Thanks to Penguin Group/Dutton and Net Galley for providing me with a free copy of this book in return for an honest review.
For her 11th novel, Canadian/Australian author Tara Moss, starts a new mystery series which focuses on Billie Walker. Billie is a female Investigation Agent in Sydney, Australia, and this book is set shortly after the end of World War 2. She is an anomaly because it appears she is the only female Investigation Agent in Sydney. Luckily for Billie, her dad had been a policeman and then quit to open this agency, and after his death Billie takes over the business.
There is a lot going on in this book, in addition to having us get acquainted with all the supporting characters, including her male secretary (a wounded war veteran), her mother and mother’s maid, and a reluctant but decent police detective. All of these characters play a big part in her case of trying to find a young man who has disappeared. It might seem to be a case that will be easy to resolve, but the deeper Billie gets into the investigation there are more layers to this case than first meet the eye.
As a side case, Billie is friends with an aboriginal girl named Shyla and we learn how the aboriginals were treated at that time – being torn apart from their families and placed in schools where they are taught how to be domestic servants for wealthy Australian families. Shyla’s friends, however, were placed at a location far from Sydney, kept incommunicado, and fearing for their safety Shyla asks Billie’s help in locating them.
The action takes place in a little over a week, as Billie pursues leads at a local Dance Club, a high class auction house and even travels over three hours away to the famed Blue Mountains of Australia. The action and adventure never stops, as Billie seems to go from the frying pan into the fire, literally, as she exposes the truth behind both the disappearance of the young man, as well as the missing aboriginal girls.
What also makes this book so different from others is its setting. So many books on World War 2 and its aftermath are set in Europe or America, and it is absolutely refreshing to see a novel, such as this, set in Australia which has been overlooked for decades as a site of fallout from that war. Billie, herself, was a journalist during the war and covered events in Germany and Austria, and while there she fell in love and married a photographer who he was taken captive. Billie has no idea if he is dead or alive, thus her mother declares Billie a “War Widow” like so many other women in Australia and throughout the world whose husbands either are MIA or killed and whose bodies are never identified. It is a difficult world for these ladies, and Billie Walker is a struggling survivor who seems destined to take us on many more adventures and mysteries.

Bottom Line: For fans of Tara Moss, Billie Walker is a wonderful new character and takes us through both some history and mysteries in the overlooked setting of Australia.
This review was previously published at www.mysteryandsuspense.com

This is a post WW2 Story set in Australia. Billie is the main character, she as just returned from Europe after working there as a reporter and is now running a private investigation company.

This is a lady who jumped on the Feminist Train before it even existed. Billie is a very strong character, well spoken and very talented at what she does. Her main focus is a young man who was reported missing by his mother.

The journey to find out what happened to him takes many twists and turns and at times becomes quite dark.

Generally a well written book with well developed characters. I found it a bit too wordy in many spots. Sometimes a passage went on long enough that I had to reread it because I lost track of what was being said.

It is the first book of a trilogy. Great news for those who like series.

Thank you to the publisher Penguin Group/Dutton for providing me with an advance readers copy.

I loved The War Widow, filled with a whip smart and sharp-tongued female PI, reminiscent of Miss Fishers murder mysteries. The War Widow takes place in Australia a year after World War Two and find Billie our heroine taking over her dad’s PI office. When hired to find a kidnapped 17-year-old Billie thinks its going to be a straightforward job, it’s anything but. The War Widow has a thrilling mystery, well rounded characters I love how the side characters aren’t just there to elevate the main character but there to progress the story. The Setting was exceptionally done. You really feel like you in Sydney Australia in 1946. With a winning country but still defeated spirits after all the loss. The plot was fast paced no slow, moments and you kept flipping the pages wanting to know how and what Billie can do. And with that I found Billie to be the real star of the novel Billie herself is strong, elegant, and determined I loved her as main character. Overall, The War Widow is a thrilling and suspenseful historical mystery that features a brilliant PI and historical setting that you can’t help but fall in love with. I cannot wait to read book two.

This book is very different than the historical fiction I was imagining. That's not to say it's not a great book, just not something I would normally read. The writing is very descriptive (one sentence had 86 words) and at times was difficult for me to stay focused on. The story line is a very interesting take on women in war time. Give this one a try, it may be just what you're looking for.

The War Widow is an historical fiction novel set in post war Sydney in 1946. While many are happy to get on with their lives post war, many others have demons to contend with and scores to settle.

