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Huguette
The tense and emotional saga of one resilient young woman’s survival in the lawlessness of post-Libération France, by the New York Times bestselling author of the Aimée Leduc series
August, 1945: Badly traumatized by the last few months of Nazi occupation, orphaned, and pregnant through a story too painful and dangerous to tell, seventeen-year-old Huguette Faure seeks refuge at a convent. Her father, before he was killed by vigilantes, made powerful enemies, and Huguette has a target on her back. But not even when her baby is born does she find peace—and after narrowly avoiding jail time thanks to the kindness of a Parisian police officer, though she feels ready to give up, she instead decides to try for one last chance for a new life. She cashes in one of her father’s IOUs at a film studio on the outskirts of Paris, where she gets a job assisting a legendary film director. Once she goes from helping him with chores to cooking his books, she sees an opportunity to change her fortunes—and to break free from the ghosts of her past once and for all.
Over the next few years of Huguette’s life, she goes from the black market to the film industry, from Paris to Lyon, from child to woman. National and New York Times bestseller Cara Black has been an expert in all things France for decades; now, in her most expansive, emotional work yet, she uses the vessel of Huguette, this enterprising and complex young heroine, to immerse readers in the harsh reality of life after Libération.
August, 1945: Badly traumatized by the last few months of Nazi occupation, orphaned, and pregnant through a story too painful and dangerous to tell, seventeen-year-old Huguette Faure seeks refuge at a convent. Her father, before he was killed by vigilantes, made powerful enemies, and Huguette has a target on her back. But not even when her baby is born does she find peace—and after narrowly avoiding jail time thanks to the kindness of a Parisian police officer, though she feels ready to give up, she instead decides to try for one last chance for a new life. She cashes in one of her father’s IOUs at a film studio on the outskirts of Paris, where she gets a job assisting a legendary film director. Once she goes from helping him with chores to cooking his books, she sees an opportunity to change her fortunes—and to break free from the ghosts of her past once and for all.
Over the next few years of Huguette’s life, she goes from the black market to the film industry, from Paris to Lyon, from child to woman. National and New York Times bestseller Cara Black has been an expert in all things France for decades; now, in her most expansive, emotional work yet, she uses the vessel of Huguette, this enterprising and complex young heroine, to immerse readers in the harsh reality of life after Libération.
336 pages, Hardcover
Published December 2, 2025
49 people are currently reading
7996 people want to read
About the author
Cara Black
44 books1,349 followersCara Black frequents a Paris little known outside the beaten tourist track. A Paris she discovers on research trips and interviews with French police, private detectives and café owners. She lives in San Francisco with her husband, a bookseller, and their teenage son. She is a San Francisco Library Laureate and a member of the Paris Sociéte Historique in the Marais. Her nationally bestselling and award nominated Aimée Leduc Investigation series has been translated into French, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, German and Hebrew. She received the Medaille de la Ville de Paris for services to French culture. She's included in the GREAT WOMEN MYSTERY WRITERS by Elizabeth Lindsay 2nd editon published in the UK. Her first three novels in the series MURDER IN THE MARAIS, MURDER IN BELLEVILLE AN MURDER IN THE SENTIER - nominated for an Anthony Award as Best Novel - were published in the UK in 2008 and MURDER IN THE LATIN QUARTER comes out in the UK in 2010. Several of her books have been chosen as BookSense Picks and INDIE NEXT choice by the Amerian Association of Independent Bookstores. The Washington Post listed MURDER IN THE RUE DE PARADIS in the Best Fiction Choices of 2008. MURDER IN THE LATIN QUARTER is a finalist for Best Novel Award from the NCIBA Northern California Independent Booksellers Association.
She is currently working on the next book in the Aimée Leduc series.
She is currently working on the next book in the Aimée Leduc series.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
October 5, 2025
This was my first giveaway win, and I enjoyed it! I was entertained by the shifts in environment and heartbreaking events. Claude’s discoveries were shocking, but I didn’t feel the chemistry between him and Huguette. The setting and tone felt authentic and well researched!
June 20, 2025
I think Cara Black did an outstanding job of putting together who Huguette was to Claude Leduc. It was a really around about story which several scenarios put Huguette in different places at a time that the war was over. Including a movie studio, movie theaters, cafes, and black market rogues to name a few. She was left with a loss of her known father and also a German one eye man that raped her. But Claude Leduc seemed to rescue her and she found the German at a Movie Awards dinner and made him pay for seducing her against her will. We seem to wonder how Claude Leduc and Huguette make out after the story ends after all he has his son and his wife is with a different man.
December 13, 2025
Things kick off in December 1947, with our heroine --- young Huguette Faure preparing to testify at a vital murder trial under the tutelage of Paris Detective Claude Leduc, whose specialty prior to this was missing persons. He happens to be the grandfather of Aimee Leduc, from author Cara Black’s long-running Paris mystery series and plays a huge role in this superb Historical Thriller entitled HUGUETTE.
The story takes a step back two- and one-half years earlier where a then seventeen-year-old Huguette is at a maternity hospital run by nuns on the outskirts of Sceaux where she has just given birth to a baby boy that she has consciously not named. This child was born out of hate instead of love when Huguette was raped by a German officer prior to her father being slain at their family business. Now, holding the child close to her, she realizes she does not wish to give it up for adoption. When that happens in spite of her wishes, she escapes the place and hunts down the family in possession of her baby, even though she has not the means or ability to raise him.
