Tara Moss

"The Ghosts of Paris" is a colorful and atmospheric work of historical fiction by Tara Moss. Most of the action takes place in 1938 and 1947 in Australia, England, and France. The central character is the spunky Billie Walker. Just before the Second World War, Billie met and fell in love with war correspondent and photographer Jack Rake, and the couple married in 1944. Unfortunately, Jack disappeared, and Billie has not heard from his since. Walker, who was once a reporter, now runs her own private inquiry agency. She is hired by Mrs. Vera Montgomery, whose husband, Richard, vanished under mysterious circumstances. Vera pays Billie a handsome sum to locate him.

Walker is a highly strung individual who is probing, tenacious, and impulsive. She is a heavy smoker, drinks alcohol to settle her nerves, and endangers her life more than once when she rushes into perilous situations. She "is the type to run towards chaos and not away from it." Billie and her assistant, Sam Baker—a handsome and good-natured man whose left hand was mangled during the Great War—search for Richard in Sydney, London, and Paris. They eventually discover that Montgomery had been keeping unsavory secrets from his wife and might prefer to remain in hiding. Still, Billie is determined to do her job, and she persists in following up leads and interviewing anyone who might shed light on the missing man's whereabouts.

This is an engrossing and evocative tale about a strong and determined feminist who is unafraid to take on tasks that some might consider unladylike. She fights back fiercely against her enemies, but would do well to pick her battles more carefully and accept help when necessary. "The Ghosts of Paris" has an enigmatic and involving plot that deals with, among other issues, sexism, anti-Semitism, prejudice against the indigenous people of Australia, and the persecution of individuals whose unconventional choices offend polite society. The characters are vivid, there are amusing passages that provide comic relief, and Moss tantalizes us with a possible future romance for Billie. Readers will want to go along for the ride when Moss produces a follow-up to this lively novel.

… (més)

The Ghosts of Paris is the second book in the Billie Walker Mystery series, and I enjoyed it quite a bit and had no trouble following along even though I have no yet read the first book in this series. It did take quite a while for things to get moving, but when it did pick up, there was plenty to keep you engaged and interested. I am always fascinated by the time period after the war as people try to rebuild their lives and deal with the actions and betrayals of the war, so I found this book, with all of its secrets, to be engrossing. It's a bit lighter than the typical spy novel, but it was a lot of fun to read nonetheless.

I enjoyed Billie as a main character and liked her spunk as she dealt with the attitudes towards females and female independence during this time period. A lot of women really came into their own during WWII and achieved so many things, things that were difficult to let go when the war ended and the men returned expecting them to resume the rules and regulations that existed before the war. Watching Billie explore this new world, trying to deal with those older viewpoints, comments, and expectations, was frustrating and you get an idea of what is was like for women during this time period. The author really captured the atmosphere and it was evident she did a lot of research to be able to share the feelings as well as the frustrations with the reader through dialogue as well as actions. The descriptions of the clothing, the food, the buildings, that airplane ride, the beliefs, etc... really enhanced the overall reading experience and I enjoyed it tremendously.

I did enjoy this writer's writing style and thought her descriptions were wonderful, but I did think the story had moments where it dragged and was repetitive. I understand the author was trying to introduce characters and set-up different story lines as well as remind the reader of previous story lines that were incomplete from the previous book, something I did appreciate, but I did have to push through as I wondered when the actual story was going to start. When it did, it was quite explosive and very interesting. However, the ending was abrupt and a bit unsatisfactory. I did learn quite a bit about the LGBTQ community that existed during this time period, both in France as well as Australia, and I appreciated learning more about some of the laws that existed if one were caught; the author did a great job highlighting the homophobia that existed as well.

Verdict
The Ghosts of Paris deals with some fascinating issues of the time period, and I appreciated the research the author put into including those details into the story. I really enjoyed the characters and for the most part, the story lines were interesting; the abrupt ending of one of them left me feeling a bit unsatisfied, and I am still not sure what I think about the other one as I felt it was contrived simply to make room for a relationship for Billie which didn't quite sit well with me. Overall, I recommend this book to anyone looking for an interesting story set after WWII.… (més)