It is here that we meet the bold and fearless, Billie Walker. A reporter by trade who is sidelined for the time being, she gets into being a private detective after she takes over her recently deceased father’s business. Think Nancy Drew before there was a Nancy Drew. She’s good at what she does and she knows it. If nothing else, it keeps her mind mostly off the double loss of her father and husband.

One day, a woman enters her agency, frantic at her seventeen year old son’s disappearance. Mom keeps insisting he’s a “good boy”, but is there more to the story than meets the eye?

This is the first book in a soon to be Billie Walker series. While set in the past, Billie has a feminist feel of a character who could be from the present. If you like stories that reflect upon life after the war, the 1940s era, or books with strong female characters, The War Widow might be worth your time.

Thanks to Penguin Random House and NetGalley for a copy of the book in exchange for a fair review..

Thank you to Dutton Books and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

The War Widow by Tara Moss follows private investigator Billie Walker in 1946 as she works to establish her office after the death of her father and disappearance of her husband in the war. I knew from page 1 that Billie Walker's character was strong willed and determined. I loved her intuition in risky situations. Memories of her presumed dead husband were interspersed throughout the story. Without the title, I may have thought Jack, her husband, would re-appear or some answer would have been provided to what happened to him. The book was part mystery and part historical fiction. While the mystery of a missing boy is solved, I felt there were some unanswered questions at the end of the story. This book appears to be the beginning of a series and I look forward to the next one to answer those questions! I enjoyed the pace and writing of this book. 3.5 stars for me.

Look for this 12.29.20.

Charming! The War Widow is the story of Billie - a fabulous former war reporter back in Australia after WWII and starting her own PI business. When a woman asks her to look into the disappearance of her teen son, Billie will face car chases, back alley brawls, high-end clubs, and sexism to solve the mystery.

I've always loved the idea of the hardboiled detective novel, but been a bit disinterested in the normal protagonist (read: a grumpy middle-aged white dude), so I was so charmed to find a hardboiled historical PI book with a lady lead. I stayed up late several nights reading because I couldn't put it down. Will definitely be looking forward to book 2.

The War Widow

By: Tara Moss

Penguin Group Dutton

Dutton

Mystery and Thrillers

Published Date May 5, 2020

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I will have to say that this book surprised me. I thought this book was not only written well but was a joy to read. It had me guessing. I really enjoyed reading it and gave it 4 stars. I highly recommend this book.

I had this book from net galley for and forgot that it was a mystery story so I was surprised when I read it because I thinking it was more of a love story. It had some historical events mentioned and is set in Australia. I haven't read too many books set there.

I am always up to reading a book with a female character set that time period who does something out of the ordinary.

Our main character is a female PI right after the second world war. She has taken over her father's business after he has passed away. In the war she a reporter and her missing husband was a photographer. She is hired to find a missing boy and there are things that happen that makes this more than a missing person. The police aren't interested in finding this teenager so that is why se is hired.

She has some interesting things happen to her to keep while she is trying to find this boy. She is a tough lady and does a great job and doesn't give up. She doesn't have a lot of clients because she is a female but she is able to maintain a office and an assistance who is a war veteran.

She has friends in the police force and a few enemies who were actually her fathers. She uses her gut feelings and knowledge learned from the war.

Just a great book to take in and learn a little history at the same time.

I love anything World War II related. This book was different from my typical WWII read. I think it's still worth checking out this winter!

Billie Walker is a female Inquiry Agent in post-WWII Sydney, Australia. A new case searching for the missing teenage son of local shopkeepers promises to be a nice change from chasing cheating spouses. But the case quickly becomes much more complex than it appeared and leads to unexpected villains and allies. Ably supported by her war-wounded assistant, aristocratic mother and her mother's intrepid maid, Billie travels through New South Wales from Sydney to the Blue Mountains. Those familiar with the area will appreciate the tour and the many details about clothing, nightlife, and post-war life will appeal to history fans. I look forward to Billie's next case!