Upon Huguette discovering that the maternity hospital received payment for the adoption she makes it her business to get her baby back. Unfortunately, Huguette has found out in the past couple of years that disappointment and heartbreak seem to be her way of life, and she must leave her child behind. While at the local precinct, she is befriended by young officer Claude Leduc who sees to her release, mainly due to her youthful age. On her own, she attempts to gain much needed income by chasing down a man who still owed money to her father when he was alive. That man Enzo, instead of paying her, gets her work with a famous filmmaker named Monsieur Louis de Jouvenal. She makes herself valuable by using her creative accounting skills as she did with her father’s business and helps to ‘cook the books’ for Louis and keep his interests afloat.
For Huguette, her end game is to see her father vindicated and his killer ultimately brought to justice. A major step towards this goal takes place when an ageing and ill Louis buys a cinema for her to run and launder money through to get her the wealth she requires to make her revenge plan a reality. Along with working undercover for Claude Leduc to bring in some war profiteers in the post-liberation Paris, Huguette gets her taste of satisfaction that would have made her father proud. There are several roadblocks in the path of her success as well as more than a few individuals who wish to keep her down and possibly jailed, but with the assistance of Claude Leduc she works out a plan that will allow them both to have their day.
Claude has his own issues to overcome, not the least of which is a colleague named Beck who is a German national now living as a Parisian that he is unsure of and may not trust. This and the burgeoning feelings he has for young Huguette, even though he is married with a small family, troubles him to no end. Once he has the chance to solve a case involving three homicides, one of which being Huguette’s father, Claude sets aside the feelings of requiring a vendetta and instead sees his way towards justice being served.
The cover of HUGUETTE states that this is a novel of Liberation. I agree that this is historically correct, due to the post-war period it is set in. However, I found HUGUETTE to be more a novel of redemption, specifically for both Huguette Faure and Claude Leduc. Their fates are bound to the case that involves the brutal murder of her father during the war and their partnership in this novel is wonderful to see as the reader roots for justice to prevail. It was so great to spend time in the past with Aimee Leduc’s grandfather, and no one creates humanistic historical crime/mystery tales quite like Cara Black.
Reviewed by Ray Palen for Book Reporter
The story takes a step back two- and one-half years earlier where a then seventeen-year-old Huguette is at a maternity hospital run by nuns on the outskirts of Sceaux where she has just given birth to a baby boy that she has consciously not named. This child was born out of hate instead of love when Huguette was raped by a German officer prior to her father being slain at their family business. Now, holding the child close to her, she realizes she does not wish to give it up for adoption. When that happens in spite of her wishes, she escapes the place and hunts down the family in possession of her baby, even though she has not the means or ability to raise him.
Upon Huguette discovering that the maternity hospital received payment for the adoption she makes it her business to get her baby back. Unfortunately, Huguette has found out in the past couple of years that disappointment and heartbreak seem to be her way of life, and she must leave her child behind. While at the local precinct, she is befriended by young officer Claude Leduc who sees to her release, mainly due to her youthful age. On her own, she attempts to gain much needed income by chasing down a man who still owed money to her father when he was alive. That man Enzo, instead of paying her, gets her work with a famous filmmaker named Monsieur Louis de Jouvenal. She makes herself valuable by using her creative accounting skills as she did with her father’s business and helps to ‘cook the books’ for Louis and keep his interests afloat.
For Huguette, her end game is to see her father vindicated and his killer ultimately brought to justice. A major step towards this goal takes place when an ageing and ill Louis buys a cinema for her to run and launder money through to get her the wealth she requires to make her revenge plan a reality. Along with working undercover for Claude Leduc to bring in some war profiteers in the post-liberation Paris, Huguette gets her taste of satisfaction that would have made her father proud. There are several roadblocks in the path of her success as well as more than a few individuals who wish to keep her down and possibly jailed, but with the assistance of Claude Leduc she works out a plan that will allow them both to have their day.
Claude has his own issues to overcome, not the least of which is a colleague named Beck who is a German national now living as a Parisian that he is unsure of and may not trust. This and the burgeoning feelings he has for young Huguette, even though he is married with a small family, troubles him to no end. Once he has the chance to solve a case involving three homicides, one of which being Huguette’s father, Claude sets aside the feelings of requiring a vendetta and instead sees his way towards justice being served.
The cover of HUGUETTE states that this is a novel of Liberation. I agree that this is historically correct, due to the post-war period it is set in. However, I found HUGUETTE to be more a novel of redemption, specifically for both Huguette Faure and Claude Leduc. Their fates are bound to the case that involves the brutal murder of her father during the war and their partnership in this novel is wonderful to see as the reader roots for justice to prevail. It was so great to spend time in the past with Aimee Leduc’s grandfather, and no one creates humanistic historical crime/mystery tales quite like Cara Black.
Reviewed by Ray Palen for Book Reporter
December 14, 2025
It’s December 1947, and Huguette Faure is preparing to testify at a murder trial under the tutelage of Detective Claude Leduc, whose specialty prior to this was missing persons. He happens to be the grandfather of Aimée Leduc, who stars in Cara Black’s long-running Paris mystery series, and plays a huge role in this superb thriller.
The story takes a step back two-and-a-half years earlier when 17-year-old Huguette is at a maternity hospital run by nuns on the outskirts of Sceaux, where she has just given birth to a baby boy who she has consciously not named. This child was born out of hate instead of love when Huguette was raped by a German officer prior to her father being slain at their family business. Now, holding the boy close to her, she realizes that she doesn't want to give him up for adoption. When that happens in spite of her wishes, she escapes and hunts down the family who has her baby, even though she doesn’t have the means or ability to raise him.
