Review: Mistress of the Ritz

Mistress of the Ritz by Melanie Benjamin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

For most of this book I was in my usual place of WWII a little romance, survival mode of the characters in the face of the invading Nazi government, and some spy adventures to boot. This one takes place primarily inside the Ritz hotel. Lush decor, plump cushions, white gloved treatment, gourmet meals, an answer to your every whim, I mean who would not want to go there? Not during this time you would not! There was lots of deception going on, rations, spies and lots of folks terrified that the next step would be the last.

In a hotel you know that the cast of characters could be quite large. Coco Chanel was present (I have yet to read anything enduring about her behavior while living at the Ritz), Hemingway makes an appearance as does Marlena Dietrich and plenty of Nazi soldiers. The primary characters would be Claude and Blanche Auzello. I may have heard of them before and did not retain their names or any of their actions. As a matter of a fact, I had to look them up early on to verify they were real people. For the most part they behaved as I expected them to in a Nazi occupied France/hotel...but there was a twist I never saw coming. Well two twists. I am not going to spoil either of them, but I was shocked. With the last third of the book this tale advanced to one of my pick books of the year!!!!



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