Manning returns (after The Lost Jewels) with a twisty WWII yarn about two imprisoned French women forced into slave labor at a German rayon factory. Blending two timelines, the story begins at a 1939 high-society, Gatsby-style party on the Riviera, where maid Margot Bisset is pressed by the hostess to fake a murder for the guests' entertainment. It was a setup, and when the victim dies, innocent Margot is sent to prison; her cellmate is Resistance writer Josephine Murant, a political prisoner. Under Nazi occupation, they are transferred in 1942 to Germany's gruesome Phrix Rayon Factory, notorious for its workers being maimed and killed. In present-day Paris, widowed Evie Black is contacted by historian Clement Tazi for help with a retrospective on Evie's recently deceased great-aunt by marriage, Josephine. When Josephine's hidden manuscript and diary are found, Evie and Clement piece together Margot's and Josephine's four years together, and Manning provides a grim account of the rayon factory. Manning's multilayered story is both terrifying and triumphant. Her talent for a surprising twist makes this story a must for her fans. Agent: Stacy Testa, Writer's House. (Nov.)

When a retrospective exhibit highlighting the many achievements of reclusive French author Joséphine Murant is planned, Evie is drawn into the mystery of Joséphine's life much more intensely than she expected. Only recently emerged from a fog of grief after the death of her husband, Joséphine's nephew Raph, Evie is surprised to feel such an innate closeness to a woman she only knew through marriage. A botanical illustrator, Evie sees the magic in uncovering authorial intent and the raw emotion in every draft of a manuscript. As Evie helps the accomplished and surprisingly handsome curator hunt down materials for the exhibit, she feels a flutter of romance she thought had died with Raph. Manning (The Lost Jewels, 2020) intertwines Evie's and Joséphine's stories by jumping between present-day France, the Occupation of Paris, and the horrors of wartime prison labor in a rayon factory. Manning builds on the plot's complexity by adding a wrongfully accused servant's story to the mix. Fans of Lucinda Riley, Marisa de los Santos, and Paula McLain will adore Manning's nuanced and clear-eyed exploration of passion and sacrifice.