Bestselling author Tara Moss returns to crime fiction with a brand-new series set in post WWII Sydney starring a glamorous, snappy heroine in this cosy detective mystery with an Australian twist.

The year is 1946, and Billie Walker has returned from war-broken Europe grieving the loss of her photojournalist husband, missing, presumed dead. Australia is in the midst of its own grieving period, as the country yet again comes to terms with the insurmountable loss of another war and those left behind to pick up the pieces. Determined not to be defined by any man, Billie re-opens her father’s private investigations agency, and finds herself soon embroiled in a missing persons case that’s not quite the cheating spouses she’s used to.

Billie Walker is a witty and fashionably stylish protagonist reminscient of other feminist heroines such as Miss Pyrne Fisher, who are unapologetic in their fight for equality. She is so smart and seductive, fans will be quick to fall in love with her sharp shooting mind who doesn’t give a fig what anyone thinks of her. The supporting characters themselves are just as enthralling, from war veteran Sam who becomes Billie’s assistant, to her feisty mother, Ella.

The narrative itself is at times slow-moving, somewhat overshadowed by unnecessary adjectives and long-winded descriptions which, while helping to paint a more glamorous picture of Billie’s life, take away from the plot, leaving most of the action for the last quarter of the novel, which will leave the reader in suspense for more of Billie Walker, PI.

Reviewed by Hannah Membrey