The Italian Secret
The new thrilling historical mystery novel in the bestselling Billie Walker series, from the author of The War Widow and The Ghosts of Paris
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $17.99
Publisher Description
No.1 international bestselling author Tara Moss returns with an immersive post-war mystery as glamorous investigator Billie Walker follows a trail of secrets to Italy's sun-drenched Neapolitan coast.
Naples, 1943. Deep within a secret network of underground tunnels, a woman takes shelter from a wartime air raid and prays her husband will return safely.
Indian Ocean, 1907. A young woman embarks on a lonely journey to begin a new life far from home.
Sydney, 1948. Billie Walker, recently returned from a stint as a wartime investigative journalist, has reopened her father's private inquiry office. Billie is cleaning out old filing cabinets when she uncovers a dusty box whose contents just might upend everything Billie thought she knew about her late, beloved father.
Soon Billie is on the scent, uncovering the secrets of her family's past, travelling aboard the first postwar luxury passenger ship from Sydney to Naples in search of answers. And as the trail leads her toward two women whose history is entwined with her own, she realises she is not the only one at risk. Billie's father had an enemy - one who may now be stalking Billie around the world - and the closer Billie gets to the truth, the more danger she finds herself in.
'Moss writes superior genre fiction. If you devoured all of Kerry Greenwood's Phryne Fisher murder mysteries, you'll probably have fun following Moss' gutsy and likeable female detective through noir-like plots and an immersive historical setting' Sydney Morning Herald, Fiction Pick of the Week
'Another rip-roaring novel featuring one of my favorite detectives, Ms. Billie Walker. Moss's latest is both a tale of international intrigue and an intimate family drama, racing from the cosmopolitan city of Sydney to the war-torn shores of Naples. The mystery at its core is a doozy, the tension sublime. An unforgettable read' Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Stolen Queen
'Entertaining ... Moss keeps her copious plot threads from getting tangled, and she supplements the action with sumptuous period fashion and simmering romance. Moss's fans won't be disappointed' Publishers Weekly
'A fearless young woman sets out on a quest in this tense but heartwarming tale of family, love and honor spanning the globe from Naples to Sydney' Rhys Bowen, New York Times bestselling author of the Royal Spyness series
'A richly layered, page-turning post-war mystery that explores, with depth and heart, how long-held secrets shape family and identity' Susan Meissner, USA Today bestselling author of A Map to Paradise
Praise for the Billie Walker mysteries:
'A terrific read' Lynda La Plante
'A cracking thriller, with a marvellous, strong, flamboyant heroine. Loved it' Joanne Harris, award-winning author of Chocolat
'Retro noir with a gutsy heroine and atmospheric setting ... vivid, page-turning historical crime, better written than most' Sydney Morning Herald
'Just what I needed today - a blast of the escapist past' Ian Rankin
'Tara Moss writes beautifully; vivid descriptions, truly believable characters and enough page-turning suspense to keep you up reading far later than you intended!' Peter James
'Ultra-cool and whip-smart' Emily Maguire
'Rich period detail and a fierce, feminist heroine distinguish this stylish twist on the classic 1940s detective novel' Publishers Weekly
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Australian PI Billie Walker makes game-changing family discoveries in the entertaining third installment of this historical mystery series from Moss (after The Ghosts of Paris). In 1948 Sydney, Billie is helping Darlene Elliott divorce her abusive, philandering husband by proving his infidelity. Then, while rearranging her late father's filing cabinets, Billie stumbles on £500 and a packet of love letters from an Italian woman she's never heard of. Stunned, she books passage on a luxury cruise to Naples—ostensibly to relax, but also to investigate the possibility that her father was having an affair. Just before the SS Luxor sets sail, Darlene Elliott dies mysteriously, and Billie blames her archnemesis, Vincenzo Moretti, whose backstory turns out to cut much closer to Billie's own than she realized. Moss manages to keep her copious plot threads from getting tangled, and she supplements the action with sumptuous period fashion and simmering romance. (The love triangle between Billie; her assistant, Sam; and Sydney detective inspector Hank Cooper, while lopsided, is inspired.) If some of the tale's feminist rhetoric feels flown in from the future, it only enhances the enjoyable sense of wish fulfillment. Moss's fans won't be disappointed.
