Hardcover, 288 pages
Published July 12, 2011 by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Genre: historical fiction, legal thriller, romance novel, mystery, women's fiction, WWII, Jewish Holocaust, book club pick
Rating: 5 stars
Charlotte Gold is a public defender and daughter of a Holocaust survivor.
She used to be an associate attorney for a big New York firm, but after the
devastating loss of her gravely ill mother and an heart-wrenching breakup with her
long time boyfriend, Charlotte has rebuilt her life in Philadelphia, where she
tirelessly devotes herself to juvenile court cases. When her ex, a high-profile
attorney himself, shows up at her office door ten years later, Charlotte’s never
extinguished hopes to reconnect with her former lover are revived but
immediately crushed. What she expects to
be an attempt at reconciliation turns out to be a business proposal of legal
nature. Brian Warrington, in fact, has
been tasked to defend a wealthy Polish financier and brother of a Holocaust
hero from the accusation of war crimes. Roger Dykmans faces trial for the
alleged betrayal of his brother Hans and consequent death of hundreds of Jewish
children during World War II. After trying in vain to get his defendant to
cooperate and exasperated by his stubborn and inexplicable silence, Brian
thinks that Charlotte, with her forensic expertise and knowledge of the
Holocaust history, may be the right lawyer to get Roger Dykmans to talk and get
him out of jail. Motivated by lingering feelings for her ex fiance and moved by
an undeniable desire to work again on a high-profile case, Charlotte accepts
the proposal and flies to Europe right away. To her great disappointment though,
Brian is not there to welcome her in his Munich branch office, and he won’t be
part of the legal team either: to greet her and work by her side, Jack
Warrington, Brain’s brother.
Apparently, the key to unravel the mystery that may prove Roger’s claimed
innocence is contained in an anniversary clock from the early 1900s, a handcrafted
and valuable timepiece mysteriously linked to his family history. Unfortunately
this is all the wealthy industrialist is willing to say in his defense. Through
forensic researches that will lead Charlotte and Jack across Europe to delve
into Dykmans’ past and unveil long-buried truths, a very special bond will form
between the two attorneys.
Spanning between present day Philadelphia and WWII-era Germany, award
winning author Pam Jenoff weaves a riveting and suspenseful tale of love
and betrayal against the backdrop of one of the darkest hour of our modern
history. The Things We Cherished
is a brilliantly plotted, wonderfully executed and cleverly concocted
combination of legal thriller, historical fiction and romance. I would
whole-heartedly recommend it not only to readers fond of wartime and Holocaust
themed novels, but also to anyone who is looking for a high-quality read. A
perfect book-club pick.
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