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The War Widow
(2019)(Dead Man Switch)
(The first book in the Billie Walker Mystery series)A novel by Tara Moss
AN INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER!
The war may be officially over, but journalist Billie Walker's search for a missing young immigrant man will plunge her right back into the danger and drama she thought she'd left behind in Europe in this thrilling tale of courage and secrets set in glamorous postwar Sydney.
Sydney, 1946. Though war correspondent Billie Walker is happy to finally be home, for her the heady postwar days are tarnished by the loss of her father and the disappearance in Europe of her husband, Jack. To make matters worse, now that the war is over, the newspapers are sidelining her reporting talents to prioritize jobs for returning soldiers. But Billie is a survivor and she's determined to take control of her own future. So she reopens her late father's business, a private investigation agency, and, slowly, the women of Sydney come knocking.
At first, Billie's bread and butter is tailing cheating husbands. Then, a young man, the son of European immigrants, goes missing, and Billie finds herself on a dangerous new trail that will lead up into the highest levels of Sydney society and down into its underworld. What is the young man’s connection to an exclusive dance club and a high-class auction house? When the people Billie questions about the young man start to turn up dead, Billie is thrown into the path of Detective Inspector Hank Cooper. Will he take her seriously or will he just get in her way? As the danger mounts and Billie realizes that much more than one young man’s life is at stake, it becomes clear that though the war was won, it is far from over.
Genre: Mystery
The war may be officially over, but journalist Billie Walker's search for a missing young immigrant man will plunge her right back into the danger and drama she thought she'd left behind in Europe in this thrilling tale of courage and secrets set in glamorous postwar Sydney.
Sydney, 1946. Though war correspondent Billie Walker is happy to finally be home, for her the heady postwar days are tarnished by the loss of her father and the disappearance in Europe of her husband, Jack. To make matters worse, now that the war is over, the newspapers are sidelining her reporting talents to prioritize jobs for returning soldiers. But Billie is a survivor and she's determined to take control of her own future. So she reopens her late father's business, a private investigation agency, and, slowly, the women of Sydney come knocking.
At first, Billie's bread and butter is tailing cheating husbands. Then, a young man, the son of European immigrants, goes missing, and Billie finds herself on a dangerous new trail that will lead up into the highest levels of Sydney society and down into its underworld. What is the young man’s connection to an exclusive dance club and a high-class auction house? When the people Billie questions about the young man start to turn up dead, Billie is thrown into the path of Detective Inspector Hank Cooper. Will he take her seriously or will he just get in her way? As the danger mounts and Billie realizes that much more than one young man’s life is at stake, it becomes clear that though the war was won, it is far from over.
Genre: Mystery
Praise for this book
"In Billie Walker, Moss has conjured up one kick-ass 1940s heroine: a tough-talking, glamorous feminist who’s as adept with a pistol as she is on the dance floor, haunted by a tragic past, and unafraid to take on the darkest of foes. An artful, original take on noir suspense that resonates in today’s times." - Fiona Davis
"A cracking thriller, with a marvelous, strong, flamboyant heroine." - Joanne Harris
"Enough page-turning suspense to keep you up reading far later than you intended!" - Peter James
"Billie Walker is the type of heroine I'd love to befriend: resourceful, clever, adventurous, and a true fashionista. With a gripping plot and the perfect dose of history and intrigue, The War Widow has all the elements of a great page-turner." - Ellen Keith
"A terrific read!" - Lynda La Plante
"Moss's ultra-cool prose and whip-smart plotting pull you along at cracking pace until suddenly you look up and realize with a gulp how deep you've gone and how very dark it is down there." - Emily Maguire
"I so enjoyed getting to know Tara Moss's wonderful new character, Billie Walker, in her 1940s Sydney-set mystery [The War Widow]. Immersive, well-paced, entertaining, thoughtful – so enjoyable!" - Angela Meyer
"Tara Moss's The War Widow is an excellent novel and an even better springboard for its crackerjack heroine: the indomitable Billie Walker. Like a harder-boiled Phryne Fisher meets Martha Gellhorn, Billie is the best kind of heroine: fun, flawed, smart, feminist, and feisty. Even down the darkest of paths—including but not limited to Nazi war profiteers, shady mobsters, cops on the take, and more—Billie is a beacon of light, never losing her sense of justice, or her enjoyment in life (and a good coupe of champagne!). Honestly, I'd follow Billie anywhere." - Halley Sutton
"A cracking thriller, with a marvelous, strong, flamboyant heroine." - Joanne Harris
"Enough page-turning suspense to keep you up reading far later than you intended!" - Peter James
"Billie Walker is the type of heroine I'd love to befriend: resourceful, clever, adventurous, and a true fashionista. With a gripping plot and the perfect dose of history and intrigue, The War Widow has all the elements of a great page-turner." - Ellen Keith
"A terrific read!" - Lynda La Plante
"Moss's ultra-cool prose and whip-smart plotting pull you along at cracking pace until suddenly you look up and realize with a gulp how deep you've gone and how very dark it is down there." - Emily Maguire
"I so enjoyed getting to know Tara Moss's wonderful new character, Billie Walker, in her 1940s Sydney-set mystery [The War Widow]. Immersive, well-paced, entertaining, thoughtful – so enjoyable!" - Angela Meyer
"Tara Moss's The War Widow is an excellent novel and an even better springboard for its crackerjack heroine: the indomitable Billie Walker. Like a harder-boiled Phryne Fisher meets Martha Gellhorn, Billie is the best kind of heroine: fun, flawed, smart, feminist, and feisty. Even down the darkest of paths—including but not limited to Nazi war profiteers, shady mobsters, cops on the take, and more—Billie is a beacon of light, never losing her sense of justice, or her enjoyment in life (and a good coupe of champagne!). Honestly, I'd follow Billie anywhere." - Halley Sutton
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