When Huguette discovers that the maternity hospital received payment for the adoption, she makes it her business to get her child back. Unfortunately, Huguette has found out in the past couple of years that disappointment and heartbreak seem to be her way of life, and she must leave him behind. While at the local precinct, she is befriended by young officer Claude Leduc, who sees to her release, mainly due to her youthful age.
On her own, Huguette attempts to gain much-needed income by chasing down a man who still owed money to her father when he was alive. But instead of paying her, he gets her work with famous filmmaker Louis de Jouvenal. She makes herself valuable by using her creative accounting skills as she did with her father’s business to help cook the books for Louis and keep his interests afloat.
For Huguette, her end game is to see her father vindicated and his killer brought to justice. A major step towards this goal takes place when an aging and ill Louis buys a cinema for her to run and launder money through to get her the wealth she requires to make her revenge plan a reality. Along with working undercover for Claude to bring in some war profiteers in post-liberation Paris, Huguette gets her taste of satisfaction that would have made her father proud. There are several roadblocks in the path to her success, as well as more than a few individuals who wish to keep her down and possibly jailed. But with Claude’s assistance, she works out a plan that will allow both of them to have their day.
Claude has his own issues to overcome, not the least of which is one of his colleagues. Beck is a German national now living as a Parisian, and Claude doesn’t know if he can trust him. This, and the burgeoning feelings he has for Huguette --- even though he is married with a small family --- troubles him to no end.
The cover of HUGUETTE states that it is a novel of liberation. This is historically accurate due to the post-war period in which it is set. However, I found the book to be more a novel of redemption, specifically for both Huguette and Claude. Their fates are bound to the case that involves the brutal murder of Huguette’s father, and their partnership is wonderful to see as the reader roots for justice to prevail.
It was so great to spend time with Aimée Leduc’s grandfather. No one creates humanistic historical crime/mystery tales quite like Cara Black.
Reviewed by Ray Palen
The story takes a step back two-and-a-half years earlier when 17-year-old Huguette is at a maternity hospital run by nuns on the outskirts of Sceaux, where she has just given birth to a baby boy who she has consciously not named. This child was born out of hate instead of love when Huguette was raped by a German officer prior to her father being slain at their family business. Now, holding the boy close to her, she realizes that she doesn't want to give him up for adoption. When that happens in spite of her wishes, she escapes and hunts down the family who has her baby, even though she doesn’t have the means or ability to raise him.
When Huguette discovers that the maternity hospital received payment for the adoption, she makes it her business to get her child back. Unfortunately, Huguette has found out in the past couple of years that disappointment and heartbreak seem to be her way of life, and she must leave him behind. While at the local precinct, she is befriended by young officer Claude Leduc, who sees to her release, mainly due to her youthful age.
On her own, Huguette attempts to gain much-needed income by chasing down a man who still owed money to her father when he was alive. But instead of paying her, he gets her work with famous filmmaker Louis de Jouvenal. She makes herself valuable by using her creative accounting skills as she did with her father’s business to help cook the books for Louis and keep his interests afloat.
For Huguette, her end game is to see her father vindicated and his killer brought to justice. A major step towards this goal takes place when an aging and ill Louis buys a cinema for her to run and launder money through to get her the wealth she requires to make her revenge plan a reality. Along with working undercover for Claude to bring in some war profiteers in post-liberation Paris, Huguette gets her taste of satisfaction that would have made her father proud. There are several roadblocks in the path to her success, as well as more than a few individuals who wish to keep her down and possibly jailed. But with Claude’s assistance, she works out a plan that will allow both of them to have their day.
Claude has his own issues to overcome, not the least of which is one of his colleagues. Beck is a German national now living as a Parisian, and Claude doesn’t know if he can trust him. This, and the burgeoning feelings he has for Huguette --- even though he is married with a small family --- troubles him to no end.
The cover of HUGUETTE states that it is a novel of liberation. This is historically accurate due to the post-war period in which it is set. However, I found the book to be more a novel of redemption, specifically for both Huguette and Claude. Their fates are bound to the case that involves the brutal murder of Huguette’s father, and their partnership is wonderful to see as the reader roots for justice to prevail.
It was so great to spend time with Aimée Leduc’s grandfather. No one creates humanistic historical crime/mystery tales quite like Cara Black.
Reviewed by Ray Palen
December 14, 2025
It’s December 1947, and Huguette Faure is preparing to testify at a murder trial under the tutelage of Detective Claude Leduc, whose specialty prior to this was missing persons. He happens to be the grandfather of Aimée Leduc, who stars in Cara Black’s long-running Paris mystery series, and plays a huge role in this superb thriller.
The story takes a step back two-and-a-half years earlier when 17-year-old Huguette is at a maternity hospital run by nuns on the outskirts of Sceaux, where she has just given birth to a baby boy who she has consciously not named. This child was born out of hate instead of love when Huguette was raped by a German officer prior to her father being slain at their family business. Now, holding the boy close to her, she realizes that she doesn't want to give him up for adoption. When that happens in spite of her wishes, she escapes and hunts down the family who has her baby, even though she doesn’t have the means or ability to raise him.
When Huguette discovers that the maternity hospital received payment for the adoption, she makes it her business to get her child back. Unfortunately, Huguette has found out in the past couple of years that disappointment and heartbreak seem to be her way of life, and she must leave him behind. While at the local precinct, she is befriended by young officer Claude Leduc, who sees to her release, mainly due to her youthful age.
On her own, Huguette attempts to gain much-needed income by chasing down a man who still owed money to her father when he was alive. But instead of paying her, he gets her work with famous filmmaker Louis de Jouvenal. She makes herself valuable by using her creative accounting skills as she did with her father’s business to help cook the books for Louis and keep his interests afloat.
