Every time I read a later book in a series, I regret that I didn’t start with the first one. But, I picked up The Ghosts of Paris by Tara Moss to review for a journal. I just wish I’d read The War Widow, the first Billie Walker mystery, before reading this one.
Billie Walker, a war correspondent in Europe during World War II, reopens her father’s PI practice when she returns to Sydney, Australia. In 1947, most clients are women hoping to locate or divorce their husbands. Vera Montgomery’s husband disappeared from Paris after an exhibition, and she needs to find him so she can move on with her life. She sends Billie and her assistant, Sam, to London and then Paris, paying twice the daily rate.
Billie’s own husband, Jack Rake, a war photographer, disappeared in 1944 during the Warsaw uprising, so now she has the opportunity to search for him as well. Upon arrival in Europe, Billie discovers their search for Richard Montgomery isn’t welcome by his family or friends. Most of them want nothing to do with her, and refuse to talk to her. Montgomery used his photography to uncover secrets, and he may have disappeared to save his own life, after his photographs threatened the wrong people.
Although Billie is on a job, her reputation as a Nazi hunter precedes her, and she’s seen as a threat to a secret group in Paris. Post-war Sydney, London, and Paris come alive in this intense historical mystery. It’s fascinating to read about those cities after the war is over. It’s equally fascinating to read about the effort it took to get from Australia to London in those years. The sequel to The War Widow is a richly detailed mystery emphasizing political dangers in a world still struggling with the fall-out of the war and Nazi influence. The author emphasizes the differences in treatment and threats to the LGBTQIA diverse, whether in Sydney or Paris. It’s the atmosphere Moss creates in this book that makes it so compelling.
Tara Moss’ website is https://taramoss.com/
The Ghosts of Paris by Tara Moss. Dutton, 2022. ISBN 9780593182680 (hardcover), 384p.
FTC Full Disclosure – I read a galley to review for a journal.
