The Ghosts of Paris

April 4, 2022
Set in 1947, Moss’s intriguing sequel to 2020’s The War Widow finds business booming for Billie Walker, Sydney, Australia’s “most famous—or was it infamous?—female inquiry agent.” Billie’s new client, Vera Montgomery, needs to find her husband, Richard, who disappeared toward the end of 1945 after acting as an information official at the Australia in Peace and War exposition in Paris. Until Richard is found or declared dead, Mrs. Montgomery’s financial and social situation is in limbo. Billie, who was a war correspondent in Paris, seems ideally suited for the job. At twice her daily fee, Billie and her tall, handsome secretary, Sam Baker, head for Paris. Billie’s search is colored by her desire to find her own husband, photojournalist Jack Rake. In 1944, he too disappeared in Paris, and Billie has just received news that a mutual friend believes she spotted him in late 1946. Moss does a good job portraying how Australian Aboriginals and women were treated at the time, but the neat resolutions to the missing men cases, which involve little effort on Billie’s part, come as something of a letdown. Historical romance fans will find a lot to like. Agent: Chris Bucci, Cooke McDermid Literary.