For Huguette, her end game is to see her father vindicated and his killer brought to justice. A major step towards this goal takes place when an aging and ill Louis buys a cinema for her to run and launder money through to get her the wealth she requires to make her revenge plan a reality. Along with working undercover for Claude to bring in some war profiteers in post-liberation Paris, Huguette gets her taste of satisfaction that would have made her father proud. There are several roadblocks in the path to her success, as well as more than a few individuals who wish to keep her down and possibly jailed. But with Claude’s assistance, she works out a plan that will allow both of them to have their day.
Claude has his own issues to overcome, not the least of which is one of his colleagues. Beck is a German national now living as a Parisian, and Claude doesn’t know if he can trust him. This, and the burgeoning feelings he has for Huguette --- even though he is married with a small family --- troubles him to no end.
The cover of HUGUETTE states that it is a novel of liberation. This is historically accurate due to the post-war period in which it is set. However, I found the book to be more a novel of redemption, specifically for both Huguette and Claude. Their fates are bound to the case that involves the brutal murder of Huguette’s father, and their partnership is wonderful to see as the reader roots for justice to prevail.
It was so great to spend time with Aimée Leduc’s grandfather. No one creates humanistic historical crime/mystery tales quite like Cara Black.
Reviewed by Ray Palen
The story takes a step back two-and-a-half years earlier when 17-year-old Huguette is at a maternity hospital run by nuns on the outskirts of Sceaux, where she has just given birth to a baby boy who she has consciously not named. This child was born out of hate instead of love when Huguette was raped by a German officer prior to her father being slain at their family business. Now, holding the boy close to her, she realizes that she doesn't want to give him up for adoption. When that happens in spite of her wishes, she escapes and hunts down the family who has her baby, even though she doesn’t have the means or ability to raise him.
When Huguette discovers that the maternity hospital received payment for the adoption, she makes it her business to get her child back. Unfortunately, Huguette has found out in the past couple of years that disappointment and heartbreak seem to be her way of life, and she must leave him behind. While at the local precinct, she is befriended by young officer Claude Leduc, who sees to her release, mainly due to her youthful age.
On her own, Huguette attempts to gain much-needed income by chasing down a man who still owed money to her father when he was alive. But instead of paying her, he gets her work with famous filmmaker Louis de Jouvenal. She makes herself valuable by using her creative accounting skills as she did with her father’s business to help cook the books for Louis and keep his interests afloat.
For Huguette, her end game is to see her father vindicated and his killer brought to justice. A major step towards this goal takes place when an aging and ill Louis buys a cinema for her to run and launder money through to get her the wealth she requires to make her revenge plan a reality. Along with working undercover for Claude to bring in some war profiteers in post-liberation Paris, Huguette gets her taste of satisfaction that would have made her father proud. There are several roadblocks in the path to her success, as well as more than a few individuals who wish to keep her down and possibly jailed. But with Claude’s assistance, she works out a plan that will allow both of them to have their day.
Claude has his own issues to overcome, not the least of which is one of his colleagues. Beck is a German national now living as a Parisian, and Claude doesn’t know if he can trust him. This, and the burgeoning feelings he has for Huguette --- even though he is married with a small family --- troubles him to no end.
The cover of HUGUETTE states that it is a novel of liberation. This is historically accurate due to the post-war period in which it is set. However, I found the book to be more a novel of redemption, specifically for both Huguette and Claude. Their fates are bound to the case that involves the brutal murder of Huguette’s father, and their partnership is wonderful to see as the reader roots for justice to prevail.
It was so great to spend time with Aimée Leduc’s grandfather. No one creates humanistic historical crime/mystery tales quite like Cara Black.
Reviewed by Ray Palen
August 29, 2025
I was very eagerly awaiting this book, which marries Cara Black’s interest in Paris and WWII with a great female central character. Black has made her name with her Aimée Leduc books. Aimée is a private detective in 1990’s Paris – this book takes us back to the war and there we discover, along with the titular character, the character of Aimée’s grandfather Claude, founder of the Leduc Detective Agency. When the book opens, though, Claude is a policeman, or flic, and he’s trying to stay employed.
The story is mostly Huguette’s, however. As the book begins in 1945 Paris, her story is not a happy one. She’s lost both parents – her father was a collaborator – and she’s pregnant. She’s living in a maternity home with the understanding that when the baby is born she will relinquish it to “suitable” parents. She’s only 17 with no way to care for a baby. When it’s born during a storm, she’s forced to nurse and care for him for a week or so and of course she begins to love him.
This complicates things when the baby is removed and Huguette heads off to search for him. While the search does not go well, Huguette is a survivor. She’s smart and good with numbers and she stumbles into a black market situation at a movie studio. She starts as a kind of under assistant to an assistant and because of her intelligence works her way up.
She is governed by two things: she wants justice for her father, who was killed during liberation, and she wants punishment for the Nazi that raped her and made her pregnant. She’s also afraid of retribution and ultimately is able to change her name and live in Lyon mostly undetected.
Black’s real genius here is not only the personality of Huguette, who is strong but full of doubt and trauma, but her portrayal of postwar France. The uncertainty of who is tainted with a whiff of collaboration; the fate of the Nazis detained in camps, awaiting trial for their crimes; the sound of wooden soles on cobblestone streets – there was no leather for shoes in postwar France; the patched up German bullet holes in cafés rebuilding after the war. It’s very much a portrait of a society reassembling itself.
