The Italian Secret
1948: Billie Walker has opted to follow in her father’s footsteps and work as a private detective in Sydney. Many of her clients are women attempting to escape abusive marriages. While cleaning out her father’s old files, she finds a mysterious cache of letters, an old photograph, and a wad of cash. The thirty-year-old photo shows her father with a mysterious woman and a child; the letters come from Naples, Italy. While mulling this over, Billie helps her client Darlene, who struggles to leave her powerful husband, until Darlene’s unexpected death. Billie’s professional life is also complicated a bit by her relationship with her assistant, Sam, and her acquaintance with the handsome police detective inspector Hank Cooper.
Billie wonders if Darlene’s death was actually murder, especially after catching a glimpse of her rival Vincenzo Moretti outside Darlene’s home. But nothing can be proved, the case appears closed, and so Billie, intrigued by the letters she found, makes plans to take her mother on a voyage to Italy, aboard a newly refurbished ocean liner, the Luxor. Despite her lingering concerns about Darlene’s death, Billie quickly becomes embroiled in new investigations into long-buried secrets.
This novel is the third in a series but easily stands along. Billie proves an intrepid heroine, glamorous and full of spunk. Her adventures abroad and the vividly described and well researched settings—the Luxor, Naples, Sydney, and points in between—add to the enjoyment of the read. Fans of post-war fiction and feisty heroines will enjoy Billie’s adventures.
