Review: Dead Man Switch (Billie Walker Mystery, #1)
Gaby Meares
This book has also been published under the title The War Widow
Billie Walker returns to Sydney from war-torn Paris, grieving for her husband who went missing on assignment in Europe. It’s now 1946, and Billie has taken over the reigns of her late father’s detective agency. Most of her work involves tailing cheating spouses - if not particularly savoury, at least it pays the bills. But her latest client has asked her to look for their missing seventeen year old son - and suddenly Billie and her trusted assistant Sam find themselves mired in the murky Sydney underworld.
Moss’s meticulous research shines in this book, illuminating post-war Sydney: its tired glamour and shadowy underbelly. I’m Sydney born and bred, and many of the locations lovingly described are still part of my daily landscape. I’m not, however, much of a fashion-plate, so Moss’s very detailed descriptions of every-piece-of-clothing worn by characters started to wear a bit thin with me - but that’s just a small quibble. I know Moss absolutely adores vintage fashion - and she loves to share the love!
Billie is an independent woman in a world that is reeling from the effects of World War Two. Society wants a return to the comfort of the world it knew, with gender roles clearly defined. ‘After Victory in the Pacific Day women were expected to walk out of the aviation plants and munitions factories and news offices and hospitals they’d run successfully during the war and abandon the independence of a wage to return to their kitchens, but Billie had never been one those women, hadn’t been raised that way, and she certainly wasn’t going to bow to the pressure now.’
Moss deftly tackles several disturbing issues in this book. She doesn’t shrink from the horror, but nor does she wallow. She is a skilful storyteller, and Dead Man Switch is a cracking good read. I’m very much looking forward to more adventures with the sassy Ms Billie Walker.