1939: Two young girls meet in Shanghai, also known as the “Paris of the East”. Beautiful local Li and Jewish refugee Romy form a fierce friendship, but the deepening shadows of World War II fall over the women as they slip between the city's glamorous French Concession district and the teeming streets of the Shanghai Ghetto. Yet soon the realities of war prove to be too much for these close friends as they are torn apart.
2016: Fleeing London with a broken heart, Alexandra returns to Australia to be with her grandparents, Romy and Wilhelm. Her grandfather is dying, and over the coming weeks Romy and Wilhelm begin to reveal the family mysteries they have kept secret for more than half a century. As fragments of her mother's history finally become clear, Alexandra struggles with what she learns while more is also revealed about her grandmother's own past in Shanghai.
After Wilhelm dies, Alexandra flies to Shanghai, determined to trace her grandparents' past. Peeling back the layers of their hidden lives, she is forced to question what she knows about her family—and herself.
The Song of the Jade Lily is a lush, provocative, and beautiful story of friendship, motherhood, the price of love, and the power of hardship and courage that can shape us all.
“In the tradition of Agatha Christie… a suspenseful ride, filled with twists and turns”
— Lisa Ireland
“A glittering party, a dead body, and a room full of alluring suspects, this book is everything you are looking for. The Paris Mystery will transport, titillate and ultimately, satisfy.”
— Sally Hepworth, International Best-selling Author of The Soulmate
“Readers will love Charlie James: glamorous, fearless and taking on the world, glass of champagne in hand”
— Jane Cockram, Bestselling Author of The Way From Here
