Historical fiction can be a tough nut to crack sometimes. Especially when you use real people from history as main characters, as so many do, including Francine Mathews in the World War II drama THE ALIBI CLUB. The setting is Paris in 1940 and the Germans are about to invade.

As you read this book, you weave in and out of multiple storylines, with one being that of Sally King, an American working for Coco Chanel as a model. While waiting for her soon-to-be fiancée, she receives the awful fact that he might have been murdered and might not have been the man she thought he was. Oh, and also that he might have stumbled across data of a sensitive, secretive nature that involves the Germans. Then there is the American ambassador Joe Hearst, who can see that all hell’s about to break loose and is trying to get all U.S. citizens safely out of France.

Then you have the Curies, or composites of the famous scientist’s daughter and her husband. They both work in the atomic fields and are trying to get all remnants of their research safely out of the Germans’ hands. Then there is the Josephine Baker-type character of Memphis Jones, who’s saddled up with a man called Spatz, a real-life person also known as Hans Gunter von Dincklage, and whom seems to be playing both sides of the fence. Is he a deep-cover spy or just aloof?

In ALIBI, Mathews tells a fascinating story of a period in history most people a lot about, yet don’t know what it must have felt like in those days before Paris fell. Mathews has done her homework and has given us an Altman-like view of that volatile time. So if you’re looking for an intriguing story set in World War II, then you have found a treasure here. Don’t let it slip you by. –Bruce Grossman

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