Review of 'The Secret Dressmaker' by Jenny O'Brien

Review of 'The Secret Dressmaker' by Jenny O'Brien

Release August 4th, 2026

Publisher: Storm Publishing

REVIEW

Wow, what a magnificent novel. It held me in its powerful and emotional grip from start to finish! This is book two of the Resistance Threads series and although I had not reviewed the first one, sadly due to time constraints, I don’t think it hurt my reading experience. But after completing The Secret Dressmaker, I am now keen to go back and complete Book one. It is truly a captivating and heart wrenching human story and the author is not afraid to make some serious judgement calls with her characters. It has been inspired by true events and it clearly comes across realistic. And just as in real life, things don’t always go as planned.

The Secret Dressmaker is a World War Two novel and mainly set in France where the fight against Hitler’s regime is very real. Nazis Germany occupied Paris from June 1940 -1944 and this story is set during its midpoint of 1942. The atmosphere, descriptions and tone definitely come across exceptionally well. I felt transported to the location and walked beside the characters who were both engaging and authentic. The majority of the story is told through Flora the seamstress- spy with a few others sharing a glimpse.

Heroine Flora Toussaint is a courageous woman who has endured some pretty horrific experiences in her life. As we learn about them, it tugs on our heart strings and gives us an even greater appreciation for who she is and what she is about to do for the love of her daughters. She is a talented seamstress and able to utilise those skills when a certain man named Tomas comes to ask her help in finding Lucien, a dress designer, who once employed her and with whom she had a relationship. She got pregnant and delivered their daughters but was forced by circumstance to give them up. Not to strangers but to Lucien and the woman he decided to marry for her wealth. Now many years later ,she is asked to reunite with him to get information. For it is believed he is working for the enemy and this mission is to find out just what his plans are.

Flora leaves Carrickfergus and a terrible cheating husband behind and embarks on a war mission to help Tomas and the resistance. As she gets to know Tomas, something else happens inside her. They work together and slowly she begins to appreciate who he is and that she feels safe with him. But he initially holds back some information until she discovers what has been hidden. And when she is reunited with her past love and the father of her children, the danger begins. But what she is not counting on is who Lucien really is: a man who loves his daughters and will do anything to protect them.

There are some incredible plot twists as the mystery unfolds about her daughters, the church, Lucien and Sabine. But while she hides in the community of the Moulin Rouge, Flora feels something she hasn’t felt in a very long time - “the particular warmth of women who had decided to trust each other.” And while she is with them, she comes up with a clever plan of creating a code in a quilt to help the resistance.

This is such a moving, riveting, well-written story set against a dangerous backdrop of WW2. It is filled with sacrifice, spies, betrayal, mystery, romance, family secrets, shocking revelations and heart racing danger that kept me teetering on the edge of my seat. But love, resilience and courage flooded this book over and over again through Flora, a mother whose children had been torn from her by circumstance. Then she was deceived by those she trusted. It is clear that Lucien also had a deep love for his daughters but he made some terrible mistakes years ago. And he admitted he was a coward. I appreciated the growth in his character that transpired over time and we get to see that.

And as for the daughters, we get a short session with one but there is so much more to learn. These girls, which we have been told, are quite beautiful and gifted in abilities. I gather from the way the story ended there will be more shared about them, hopefully in the next book! I truly loved The Secret Dressmaker. It threaded its way into my heart and created unforgettable images and feelings. This is one story I won’t forget. Its tapestry is rich and rare like the epic love it demonstrates, while framing mesmerising courage. 5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

 Thanks to Storm Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC.