The Spy Keeper of Marseille by Roseanna M. White | Review

The first book I read of Roseanna M. White’s was A Song Unheard. Two of the main themes were music and spies and it quickly became one of my all time favorite historical romance novels.

Guess two themes in Roseanna’s new book The Spy Keeper of Marseille. Yup! Spies and music.

This page turner comes out July 7th, 2026. Check out the blurb below, followed by my review.

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Book Blurb

In occupied France, a woman becomes a spy for the Resistance and rises to lead the largest intelligence operation in the country in this propulsive new World War II historical novel by bestselling author Roseanna M. White.

Marseille, France, 1941. Zelie Bellerose never fit the mold of an army officer’s wife. She was too passionate in her convictions, too indifferent to societal expectations. After her husband is killed in the war, Zelie focuses on securing a brighter future for her children, hoping to help free her country from the Nazi regime by joining the Resistance. She is soon one of the most trusted operatives in Alliance, and when their leader is imprisoned, she takes command, hiding her identity from all but a few. With enemies closing in, Zelie must earn the trust of her network and prove herself to those who doubt a woman’s place at the helm of France’s largest spy ring.

Marcel Laurent was a renowned concert pianist before joining the French army and being sent to a POW camp. Freed in a prisoner exchange by a wealthy businessman with ties to the Resistance, Marcel agrees to spy for Alliance by conducting a youth orchestra, gathering intelligence from patrons who are loose-lipped Nazi sympathizers. Marcel’s weekly radio broadcasts introducing the orchestra’s performances give him the perfect cover to send coded messages over the airwaves.

As Zelie and Marcel grow closer through their shared love of music, she begins to rely on him. But betrayal from within Alliance puts everything they’ve fought for at risk. When a double agent infiltrates their ranks and the two are captured, their bond faces its greatest test . . . and any misstep could jeopardize not only Alliance but the very outcome of the war.

My Review

The Spy Keeper of Marseille hooked me fast. Suspense, danger, history, romance, faith, SPIES and MUSIC! Getting inside Marcel’s head and the way he thinks with music was amazing. He’s both a concert pianist and a conductor, and an overall fantastic character. When we meet him, he’s at his lowest, but he quickly became one of my favorite fictional heroes.

Zelie is a complex character. She’s way out of any box anyone can put her in, and Marcel is the perfect hero for this extraordinary female lead. Watching her faith arc was especially wonderful.

This was one of those books I kept handy while brushing my teeth at night, trying to fit in just a few more pages. So hard to put down! The French Resistance was a powerful force of people, of whom many were ordinary people who rose to the challenge to fight for their country’s freedom. Though this was a fictional story, the bravery of those real people is still something I’m chewing on, days after finishing the novel. When squeezed, ordinary people can do extraordinary things.

5 stars for The Spy Keeper of Marseille! Preorder your copy on amazon.com and amazon.ca. Also, as I write this anyway, Baker Book House has a preorder sale for it! Release is set for July 7, 2026.

Thank you to Tyndale Fiction and netgalley for my early copy! All opinions in this review are my own.

About the Author

Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, editing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary. You can learn more about her and her stories at www.RoseannaMWhite.com.