Name: The Ghosts of Paris by Tara Moss
Item: The Ghosts of Paris
Author: Trenzle Review

The Ghosts of Paris DEALS

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The Makedde Vanderwall PI mystery series by Tara Moss is fantastic, and I heartily suggest it to anyone who likes strong, educated female leads. Siren #5 (2009) and Assassin #6 are two titles from that series that have been reviewed on this website (2012). But with the publication of The War Widow (also known as Dead Man Switch), the first book in this historical private eye series starring Ms. Billie Walker, Moss considerably increased her fan base in 2019.

It has seemed like a long wait for readers like me who fell in love with the wonderful, feisty Billie and her colourful, kind-hearted crew. While I make every effort to avoid giving anything away, suffice it to say that the events in this book were worth the wait!

Dear Alma, sly flamboyant Ella, tenacious Shyla, and enigmatic Hank Cooper all make welcome returns, but Sam Baker, her secretary, gets top billing in this tour as Billie’s European travel companion, and the chemistry between the two of them is totally irresistible.

As usual, Moss adorns this book’s text with evocative turns of phrase that develop the characters and vivid descriptions of the setting, such as “…she and trouble knew each other rather intimately.” It incorporates moving social commentary into the story of Billie’s inner thoughts.

Although our leading lady Billie continues to vouch for the healing properties of tea, she also indulges in a few other energising drinks while travelling through Europe, with mixed results. In fact, she finds herself in dangerous situations in multiple page-turning scenarios because she expresses her open-minded thoughts honestly, going against “the little lady in her gut” instinct.

Never fear though, not all shadows are bad guys. A two-book agreement for two further Billie Walker novels was also revealed earlier this month by Tara Moss! In The Ghosts of Paris, the fearless Billie Walker marches into peril while discovering plenty of solutions as well as fresh energising doors to upcoming perplexing mysteries and captivating personal adventures.

I wholeheartedly urge people who haven’t read Tara Moss’ first book, The War Widow, to do so before reading its sequel. Once you’ve finished Book 1, you’ll want to start The Ghosts of Paris, so you might as well start by saving on postage now.

About The Book

A suspenseful tale of secrets and intrigue set in post-World War II Paris and London. Billie Walker, a former war reporter and investigator, is forced to confront the ghosts of her own tragic past when she pursues a missing spouse case and comes into contact with a Nazi spy network.

It’s 1947. Former war reporter Billie Walker is settling into her role as an investigator as the aftermath of the Second World War is still being felt around the globe. The trail brings Billie back to London and Paris, where her own bitter memories also linger, when a wealthy customer hires her and her assistant Sam to find her missing husband.

One of the millions of individuals who went missing in Europe during the war was Jack Rake, Billie’s lover and, for a brief while, her husband. What happened to him when they departed from Paris together?

In order to protect herself from anything even worse than a few traumatic memories, Billie will need to have her revolver ready as her quest for her client’s spouse takes her to both the posh bars of Paris’s famed Ritz hotel and to the dark cellars of the infamous Paris morgue.

The Review