Billie Walker is a private investigator working in a post-World War II Sydney. Typically, her clients seek her out to tail a cheating husband and look for grounds for divorce. That’s not the case with this new case. Billie’s latest client, Nettie, is searching for her 17-year-old son who has mysteriously disappeared. The War Widow follows Billie and her assistant Sam on their quest to find Adin, Nettie’s son. Along the way, they encounter some unsavory characters who make Billie begin to think that Adin’s disappearance may be more fraught with danger than anyone imagined. I love a great historical fiction novel, and the post-WWII setting in Sydney was an exciting change. I’ve read a lot of WWII historical fiction but never set in Australia. Though I loved the idea for the plot – a strong, single woman making her way in a man’s profession – I had a tough time with the writing. Moss spends far too much time on descriptions with multiple strings of adjectives to describe relatively quotidian objects. I found myself skimming through these sections of the book to get to the story. Because of this, I found the first half of the book tough to get through. I wanted more action, but there was a lot of time spent setting the scene. There was clearly a good deal of research that went into this novel, but at times the descriptions and vivid imagery felt too heavy-handed. I also found some of the characters and the plot line to be either contrived or a little too unbelievable. I love a good story that wraps up nicely, but I want my historical fiction to have a kernel of truth where it can. That said, Moss does a great job developing the story, and I was definitely could not put down the book toward the end. There was suspense and momentum in the latter half of the book that kept me turning the pages.

An old fashioned PI Dick Tracy story turned on its ear with a female lead and a male assistant. Set in Australia right after world war 2, this book speaks volumes of the struggles that women encountered trying to return to normal life after being dragged into the work force to keep their country alive and now being told to head back into the kitchen with the apron strings tied tight. The first in a series, which is a good thing, because The War Widow leaves some unfinished ties and leads you looking to the next book. A fun easy read.

I rate this book at a 3.5/5. I liked Billie a lot, she had a cool, feminist attitude that I adore! I also thought the other characters were really interesting. There were parts of the book that I felt dragged for me, but I really think other people are going to LOVE this book. I also found great potential gift options if this read is selected for Once Upon A Book Club. I look forward to recommending it when it is released!

This is my first Tara Moss book and I am officially a fan! The setting, characters, details, suspense, and twists were artfully written. Billie Walker is the woman you want in your corner when the situation gets dicey. Home from her job as a war reporter on the front, Billie has taken over her late father's detective agency in 1946 Sydney. When a woman asks Billie to find her missing seventeen year old son, the ride begins and doesn't slow down until the very last page. I can't recommend this book enough. I loved every minute with it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Dutton for an advance reader’s copy of this book ,

I was so excited for this arc - I love historical fiction and detective stories, and the cover is gorgeous. But this b was just not for me. The writer’s style, although beautiful, doesn’t resonate with me at all, an I find I keep putting this book down and haven’t been able to get into it at all, I’m about 30% in and feel like nothing has really happened

Normally I would give a DNF one star, but this one gets a second star because I do think the writing is quite lovely and there’s definitely an audience for this book out here,

This is the first book in a new historical mystery series by this successful Australian Canadian author. Set in 1946 Australia, it features Billie Walker who works as a private inquiry agent (a detective). She was a journalist during the war and was married to a war photographer, but he has been missing for a few years and is presumed dead. Most of her work involves cheating spouses, but when she takes on the case of a missing 17 year old boy she finds herself mixed up with a dangerous group of characters. I enjoyed it and look forward to more books in this series. It should be noted that this book is titled 'Dead Man's Switch' in Australia.

The War Widow
by Tara Moss
PENGUIN GROUP Dutton
You Like Them
Dutton
Mystery & Thrillers
Pub Date 29 Dec 2020 | Archive Date 31 Dec 2020

Historical Fiction

I am an avid reader of historical fiction and with Covid19 in full force here in Indiana I have had plenty of time to read all the new books coming out! This is a 5 star!! Make sure you read it!!
Will release in December!

Historical fiction.

This book takes place in Sydney, 1946. The war has just ended and Billie Walker is struggling as a journalist to make a living. Newspapers just aren't selling like they used too. When a young immigrant goes missing, however, Billie Walker is determined to make this story be the highlight. It also brings danger along with it.

I was very interested in this book. I'm an avid fan of historical fiction and don't read much of it that takes place after the war. It's intriguing to learn the extent of the impact that the war had on its people.

If you are a historical fiction fan, I'd highly recommend this!

This is the classic case of its not you, its me because I just didn't care for this writing style. I love a lot of dialogue in my stories and this had a lot more description than that. The story did draw me in to request it and sounds like it would be magical, but isn't my type of book.

OHMYGOD THIS WAS SO AMAZING!!!! Damn I loved this so much I will definitely be owning this book. I could not put it down and it made me crazy