That includes Huguette, of course. She never forgets when she was homeless and hungry in a police station. At that moment, Claude saved her from jail and instead finds her a job. She tries to pay it forward as she becomes successful and employs those who truly need a hand. Black is not a sentimental writer in any way, however, and her portrayal of the horrors Huguette endures and the aftermath of those horrors is straightforward, somehow making Hugeutte’s trials all the more poignant and memorable. Black is also highlighting the trials of France as it rebuilds and begins to assimilate the trauma the Nazis inflicted on the French people.
The meetings between Claude and Huguette – spaced through the book – are like the checkpoints of the story and make good bookends for the saga of Huguette.
The story is mostly Huguette’s, however. As the book begins in 1945 Paris, her story is not a happy one. She’s lost both parents – her father was a collaborator – and she’s pregnant. She’s living in a maternity home with the understanding that when the baby is born she will relinquish it to “suitable” parents. She’s only 17 with no way to care for a baby. When it’s born during a storm, she’s forced to nurse and care for him for a week or so and of course she begins to love him.
This complicates things when the baby is removed and Huguette heads off to search for him. While the search does not go well, Huguette is a survivor. She’s smart and good with numbers and she stumbles into a black market situation at a movie studio. She starts as a kind of under assistant to an assistant and because of her intelligence works her way up.
She is governed by two things: she wants justice for her father, who was killed during liberation, and she wants punishment for the Nazi that raped her and made her pregnant. She’s also afraid of retribution and ultimately is able to change her name and live in Lyon mostly undetected.
Black’s real genius here is not only the personality of Huguette, who is strong but full of doubt and trauma, but her portrayal of postwar France. The uncertainty of who is tainted with a whiff of collaboration; the fate of the Nazis detained in camps, awaiting trial for their crimes; the sound of wooden soles on cobblestone streets – there was no leather for shoes in postwar France; the patched up German bullet holes in cafés rebuilding after the war. It’s very much a portrait of a society reassembling itself.
That includes Huguette, of course. She never forgets when she was homeless and hungry in a police station. At that moment, Claude saved her from jail and instead finds her a job. She tries to pay it forward as she becomes successful and employs those who truly need a hand. Black is not a sentimental writer in any way, however, and her portrayal of the horrors Huguette endures and the aftermath of those horrors is straightforward, somehow making Hugeutte’s trials all the more poignant and memorable. Black is also highlighting the trials of France as it rebuilds and begins to assimilate the trauma the Nazis inflicted on the French people.
The meetings between Claude and Huguette – spaced through the book – are like the checkpoints of the story and make good bookends for the saga of Huguette.
December 24, 2025
Huguette by Cara Black is a novel that does not ask for your attention—it claims it. This is a story carved from hunger, fear, and endurance, told through the life of a young woman who survives what should have broken her and emerges not unscathed, but unbowed.
Huguette’s world is post-war France: shattered, morally compromised, and still dangerous long after Liberation. Orphaned, pregnant, betrayed, and hunted by systems designed to erase women like her, she learns quickly that survival is an act of constant reinvention. She moves through forests and confessional boxes, black markets and prison cells, assuming new names and faces, burying secrets as deftly as contraband. To call her “resilient” feels insufficient—Huguette is forged. She adapts not because she wants to be strong, but because weakness is not an option afforded to her.
Black’s prose moves like memory itself—folding backward and forward in time, revealing truth in layers. The structure mirrors trauma: fragmented, circular, relentless. Each return to the past tightens the present, until justice, long delayed, finally surfaces. The historical detail is vivid and unflinching: the cruelty of Nazi occupation, the moral rot of collaboration, the continued menace of the black market, and the hollow promise of safety after the war ends. Freedom, here, is complicated. Survival always comes at a cost.
What makes Huguette extraordinary is its emotional gravity. This is not a story that flinches from brutality—sexual violence, poverty, incarceration, betrayal—but it never exploits them. Instead, it honors the lived reality of women who endured the unendurable. Huguette is flawed, guarded, and often alone, yet her intelligence and will radiate through every page. She does not wait to be saved. She builds a future with her own hands, even as the past hunts her.
This novel is both intimate and expansive: a portrait of one woman’s valor set against the moral wreckage of a nation rebuilding itself. By the final pages, Huguette feels less like a character and more like a testament—to survival, to reinvention, to the quiet ferocity of women history tries to forget.
This is a book to savor, to sit with, to feel in your bones. Huguette is devastating, immersive, and unforgettable—and easily one of Cara Black’s finest works.
Huguette’s world is post-war France: shattered, morally compromised, and still dangerous long after Liberation. Orphaned, pregnant, betrayed, and hunted by systems designed to erase women like her, she learns quickly that survival is an act of constant reinvention. She moves through forests and confessional boxes, black markets and prison cells, assuming new names and faces, burying secrets as deftly as contraband. To call her “resilient” feels insufficient—Huguette is forged. She adapts not because she wants to be strong, but because weakness is not an option afforded to her.
Black’s prose moves like memory itself—folding backward and forward in time, revealing truth in layers. The structure mirrors trauma: fragmented, circular, relentless. Each return to the past tightens the present, until justice, long delayed, finally surfaces. The historical detail is vivid and unflinching: the cruelty of Nazi occupation, the moral rot of collaboration, the continued menace of the black market, and the hollow promise of safety after the war ends. Freedom, here, is complicated. Survival always comes at a cost.
What makes Huguette extraordinary is its emotional gravity. This is not a story that flinches from brutality—sexual violence, poverty, incarceration, betrayal—but it never exploits them. Instead, it honors the lived reality of women who endured the unendurable. Huguette is flawed, guarded, and often alone, yet her intelligence and will radiate through every page. She does not wait to be saved. She builds a future with her own hands, even as the past hunts her.
