The Lavender Garden by Lucinda Riley

Lucinda Riley delighted American readers in 2011 with her sweeping, historical novel The Orchid House.  Since its publication in the UK, it has gone on to become a huge international bestseller with more than one and a half million copies sold.  Riley thrilled readers again in 2012 with her next historical novel, The Girl on the Cliff, which achieved further international success, making its debut on the New York Times Bestseller List and achieving #1 in both Germany and Norway.  Lucinda Riley returns to take America by storm once again with THE LAVENDER GARDEN (Atria; June 11, 2013).  Already, international rights for THE LAVENDER GARDEN have sold in twelve countries.  The Lavender Garden, Riley’s most powerful novel so far, is the mesmerizing tale of heroism and betrayal inside an aristocratic French family across half a century.

Le Cote d’Azur, 1998: In the sun-dappled south of France, Emilie de la Martiniéres, the last of her gilded line, finds herself sole inheritor of her childhood home, a magnificent chateau and vineyard.  With the house comes a mountain of debt – and almost as many questions.

Paris, 1944: A bright, young British office clerk, Constance Carruthers, is sent to Paris to be part of Churchill’s Special Operations Executive during the climax of the Nazi occupation. Separated from her contacts in the Resistance she stumbles into the heart of a prominent family who regularly entertain members of the German elite even as they plot to liberate France.  In a city rife with collaborators and brave members of the Resistance, Constance’s most difficult decision may be determining whom to trust with her heart.

As Emilie discovers what really happened to her family during the war and finds a connection to Constance much closer than she suspects, the chateau itself will provide clues that can unlock the mysteries of her past, present, and future.

This book has been getting amazing reviews. I'd put this one on my summer reading list.