Publication Date: October 29, 2024
In this sweepingly emotional story about what it takes to build the life you want, an heiress, her escort, and a young orphan must stick together during the tumultuous beginnings of World War II.
When Laura Powell and Henry Salter travel to Paris in 1938, neither considers the other very good company. Laura is a shallow, spoiled heir to a fortune, and Henry an opportunistic bore—or so they think. But as her father’s protégé, Henry is tasked with accompanying Laura for her safety, even as she continues to scorn him.
Orphaned stowaway David forces the pair to see eye to eye. They can ignore their growing feelings, but they can’t deny the boy’s need for protection. Yet even with this tentative truce, their problems are far from over.
The threat of war continues to grow until the Nazis occupy Paris. But Laura and Henry have opportunities they’re not willing to lose, and a home with David means more than safety outside France.
Before danger overtakes them, they’ll have to decide if the life they’re building can withstand what’s coming…and whether they have the strength to fight for it.
With the threat of World War II starting to rumble across Europe, an American heiress and her escort find themselves in the middle of conflict.
Author James Tucker offers an interesting adventure with The Paris Escape. The diverse characters allow readers additional insight into the buildup of the war from an American perspective.
Laura Powell is the epitome of a rather spoiled rich girl who happens to be blessed with a beautiful singing voice. She wants to enjoy entertaining in Parisian clubs, something her parents would never approve of, before returning home to her obligation of finding a suitable husband.
Accompanying her on the trip is Henry Salter, hired not only to chaperone Laura but also to further her father’s interests in munitions sales. His own dreams are threatened by the rumblings of unease in Europe.
While both Laura and Henry serve as engaging characters, it’s David, the orphan stowaway who steals the show. The lengths the Americans will go through in order to protect the young Jewish boy are incredible, especially as the Nazi threat grows.
The Paris Escape serves up a compelling story about two people who must fight for a future in spite of the dangers of war.
James Tucker is the author of two acclaimed mysteries: The Holdouts and Next of Kin, an Amazon Crime Fiction Bestseller and recipient of a Publishers Weekly Starred Review.
In 1944, a fighter plane flown by James’s grandfather was shot down over France, landing in a farmer’s field near Châteaudun. In 2002, the author visited that field, along with the man and woman who saw the crash. On that warm afternoon nearly sixty years after his grandfather’s death, James found pieces of the plane still in the field. For him, France, sacrifice, and freedom have always rhymed.
James grew up near Minneapolis, attending Carleton College and the University of Minnesota Law School. Formerly a lawyer, he’s an executive at a Fortune 40 company. In his free time, James enjoys skiing, tennis, and travel. He and his wife, painter Megan Rye, live with their family near Minneapolis.