This novel is both intimate and expansive: a portrait of one woman’s valor set against the moral wreckage of a nation rebuilding itself. By the final pages, Huguette feels less like a character and more like a testament—to survival, to reinvention, to the quiet ferocity of women history tries to forget.
This is a book to savor, to sit with, to feel in your bones. Huguette is devastating, immersive, and unforgettable—and easily one of Cara Black’s finest works.
December 17, 2025
Thoughtful but Inconsistent WWII Historical Fiction
This standalone historical fiction novel is set during the final year of World War II and the uncertain years that follow. Told in third person from Huguette’s perspective, the story alternates between past and present, opening in 1947 as Huguette faces an event that forces her to confront painful memories of life in Nazi-occupied France.
At seventeen, Huguette is orphaned by a Nazi collaborator and facing an unwanted pregnancy, believing that once her child is born, her life will somehow become easier. Instead, she comes of age in post-war France—a time marked by scarcity, instability, and danger, particularly for a young woman completely on her own. In order to survive, she turns to the black market, a risky choice that eventually leads her into a very dangerous situation. She turns to a French policeman who once showed her a moment of unexpected compassion, and he gives her the resolve to keep going. Through her father’s connections, she later finds work in the film industry. Despite her past continuing to shadow her, Huguette manages to build a successful future and considerable financial security.
Cara Black vividly captures the devastation and hardship of life during and after the war, and those harsh realities make Huguette feel far older than her years. However, her ability to overcome so many obstacles with little to no sustained support makes some of her achievements—particularly at such a young age—feel somewhat unrealistic. The limited depth given to both the main character and the supporting cast also makes it harder to fully connect with or sympathize with them during such an emotionally charged historical period.
The audiobook narration is a strong point. The narrator handles the multiple accents well, and her pronunciation of French words adds authenticity and enhances the listening experience.
Thank you to NetGalley and Recorded Books for providing this audiobook for review. All opinions are my own and based on an advanced listener copy, which may differ from the final published version.
This standalone historical fiction novel is set during the final year of World War II and the uncertain years that follow. Told in third person from Huguette’s perspective, the story alternates between past and present, opening in 1947 as Huguette faces an event that forces her to confront painful memories of life in Nazi-occupied France.
At seventeen, Huguette is orphaned by a Nazi collaborator and facing an unwanted pregnancy, believing that once her child is born, her life will somehow become easier. Instead, she comes of age in post-war France—a time marked by scarcity, instability, and danger, particularly for a young woman completely on her own. In order to survive, she turns to the black market, a risky choice that eventually leads her into a very dangerous situation. She turns to a French policeman who once showed her a moment of unexpected compassion, and he gives her the resolve to keep going. Through her father’s connections, she later finds work in the film industry. Despite her past continuing to shadow her, Huguette manages to build a successful future and considerable financial security.
Cara Black vividly captures the devastation and hardship of life during and after the war, and those harsh realities make Huguette feel far older than her years. However, her ability to overcome so many obstacles with little to no sustained support makes some of her achievements—particularly at such a young age—feel somewhat unrealistic. The limited depth given to both the main character and the supporting cast also makes it harder to fully connect with or sympathize with them during such an emotionally charged historical period.
The audiobook narration is a strong point. The narrator handles the multiple accents well, and her pronunciation of French words adds authenticity and enhances the listening experience.
Thank you to NetGalley and Recorded Books for providing this audiobook for review. All opinions are my own and based on an advanced listener copy, which may differ from the final published version.
December 4, 2025
4 stars
Huguette is a woman-centered historical fiction novel following the challenging path of its titular character. Set in an era spanning the tail end of WWII, the Libération of France, and the years following the war, Huguette depicts a lot of heartbreak, pain, and suffering, as well as resilience, hope, and redemption.
The first third of the book had me captivated! I was fully bought into Hugette’s story, and my heart hurt for her. The middle and last thirds of the book, however, became muddled with tons of extraneous characters and convoluted subplots, some of which were never really tied up and frankly didn’t need to be part of the story in the first place. Some heavier editing could have helped the story’s pacing and clarity. While I felt some secondary characters and threads could have been dropped altogether, there were other plot lines that felt unresolved at the end and I found myself wishing for more closure.
The primary romantic liaison in this book so sorely lacked chemistry that I was a bit startled when they first became intimate, wondering if I’d somehow missed the signs that they were even attracted to each other. This ultimately weakened my fondness for the book, as I had a hard time rooting for the relationship when I just couldn’t see any of the development of their feelings for each other beyond the nature of the circumstances they’d been in together.
The writing was strong and beautifully paced, and the story well-researched. The audiobook narrator was phenomenal (except for the British accent she had to use briefly at the end which was…distracting). I’d love to read more from Cara Black in the future.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this free ARC/ALC in exchange for my fair and honest review! Opinions are my own.💫
Huguette is a woman-centered historical fiction novel following the challenging path of its titular character. Set in an era spanning the tail end of WWII, the Libération of France, and the years following the war, Huguette depicts a lot of heartbreak, pain, and suffering, as well as resilience, hope, and redemption.
The first third of the book had me captivated! I was fully bought into Hugette’s story, and my heart hurt for her. The middle and last thirds of the book, however, became muddled with tons of extraneous characters and convoluted subplots, some of which were never really tied up and frankly didn’t need to be part of the story in the first place. Some heavier editing could have helped the story’s pacing and clarity. While I felt some secondary characters and threads could have been dropped altogether, there were other plot lines that felt unresolved at the end and I found myself wishing for more closure.
