Ghosts of Paris

Content warnings: war, torture, MIA soldiers, sexism, homophobia, blackmail, child pornographer, extramarital affair

Australian PI Billie Walker travels to London and Paris to find her missing husband.

Business is booming for PI Billie Walker after her high-profile case in the first book in the series. A new client comes into her office looking for her husband, who has been missing for two years. This resonates with Billie, whose war photographer husband has been missing since World War II. Even though Billie tells the client that she only searches for people in Australia, Mrs. Montgomery says she will pay double Billie's daily rate to look for him in Paris and London -- the last places the man was seen alive.

Billie accepts the job and travels to London and Paris with her assistant. While she's there looking for Mr. Montgomery, she's also looking for clues about her husband's whereabouts. The dual investigations lead to conclusions the reader may not expect, and ones Billie definitely doesn't see coming.

Tara Moss uses the slang and fashion of the era to paint vivid portraits of post-WWII Australia, France, and England. One distracting oddity is that the main character is referred to by her full name, "Billie Walker," at the beginning of most chapters. This is jarring to a reader who already knows the character's identity. Moss also uses the word "fag" repeatedly to refer to cigarettes.

Recommended for fans of historical mysteries and the Billie Walker series.

Tara Moss is an author, documentary host, human rights activist, and former model residing in Vancouver. She is a dual citizen of Australia and Canada.

Series: Billie Walker Mystery, #2

Publisher: Dutton

Length: 384 pages

Release Date: June 7, 2022

Representation: post-WWII female with a career, historical accounts of gay men

I received an electronic galley copy of this title from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.