Dead Man Switch

(Paperback)

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'A terrific read' Lynda La Plante

Bestselling author Tara Moss returns to crime fiction with a stunning new series, and a stunning new heroine. Meet PI Billie Walker - smart and sexy, with a dash of Mae West humour, she's a hard-boiled detective with a twist.

'A cracking thriller, with a marvellous, strong, flamboyant heroine. Loved it.' Joanne Harris, award-winning author of Chocolat

She's a woman in a man's world ...

Sydney, 1946. Billie Walker is living life on her own terms. World War II has left her bereaved, her photojournalist husband missing and presumed dead. Determined not to rely on any man for her future, she re-opens her late father's detective agency.

Billie's bread and butter is tailing cheating spouses - it's easy, pays the bills and she has a knack for it. But her latest case, the disappearance of a young man, is not proving straightforward ...

Soon Billie is up to her stylish collar in bad men, and not just the unfaithful kind - these are the murdering kind. Smugglers. Players. Gangsters. Billie and her loyal assistant must pit their wits against Sydney's ruthless underworld and find the young man before it's too late.

'Rich period detail and a fierce, feminist heroine distinguish this stylish twist on the classic 1940s detective novel. Fans of Phryne Fisher will eagerly anticipate Billie's next adventure.' Publishers Weekly

'Billie [Walker's] addition to the world of literary private detectives is welcome and deserved. She carries a bit of the hard-boiled tradition on her shoulders--the vulnerability, the brashness--while providing a completely feminine perspective on both the crimes and the approach to crime-solving. Neatly incorporates history, social commentary, and a satisfying mystery in one appealing package. More, please!' Kirkus

'Immersive, well-paced, entertaining, thoughtful - so enjoyable!' Angela Meyer, award-winning author of A Superior Spectre

Praise for Tara Moss:

'Enough page-turning suspense to keep you up reading far later than you intended!' Peter James

'Truly thrilling' Woman's Day

'Moss's ultra-cool prose and whip-smart plotting pull you along at cracking pace until suddenly you look up and realise with a gulp how deep you've gone and how very dark it is down there.' Emily Maguire, author of An Isolated Incident

Author Bio

Tara Moss is a best-selling author of 13 books of fiction and non-fiction, published in 19 countries and 13 languages, a documentary host and award-winning human rights advocate. Her latest novel is the internationally bestselling historical thriller The War Widow, set in 1946 and featuring 'staunchly feminist, champagne-swilling, fast-driving Nazi hunter investigator' PI Billie Walker. Moss is an outspoken advocate for the rights of women and children, and people with disabilities. She has been a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador since 2007 and as of 2013 is UNICEF Australia's National Ambassador for Child Survival. 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 2015 she received an Edna Ryan Award for her significant contribution to feminist debate, speaking out for women and children and inspiring others to challenge the status quo, and 2017 was recognised as one of the Global Top 50 Diversity Figures in Public Life, for using her position in public life to make a positive impact in diversity, alongside Malala Yousufzai, Angelina Jolie, His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama of Tibet and more. In the media and through her social media page Tara and Wolfie, she brings advocacy and visibility to issues of disability and chronic pain, and the need to normalize mobility aids. Her in-depth novel research has seen her acquire her PI credentials, tour the FBI Academy at Quantico, spend time in squad cars, morgues, prisons, the Hare Psychopathy Lab, the Supreme Court and criminology conferences, take polygraph tests, shoot weapons, conduct surveillance, pass the Firearms Training Simulator (FATSII) with the LAPD, pull 4.2 G's doing loops over the Sydney Opera House flying with the RAAF, and acquire her CAMS race driver licence. She has hosted the true crime documentary series Tough Nuts - Australia's Hardest Criminals on the Crime & Investigation Network, 'Tara Moss Investigates' on the National Geographic Channel, the author interview show Tara in Conversation on 13th Street Universal and write and host the documentary Cyberhate, about online abuse. Moss is a dual Australian/Canadian citizen, and divides her time between NSW and Vancouver with her husband and daughter. Visit her at taramoss.com