and they never keep anything for themselves. oh except the two bracelets that our thief vows to get back as it was stolen from her friend when she and her Jewish family were taken away. but this is where our character Annabel loses what her mother Colette taught her and lets her emotions take hold. and this will be her biggest mistake, or risk yet.
what comes next is heartache. and the bracelets disappear until 70 years later.
we then switch to our dual timeline and Colette is now a brilliant but very much older woman. and then the bracelets come to her attention again. and all it comes flooding back. and she knows she must find out the story of the bracelets that caused so much loss in her life.
this is such an engaging plot and our character Colette was just wonderful to follow. well done to Kristin for yet again giving us a beautiful and emotional novel of a time we should never stop reading and thinking about.

This is a really moving and gripping read. It mixes history, family secrets, and a bit of romance in a way that totally pulls you in. Set in WWII Paris, the story has both sparkle and heartbreak. You really feel for the main character as she uncovers the truth about her past. It’s one of those books that stays with you after you finish.

When you find a book like this one embrace it. Live through the story, feel it, feel part of the story. History comes alive through this dual time-lined story: Paris during World War 2 and USA today as it follows the life of a real life Robin Hood (Robbing the rich to give to the poor). The storyline explores the themes of love, sacrifice, intrigue, family division. Experience, courage, sacrifice and love wonderfully told by Kristin.
I encourage you to read this story. Thank you to Kristin for writing it, for bringing this story to life. Thank you to Headline: Mountain Leopard press and NetGalley for the advance copy. All the view expressed are mine and are given freely.

This book was so beautifully written, it felt so real and I couldn’t put it down. It showed that even in horrible times there is hope and joy to be found and that you can heal. I would recommend it to annoying that loves a heartwarming (but sad) story.

This was my first novel by Kristen Harmel and it certainly won’t be my last. It was an emotional rollercoaster of a read set in two time periods, wartime Paris and the present day, 2018 America.
Collette is an elderly woman who lives in Boston, originally from Paris she left after the war when she lost her parents and younger sister. However, Collette has a secret, she is descended from Robin Hood and she follows the family tradition trying to do good in the world.
One day she is shocked to discover a diamond bracelet, lost when her sister died, has appeared in a jewellery exhibition in Boston She has the matching one of the pair, left to her by her mother in the 1940s, the last time she saw her alive. She resolves to try and find out what happened to her younger sister, how she was killed, by tracing the lineage of the bracelet. However this proves very difficult as the exhibition curator refuses to give information about the owner.
As the book progresses the reader gradually learns about Colette’s history and how the bracelet came into her family’s possession.
I couldn’t put this down, I was desperate to find out how it would all end, how the bracelet ended up in the exhibition and what happened to Collette’s family and particularly how her sister died. . On several occasions I had tears in my eyes as I read this book- it was a truly amazing novel and so moving. I found Collette’s family profession a clever idea which really added to my enjoyment of the book and made me think about how good can sometimes come from bad and it is the intention that is important. This theme is reiterated in other parts of the story too, as characters try to atone for wrongs committed. It is the intention to do good which is important.
Collette’s life has been totally shaped by her past experiences and she cannot escape them until she learns the truth.
This book has obviously been really well researched and certainly evoked the fear of wartime Paris and the constant threat under which the main characters lived.
I definitely recommend “All the Diamonds in Paris” as a five star read and I guarantee you won’t be able to put it down until you get to the very last page. I’m now looking forward to reading more books by this excellent author.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my advance copy.

Set in Paris, 1934, ten year old Colette is taught, by her mother how to steal jewellery. She grows up believing it’s acceptable as she is taking from the unkind and helping the kind. As war arrives the story becomes linked to the underground network. Friends are deported and the story becomes entwined with a matching pair of bracelets which find themselves on the arm of a mistress of a German officer.. Colette’s mother steals the bracelets with fatal consequences. The bracelets end up split, one held by Colette and the other by her sister. It is hoped they will keep them safer until they can be returned to the rightful owners, but Colette’s younger sister is found dead and it is believed her half of the bracelet is lost.
Moving forward to the present time Colette is proud of her lifetimes achievements of helping others. The missing half of the bracelet resurfaces at a diamond exhibition and Colette starts on a mission to find out who owns it and what they know about the death of her family and sister.
I found the story to be interesting and gripping. I felt it was well researched, written from the heart and emotional at times.

I really enjoyed this story of bravery, highlighting that sometimes the past and a story can be found in something as simple as a bracelet and will always stand the test of time.
The dual timeline between the present day and of Paris during WW2 worked so well, as this allowed us to gain background and insight into Colette and to establish where her jewellery theft journey began. This again showed the strength and determination of people during that time and the lengths that they went to in order to support and finance the saving of innocent lives.
I really loved Colette's character as she was so strong and brave, but also mysterious. Despite everything she had gone through, she was still able to show such compassion to those around her and I really loved how the story turned out for her.
There were a couple of twists along the way in regards to characters' true identities and their where abouts, but these were so nice to read and really brought a tear to my eye. After everything that had happened, fate and destiny really played a part in the story and I was so happy for Colette.
This was such a moving and beautiful story of the determination, sacrifices and bravery during WW2 and is one I would recommend.

