Thank you PRH Audio for the ALC and Dutton #partner, for the finished copy of The Italian Secret in exchange for my honest review.
Publisher: Dutton / Penguin Audio
Published: December 2, 2025
Summary:
#1 internationally bestselling author Tara Moss returns with an immersive post-war mystery as glamorous investigator Billie Walker follows a trail of secrets to Italy’s sun-drenched Neapolitan coast
Naples, 1943. Deep within a secret network of underground tunnels, a woman takes shelter from a wartime air raid and prays her husband will return home safe.
Pacific Ocean, 1907. A girl embarks on a lonely journey to begin a new life far from home.
Sydney, 1948. Billie Walker, recently returned from a stint as a wartime investigative journalist, has reopened her father’s private inquiry office. One day, Billie is cleaning out old filing cabinets when she uncovers a dusty box whose contents just might upend everything Billie thought she knew about her late, beloved father.
Soon Billie is on the scent, uncovering the secrets of her family’s past, travelling aboard the first post-war luxury passenger ship from Sydney to Naples in search of answers. And as the trail leads her toward two women whose history may be entwined with her own, she realizes she might be putting all three of them in harm’s way. Billie’s father had an enemy—one who may now be stalking Billie around the world—and the closer Billie gets to the truth, the more danger she finds herself in.
My thoughts:
I was thrilled to see another Billie Walker book being released…this historical mystery series, set in 1940s Sydney, Australia, has been a favorite of mine and it’s been a while since the last book came out!
Reading this one was like reuniting with old friends and even though it’s been 3 years since we last saw Billie, the author does a great job catching us up on what has previously happened and gives just enough backstory that you really could start with this one if you wanted to.
What I loved:
🧡 Our strong, smart main protagonist, Billie Walker
🩵 Multiple timelines — there are 3 here and how they eventually all come together!
🧡 The mystery and how it brings Billie to Italy
🩵 All the family secrets
🧡 The many locations this book has – Sydney, The Pacific, Naples
I also love that while we get a mystery here, we also see what life is like for women during this time period, as well as for people in general after the war. The setting is so vivid, no matter the place and that has remained true in every book to date in this series, which I have loved! I do hope we see Billie Walker again soon!!
Audio thoughts:
I paired my reading with the audio, narrated by Corinne Davies and she did an amazing job bringing this story to life. She gave each character their own unique voices and added just the right amount of tension and emotion to her voice as needed.
Books in this series:
- The War Widow
- The Ghosts of Paris
- The Italian Secret
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