The War Widow Unabridged

A Novel

By Tara Moss

The war may be officially over, but journalist Billie Walker’s search for a missing young German immigrant plunges her right back into the danger and drama she thought she’d left behind in Europe. A thrilling tale of courage and secrets set in glamorous post-war Sydney.

Sydney, Australia, 1946. Though war correspondent Billie Walker is happy to finally be home, the heady post-war days are tarnished by the death of her father and the disappearance in Europe of her husband, Jack. To make matters worse, now that the war is over, the newspapers are sidelining her reporting talents to prioritize jobs for returning soldiers. But Billie is a survivor and she’s determined to take control of her own future. She reopens her late father’s business, a private investigation agency, and slowly, the women of Sydney come knocking.

At first, Billie’s bread and butter is tailing cheating husbands. Then a young man, the son of European immigrants, goes missing, and Billie finds herself on a dangerous new trail that will lead to the highest levels of Sydney society as well as the city’s underworld. What is the young man’s connection to an exclusive dance club and a high-class auction house? When the people she questions start to turn up dead, Billie is thrown into the path of Detective Inspector Hank Cooper. Will he take her seriously or just get in her way?

As the danger mounts and Billie realizes how much is at stake, it becomes clear that although the war was won, it is far from over.

ISBN: 9781443461320
Imprint: HarperCollins Publishers
On Sale: May 5, 2020
List price: $33.5
Trim Size: 1.000 in (w) x 1.000 in (h) x 1.000 in (d)
BISAC 1: FICTION / Mystery & Detective / Women Sleuths
BISAC 2: FICTION / Mystery & Detective / General
BISAC 3: FICTION / Historical / General

Tara Moss

Biography

Tara Rae Moss is the Canadian-born internationally bestselling author of 14 books of fiction and non-fiction, a podcast and documentary host, award-winning advocate and holistic practitioner.


Since 1999 she has written 14 bestselling books, published in 19 countries and 13 languages, including the internationally bestselling postwar historical crime novels The War Widow and The Ghosts of Paris, and her #1 non-fiction bestselling memoir The Fictional Woman. Her fifteenth book, The Italian Secret, launches in late 2025. 


An experienced documentary host and interviewer with a passion for research and human stories, Moss hosted the true crime documentary series Tough Nuts – Australia’s Hardest Criminals on Crime & Investigation Network and Amazon Prime, Tara Moss Investigates on the National Geographic Channel and the author interview show Tara in Conversation on 13th Street Universal. She was also the host, co-executive producer and co-writer of Cyberhate with Tara Moss on Australia’s ABC, host of the true crime podcast The Man in The Balaclava, and season three of the award-winning podcast There’s No Place Like Home, out now. She has interviewed luminaries such as Gloria Steinem, Naomi Klein, Val McDermid, Michael Connelly and more.


She is an outspoken advocate for human rights and the rights of women, children, and people living with chronic pain. She has been a UNICEF Australia Goodwill Ambassador since 2007 and in 2014 she was recognised for Outstanding Advocacy for her blog Manus Island: An insider’s report, which helped to break information to the public about the alleged murder of Reza Barati inside the Australian-run Manus Island Immigration Detention Centre. In 2018 she was named one of the Global Top 50 Diversity Figures in Public Life, along with Angelina Jolie, His Holiness The Dalai Lama and more.


Tara Rae is a dual Canadian/Australian citizen and divides her time between Sydney and her hometown of Victoria, BC, the unceded territory of the Lekwungen speaking Peoples, where she is a recipient of both the Order of Lambrick Park, and the Honorary Citizen Award, the highest formal honour awarded by the City of Victoria. 

 Visit her at TaraRaeMoss.com

 

Corinne Davies

The war may be officially over, but journalist Billie Walker’s search for a missing young German immigrant plunges her right back into the danger and drama she thought she’d left behind in Europe. A thrilling tale of courage and secrets set in glamorous post-war Sydney.

Sydney, Australia, 1946. Though war correspondent Billie Walker is happy to finally be home, the heady post-war days are tarnished by the death of her father and the disappearance in Europe of her husband, Jack. To make matters worse, now that the war is over, the newspapers are sidelining her reporting talents to prioritize jobs for returning soldiers. But Billie is a survivor and she’s determined to take control of her own future. She reopens her late father’s business, a private investigation agency, and slowly, the women of Sydney come knocking.

At first, Billie’s bread and butter is tailing cheating husbands. Then a young man, the son of European immigrants, goes missing, and Billie finds herself on a dangerous new trail that will lead to the highest levels of Sydney society as well as the city’s underworld. What is the young man’s connection to an exclusive dance club and a high-class auction house? When the people she questions start to turn up dead, Billie is thrown into the path of Detective Inspector Hank Cooper. Will he take her seriously or just get in her way?

As the danger mounts and Billie realizes how much is at stake, it becomes clear that although the war was won, it is far from over.

ISBN: 9781443461320
Imprint: HarperCollins Publishers
On Sale: May 5, 2020
List price: $33.5
Trim Size: 1.000 in (w) x 1.000 in (h) x 1.000 in (d)
BISAC 1: FICTION / Mystery & Detective / Women Sleuths
BISAC 2: FICTION / Mystery & Detective / General
BISAC 3: FICTION / Historical / General

Tara Moss

Biography

Tara Rae Moss is the Canadian-born internationally bestselling author of 14 books of fiction and non-fiction, a podcast and documentary host, award-winning advocate and holistic practitioner.


Since 1999 she has written 14 bestselling books, published in 19 countries and 13 languages, including the internationally bestselling postwar historical crime novels The War Widow and The Ghosts of Paris, and her #1 non-fiction bestselling memoir The Fictional Woman. Her fifteenth book, The Italian Secret, launches in late 2025. 


An experienced documentary host and interviewer with a passion for research and human stories, Moss hosted the true crime documentary series Tough Nuts – Australia’s Hardest Criminals on Crime & Investigation Network and Amazon Prime, Tara Moss Investigates on the National Geographic Channel and the author interview show Tara in Conversation on 13th Street Universal. She was also the host, co-executive producer and co-writer of Cyberhate with Tara Moss on Australia’s ABC, host of the true crime podcast The Man in The Balaclava, and season three of the award-winning podcast There’s No Place Like Home, out now. She has interviewed luminaries such as Gloria Steinem, Naomi Klein, Val McDermid, Michael Connelly and more.


She is an outspoken advocate for human rights and the rights of women, children, and people living with chronic pain. She has been a UNICEF Australia Goodwill Ambassador since 2007 and in 2014 she was recognised for Outstanding Advocacy for her blog Manus Island: An insider’s report, which helped to break information to the public about the alleged murder of Reza Barati inside the Australian-run Manus Island Immigration Detention Centre. In 2018 she was named one of the Global Top 50 Diversity Figures in Public Life, along with Angelina Jolie, His Holiness The Dalai Lama and more.


Tara Rae is a dual Canadian/Australian citizen and divides her time between Sydney and her hometown of Victoria, BC, the unceded territory of the Lekwungen speaking Peoples, where she is a recipient of both the Order of Lambrick Park, and the Honorary Citizen Award, the highest formal honour awarded by the City of Victoria. 

 Visit her at TaraRaeMoss.com

 

Corinne Davies