The primary romantic liaison in this book so sorely lacked chemistry that I was a bit startled when they first became intimate, wondering if I’d somehow missed the signs that they were even attracted to each other. This ultimately weakened my fondness for the book, as I had a hard time rooting for the relationship when I just couldn’t see any of the development of their feelings for each other beyond the nature of the circumstances they’d been in together.
The writing was strong and beautifully paced, and the story well-researched. The audiobook narrator was phenomenal (except for the British accent she had to use briefly at the end which was…distracting). I’d love to read more from Cara Black in the future.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this free ARC/ALC in exchange for my fair and honest review! Opinions are my own.💫
November 21, 2025
Thanks to Netgalley for providing an ARC to me. All opinions are my own. To begin, I've read and loved all of Cara Black's novels. Unfortunately, this one fell flat. The outline of the story which begins as the liberation of France rages at the end of WWII. Huguette is a 17 year old girl living with her dad over the cafe he runs. Her mom is deceased. Like many during those difficult times, her dad engaged in laundering black market goods. Both he and Huguette are considered enemies of the resistance movement. The resistance is searching for "collaborators" to mete out retribution. Huguette also has a violent encounter with a Nazi and finds herself pregnant. This novel is a journey over the next five years of Huguette's life as she searches for safety and an identity, while trying to come to terms with loss, betrayal and fear for her life, more than any young girl should have to deal with. While the author has good intentions for this plot, it's convuluted and hard to decipher, especially the parts that deal with the operations of the black market in post-war France. As in all Ms. Black's books, France is a character in the book and it adds atmosphere to the plot. While I recommend this book, it's with some reservation.
September 29, 2025
Emotional story with a very strong woman lead character. The story follows Huguette as she goes through many tragic events in her life including being sexually assaulted and having to give up her baby at only 17 years old. The SA isn’t detailed on page but it does discuss the events leading up to it and the aftermath. Huguette’s strength and bravery shine through as she runs from her past to make a better life for herself.
I liked how the setting heavily focuses on the after effects of the war in France. I really enjoyed the constant change in scenery from the jobs that Huguette took on as the story progressed.
The story also follows Claude as he investigated various connected murders. One of the victims was the father of Huguette. I liked seeing him link the murders and his determination to figure out who was responsible. I was shocked at who her father’s murderer was.
The romance that Huguette was involved in towards the end felt unnecessary. The story had some unrealistic scenes. I didn’t like the writing style. My first book by this author.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I liked how the setting heavily focuses on the after effects of the war in France. I really enjoyed the constant change in scenery from the jobs that Huguette took on as the story progressed.
The story also follows Claude as he investigated various connected murders. One of the victims was the father of Huguette. I liked seeing him link the murders and his determination to figure out who was responsible. I was shocked at who her father’s murderer was.
The romance that Huguette was involved in towards the end felt unnecessary. The story had some unrealistic scenes. I didn’t like the writing style. My first book by this author.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
December 14, 2025
Huguette by Cara Black
Narrator, Carine Montbertrand
This was a no holds barred look at post war France which was often not a pretty sight for several reasons. Huguette was a strong character who managed by any means necessary to eventually raise herself up to being the head of a film studio. Her background was hair raising and sad. There is a scene of sexual assault that is not explicit but is still very disturbing. Frequently the story is very tense and suspenseful. Some scenes are pretty gruesome. There is a slightly odd change of scene at 80% but then a return to the previous location. It had to happen for Huguette to learn some difficult information but it was still strange. The romantic interludes, if you can call them that, did not amount to much. However, we were introduced to the grandfather and father of Aimee Leduc which was interesting. There are a couple of twists at the end.
The narrator was very good except for her supposed Cockney accent towards the end. That was painful.
Thanks to NetGalley
Narrator, Carine Montbertrand
This was a no holds barred look at post war France which was often not a pretty sight for several reasons. Huguette was a strong character who managed by any means necessary to eventually raise herself up to being the head of a film studio. Her background was hair raising and sad. There is a scene of sexual assault that is not explicit but is still very disturbing. Frequently the story is very tense and suspenseful. Some scenes are pretty gruesome. There is a slightly odd change of scene at 80% but then a return to the previous location. It had to happen for Huguette to learn some difficult information but it was still strange. The romantic interludes, if you can call them that, did not amount to much. However, we were introduced to the grandfather and father of Aimee Leduc which was interesting. There are a couple of twists at the end.
The narrator was very good except for her supposed Cockney accent towards the end. That was painful.
Thanks to NetGalley
December 8, 2025
Set partially in 1945 Paris and 1947 Lyon this book deals with the aftermath of the liberation of Paris and the black market the permeated daily life. There is much to pull you into Huguette’s story while getting a peak into life in Paris once the Germans have retreated, this book is interesting and engaging.
This author knows how to write feisty women, Huguette is smart and quick thinking and doing what she needs to survive. This is a book I would recommend to anyone who likes historical fiction, feisty characters or Paris.
And the cover I love it, it is just beautiful.
I also need to highlight that Cara Black is one of those authors I really think is underhyped and underrated, while this book is standalone there is a tie to her Aimee Leduc series, if you like mysteries or like Paris I highly recommend this author’s Aimee Leduc series each book is set in a different part of Paris and is a roller coaster of action.
This author knows how to write feisty women, Huguette is smart and quick thinking and doing what she needs to survive. This is a book I would recommend to anyone who likes historical fiction, feisty characters or Paris.
And the cover I love it, it is just beautiful.
I also need to highlight that Cara Black is one of those authors I really think is underhyped and underrated, while this book is standalone there is a tie to her Aimee Leduc series, if you like mysteries or like Paris I highly recommend this author’s Aimee Leduc series each book is set in a different part of Paris and is a roller coaster of action.