I am a huge fan of Kristin Harmel and her novels about WWII France and this is no exception! Kristin beautifully weaves the history of the time with the story of a woman's life. The story is told through a dual timeline of WWII France and present day (2018). The story is an interesting perspective on WWII, Nazi occupied, France and the resistance. It is a story of love, loss, family and dedication to a mother's legacy. I really enjoyed the way that the story twisted and turned right up until the end.

Thank you Net Galley, Kristin Harmel and Headline for the opportunity to preview this title. The opinions shared are my own.
All The Diamonds in Paris/The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau is expected to be released June 3, 2025. Preorder so that you have it at the top of your TBR for summer!

All the Diamonds in Paris is an amazing story from the World War II about friendship, love and the sacrifice for people you might or might not know but still needed to be done in the fight against evil. While the idea of Robin Hood as ancestor felt a bit far-fetched, the overall story was amazing and very well written with likeable characters.

Robin hood as an inspiration for the jewel thief, a dual timeline bringing this historical fiction experience to fruition the tooing and froing read well alike others set in the drama of ww2.

Thank you to NetGalley and Headline for this ARC. Colette Marceau comes from a long line of Robin Hood jewelry thieves who steal from the criminals and fund the greater good. She lost her family during WW2 and when a bracelet shows up at a museum, she has to track down the owner. This bracelet, stolen by the Nazi's from a Jewish friend of the family was a custom order. When split into 2, made a striking piece but when put together as one, it was even more stunning. Her mother died trying to save this piece. Present day: Colette has one bracelet but her sister had the other before she was murdered. Now, after 77 years, she may finally get some answers. Yet another amazing story from Kristin Harmel! #AlltheDiamondsinParis #Headline #June2025

I love dual timeline historical fiction stories. They tell a story about the past. They tell a story of how that past still affects the present. The dual time line of All the Diamonds in Paris didn't disappoint.

I travelled between Paris durnig World War Two and Boston in 2018. A series of tragic events that occurred during World War Two will come back into the present because of a diamond bracelet about to go on display in a museum. It wasn't a simple bracelet but one of two that, when put together, made a butterfly bracelet.

All the Diamonds in Paris reminds the reader of the horrors of WW2. As a reader, I got a glimpse of the treatment of the Jewish people. I experienced the attitudes of others towards the Jewish people. I was reminded of the sense of entitlement that the Nazis had during that time.

An SS officer, thinking he deserved the bracelet, will cause of a series of events that brings the reader into the present while learning of the past. The determination of Collette wanting answers about the bracelet will expose the shocking truth that changes everything.

** spoiler alert ** ** spoiler alert ** Thank you to #NetGalley for allowing me to read and honestly review this ARC. I give this novel a 5/5 ⭐️!

It was FANTASTIC, and I don’t give 5 stars out often.
Anabel made me cringe when we first met her and I honestly thought she was a little lost in the head. She raises her daughter Collette to believe she descended from Robin Hood (yes the one from the fables). When Collette turns ten she begins her thief training and scores her first pocketwatch kicking off her lifes purpose. Taught to only take from those individuals they found to be evil and underserving of their wealth.

When Collete comes into the frame, we meet her as an 89 year old woman who has funded Holocaust and other charities. She steals a yellow ring from a neo-nazi that did some regrettable things to ger children.

The love and friendship that was formed between Collette and Marty had me tearing up. A love that transcended decades and could never be as her uncle discouraged her had me in a chokehold once Marty started saying sweet things to her in the shop when he first comes into the story.

Then lets briefly mention the intrigue surrounding the bracelets from the twins, and how it lead to deaths and tragedy.

As you can tell by the summary of how this book starts, yes this book is a dual time slip, and it also has plot twists a hint of mystery, heartbreak, and poignant moments that will stay with you. I could not put this down and had to binge it as fast as I could. Harmel is phenomenal author and I have enjoyed her other books greatly as well.

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#AlltheDiamondsinParis #NetGalley #historicalfiction

Kristin Harmel’s All the Diamonds in Paris is a captivating historical fiction novel that blends romance, mystery, and the resilience of the human spirit. Set against the backdrop of Nazi-occupied Paris, the story follows the journey of a young woman determined to uncover her family’s past while protecting a hidden treasure.

Harmel’s meticulous research shines through in her vivid descriptions of wartime Paris, immersing readers in the city’s beauty and darkness. The novel’s pacing is well-balanced, intertwining past and present narratives that build intrigue and emotional depth. The protagonist is compelling—intelligent, courageous, and deeply human—making her journey one readers will eagerly follow.

One of the book’s standout elements is its exploration of themes like love, sacrifice, and the value of history.