The Riviera House

By: Natasha Lester

Narrated by: Barrie Kreinik

Length: 14 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

A lush and engrossing novel of one woman’s quest to keep Nazis from stealing priceless art during WWII, perfect for fans of The Rose Code.

Paris, 1939: The Nazis think Éliane can't understand German. They’re wrong. They think she’s merely cataloging art in a Louvre museum and unaware they’re stealing national treasures for their private collections. They have no idea she’s carefully decoding their notes and smuggling information to the Resistance. But Éliane is playing a dangerous game. Does she dare trust the man she once loved with her secrets, or will he only betray her once again? She has no way to know for certain...until a trip to a stunning home on the French Riviera brings a whole new level of peril.

Present day: Wanting to forget the tragedy that has left her life in shambles, Remy Lang heads to a home she’s mysteriously inherited on the Riviera. While working on her vintage fashion business, she discovers a catalog of the artworks stolen during World War II and is shocked to see a painting that hung on her childhood bedroom wall. Who is her family, really? And does the Riviera house hold more secrets than Remy is ready to face?

©2021 Natasha Lester (P)2021 Forever

Critic reviews

"Beautifully written and intimately researched, The Riviera House weaves an intriguing and wonderfully imagined path between WW2 Paris and modern-day French Riviera. Lester handles the darker aspects of war sensitively, while effortlessly drawing the reader into a powerful tale of art, passion and secrets. Like the masterpieces she writes about, Lester adds rich layers and real depth to her characters, and fans of historical fiction and dual timeline novels will be mesmerised as connections are slowly revealed, building toward a heart wrenching finale. Magnifique!" (Hazel Gaynor, NYT best-selling author of When We Were Young & Brave)

“The Riviera House is a poignant meditation on loss and the courage it takes to start over. A stark reminder of how the past influences the present, the novel kept me up at night, turning the pages faster and faster, in order to be with its heroine Remy as she solved the mystery of an enigmatic painting and learned what happened to the Résistants who risked their lives to help others.” (Janet Skeslien Charles, New York Times best-selling author of The Paris Library)

"In Hitler's war on civilization, a group of women and men risk everything to protect the art in their care, but it's not until decades later that the profound extent of their sacrifice is discovered. The Riviera House is a love letter to art in all its forms. With beautiful prose and immeasurable heart, Natasha Lester shows we must dare to love, in spite of fear, no matter the cost.” (Erika Robuck, national best-selling author of The Invisible Woman)

The Riviera House

I listened to the audio recording of this book and I needed a box of tissue handy. I loved the story. It takes place in 2 different time periods, WWII and 2015, mostly in France. It involves art, spies, traitors, fashion, lovers and children. I highly recommend this one! 👌

Great book!

This was such a wonderful book I couldn't stop Listening to it.

I would highly recommend it.

Beautiful narration of a lovely story!

I enjoyed the narration so much I listened to a few chapters again just to soak in the accented atmosphere - thoroughly enjoyed the story and the engaging writing.

Twists of fate

This book was predictable, but had a lot of twists, which kept me engaged. Overall it’s very good.

For The Love of Art

This is an amazing story of love, betrayal, courage, and Nazi theft of art during WWll. Lester does a great job of using dual time periods to tell the story and linking it all together. I couldn't stop listening. I always learn some more history that I didn't know. Narration was great.

Beautiful story! Excellent read or listen!

If you like The Nightingale, The Rose Code, Code Name Helen, Lilac Girls or The Paris Seamstress(also by Natasha Lester) then you will LOVE this book! It is a story of love, hope and will. It takes you across time and generations and shows the mess that love can be, but also how beautiful it is. It is a well weaved basket of emotion and clues well hidden in this story. At the end it’s an ah-ha moment where it all becomes clear that if you know what you are looking for you can figure this puzzle out early. My suggestion, relax and enjoy the story and let the natural climax give you that satisfying ah-ha moment. Listen because it’s well narrated or read this one if you love feeling the pages in your hands, but either way, this one is a MUST!

Amazing

I rarely take the time to write a review but this book requires that I make the time! It was amazing. The author pulled emotions from me that I cannot begin to describe. It may have been the subject matter or the narrator’s tone but the author is who I want to give the credit. I was completely captivated by this story.

True love

Great read,compelling story. DETAILED BACKSTORIES. VERY BELIEVABLE.TIME REVEALS LOVE THROUGHOUT HISTORY AND ANCESTORY. DEEPLY MOVING

Over written and melodramatic, but interesting

The excellent narrator and the marvelous descriptions of the settings for some of the scenes in France for the modern thread of the story help rescue an over-the-top plot.

I binged it…

It’s a good reminder just how good we have it. Thank you to all the men and women who fought and never gave up.