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1946: A journalist Billie Walker is searching for a missing young man
1946: A journalist Billie Walker is searching for a missing young man
War correspondent Billie Walker is happy to finally be back home in glamorous Sydney, for her the heady post-war days are tarnished by the loss of her father and the disappearance of her husband, Jack. To make matters worse, newspapers are now sidelining her reporting talents to prioritise jobs for returning soldiers.
Determined to take control of her future, she reopens her late father’s private investigation agency, and, slowly, clients come knocking.
At first, Billie’s work consists of tailing cheating husbands But when a young man goes missing, Billie finds herself on a dangerous new trail that will lead her to the highest levels of society, and down into its underworld.
As the risk mounts, Billie realises that there is much more than one man’s life at stake. Though the war was won, it is far from over.
Sydney 1940s
The city of Sydney is very well evoked with The Strand and the Blue Mountains being the focus of the story. There are several places you will recognise around the city and it takes you back to the 1940s to see what the city was like then.
The Hydro Majestic Hotel Blue Mountains is a lovely place for Champagne apparently. There’s a lot of nice touches with real places and characters inspired from history in the book.
There is a storyline about the Native peoples and how they were treated at the time. The city of Sydney is not usually a location in a war novel so this is a nice change.
Destination: Sydney Author/guide: Tara Moss Departure Time: 1940s
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