October 7, 2025
An unforgettable and memorable novel set in France towards the end of WW2, of a young girl’s strength and resilience to make a better life for herself. The secrets of the underworld of the black market, corruption, murders and gangs in Paris emerge. Used as fodder Huguette was raped as a young girl, and shortly after the birth, her son adopted. The author created some great characters, not all likeable, but this added to the complexities of the story. I was fascinated by how easily Huguette was able to take on different guises and name changes to enable her to succeed. The storyline initially was slightly confused but over time the direction became clear and the surprises in store make for an intriguing novel.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers Soho Press for granting me the opportunity to read and review this ARC.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers Soho Press for granting me the opportunity to read and review this ARC.
October 26, 2025
It was easy to get caught up in this story of survival and ultimately triumph as a young women deals with the aftermath of family secrets in post WWII France. Huguette was cruelly used by her father during the war, forced to go to a party where she was molested. Then she finds herself pregnant and is sent to a home for unwed mothers. Forced to give up her baby and then wondering what happened to her father and her friend, who both are found dead in the river, Huguette starts a journey where she is forced to become a deceiver in order to uncover the secrets and stay safe. It is not a life that she chose, but she learns what she needs to in order to survive, as as the secret gradually unfold so too does a satisfying story with memorable characters. Definitely a solid read for fans of historical fiction with strong female lead characters, and plenty of intrigue.
December 5, 2025
Huguette is an extremely intelligent, strong woman. To describe her as ‘resilient’ feels like an understatement. She endures betrayal of the worst kind; she can trust no one and her experiences are more than any young woman should have to face.
The author portrays post-war France with such discernment and accuracy. A country striving to rebuild following Nazi occupation. The mess and the menace of the black market continuing after Liberation. Everyone doing what they must to survive.
This is a story of two people reinventing themselves after the war; Huguette doing so to survive, and her worst enemy doing so to cover up war crimes.
Huguette’s story is brutal and complex; making this a tense, immersive read.
The author portrays post-war France with such discernment and accuracy. A country striving to rebuild following Nazi occupation. The mess and the menace of the black market continuing after Liberation. Everyone doing what they must to survive.
This is a story of two people reinventing themselves after the war; Huguette doing so to survive, and her worst enemy doing so to cover up war crimes.
Huguette’s story is brutal and complex; making this a tense, immersive read.
December 18, 2025
Set in the years after WWII in France, Huguette continues to fight for justice, to be part of the resistance and the black market as she tries to get her life back on an even keel.
This book is a decided departure from Cara Black’s intense thrillers, especially the ones that span a day or a few hours. This one pokes along, shifting time between 1944/45 and 1947, and changing perspective. The tension might be present if read in one long gulp. In reality, it’s a leisurely tale that ends with a sigh instead of a great, thumping wow!
Thanks to the publisher, Soho Crime https://sohopress.com/ for an ARC to read and review.
This book is a decided departure from Cara Black’s intense thrillers, especially the ones that span a day or a few hours. This one pokes along, shifting time between 1944/45 and 1947, and changing perspective. The tension might be present if read in one long gulp. In reality, it’s a leisurely tale that ends with a sigh instead of a great, thumping wow!
Thanks to the publisher, Soho Crime https://sohopress.com/ for an ARC to read and review.
December 24, 2025
Thank you NetGalley and RBMedia for the ARC of this audiobook.
This book was really difficult to get into and moved at a really slow pace. It started with me really not liking Huguette, and I'm still not sure what to think of her.
I typically like historical fictions, but this didn't have the depth and emotion that typically comes with the heavy times of the early 20th century.
Oh well, onto the next
This book was really difficult to get into and moved at a really slow pace. It started with me really not liking Huguette, and I'm still not sure what to think of her.
I typically like historical fictions, but this didn't have the depth and emotion that typically comes with the heavy times of the early 20th century.
Oh well, onto the next
June 27, 2025
Black has left Aimee Leduc sort of hanging on a cliff, and has been writing thrillers instead. Here she returns to the Leduc family, only it's Aimee's grandfather Claude whom we meet in post WWII France. But the title character is the focus here. and while I found it somewhat less then believable at times, it's still a fun ride.
December 1, 2025
Huguette is a compelling page-turner set in France during the murky, lawless years after World War II. To survive, young Huguette must navigate between French black marketeers and rogue GIs in her quest for justice. As always, Cara Black's impeccable research brings the era to life. I loved spending time with Huguette and devoured the novel!
December 14, 2025
Paris, 1947, Huguette is trying to survive. She is alone and has no family, nowhere to go and vigilantes are looking for her. it’s a complicated story that flashes back to the horrors of the war for her and the present when she gets involved with bad people in the black market. Then she meets up with Leduc a detective who is trying solve some crimes with her help.
December 22, 2025
I enjoyed this book, don’t quite know how well it was written but the facts for the time were probably quite correct. Cara Black is a favorite author because her protagonist lived in Paris and I lived vicariously. This was more serious and quite frightening in the lights of after the war all the happenings etc.
December 13, 2025
I wanted to like this book so much more than I did. The premise was good but there was just too much going on. I felt like the story kept pivoting to the point I didn’t know who was who and what was going on. I think there were 3 potentially great books in here and none of them became anything.
September 24, 2025
great intrique and detective fun. a series to explore
October 20, 2025
Moved too slowly for me!
Want to read
November 13, 2025can’t wait to read this next month *fingers crossed* - currently in a library queue #11
December 6, 2025
An excellent historical mystery.
December 15, 2025
Excellent. Tough.
Read
December 22, 2025Could not get into
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