The War Widow

March 16, 2020
Set in 1946, this spirted series launch from Canadian-Australian author Moss (the Makedde Vanderwall books) introduces Billie Walker, a former war correspondent who reopens her dead father’s private inquiry firm after the Sydney newspapers she works for sideline her. When German immigrant Netanya Brown hires Billie to find her 17-year-old son, Adin, Billie assumes the boy is off with friends or a secret lover; then she discovers that before Adin disappeared, he’d been nosing around an exclusive night club and expressed uncharacteristic interest in a high-end auction. After a potential source is murdered and an encounter with the cops suggests they’re on the take, Billie is forced to admit that she’s dealing with something much larger than a simple missing persons case. Meanwhile, a young Wiradjuri woman asks Billie to investigate a foreigner suspected of mistreating his Aboriginal employees. Rich period detail and a fierce, feminist heroine distinguish this stylish twist on the classic 1940s detective novel. Moss’s thoughtful, socially conscious plotting largely compensates for the contrived conclusion. Fans of Phryne Fisher will eagerly anticipate Billie’s next adventure. Agent: Chris Bucci, Cooke McDermid Literary.

March 15, 2020
A fashionable Australian private eye finds herself embroiled in a difficult case just after World War II. As a war correspondent, Billie Walker witnessed some terrible things in Germany and still carries many burdens, including the disappearance of her journalist husband. Back home in Sydney, however, she has returned to full-time work as owner and investigator of a private inquiry agency she inherited from her late father. She even has Sam, a brave and affable secretary-cum-assistant, himself a former soldier. When a woman asks Billie to find her missing teenage son, clues lead to The Dancers, an elite club, and Georges Boucher, owner of an expensive auction house. It seems that an old family photo of a particular necklace is at the heart of the case, but who has taken Adin Brown, and to what end? At the same time, Billie's secret informant Shyla reports on a man in the country who has been mistreating girls. Of course, both cases are related, and the truth behind Adin's abduction, in a very Dashiell Hammett-like turn of events, involves Nazi war criminals, stolen treasures, and a prostitution ring. Billie is a smart, glamorous, kind, and well-turned-out woman, and her addition to the world of literary private detectives is welcome and deserved. She carries a bit of the hard-boiled tradition on her shoulders--the vulnerability, the brashness--while providing a completely feminine perspective on both the crimes and the approach to crime-solving. Moss clearly did a lot of research for the novel, including a great deal in fashion and sewing, so sometimes the details and descriptions can be lengthier than necessary, but gradually, as the pace picks up, these details serve to help us get to know the characters on multiple levels. The setting feels simultaneously familiar and exotic. Neatly incorporates history, social commentary, and a satisfying mystery in one appealing package. More, please!

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April 3, 2020

Following the end of World War II, former war correspondent Billie Walker makes her way home to Sydney, Australia, and reopens her father's private investigation office. Even though her husband, Jack, is still missing somewhere in Europe, she ties to put the trauma of the war behind her and steps into the role of detective--tracking down small-time criminals, following cheating husbands, and searching for missing people. But when a young man, the son of Jewish immigrants, goes missing, Billie must deal with a situation that quickly becomes just as dangerous as anything she had faced during the war. The case of Adin Brown involves stakeouts at glamorous nightclubs, romance, fugitive Nazi war criminals, and 50mph car chases, adding suspense and drama to this superb page-turner. VERDICT Moss ("Makedde Vanderwall" series) has created a thrilling historical novel of post-war Australia that will engross readers from the first page to the last. This book deserves to be added to the top of the list of must-read titles. Book clubs may wish to consider this title as well.--Jane Henriksen Baird, formerly at Anchorage P.L., AK

Copyright 2020 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2020
Postwar Sydney is the backdrop of Moss' spirited historical mystery, which introduces readers to Billie Walker, a private inquiry agent who has taken over her late father's business. Billie is tasked with the search for a missing teenage boy, a case that she assumes will be fairly straightforward but which quickly leads her to a high-end nightclub and an exclusive auction house. It rapidly becomes clear to Billie that there is a much deeper mystery to be solved here, particularly once a potential source is found dead in a hotel room and then transported to Billie's apartment in an attempt to frame her for murder. Billie soon finds herself on the hunt for a Nazi war criminal and some missing Australian Aboriginal girls, and it is clear that Billie's own life is at risk in this increasingly high-stakes investigation. Thoroughly researched and anchored by the spunky, sympathetic heroine at its heart, this is a perfect read for fans of Kerry Greenwood's Phryne Fisher series, and readers will finish the book clamoring for Billie's next case.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)