Under the Paper Moon

Under the Paper Moon by Shaina Steinberg
Historical fiction, mystery.
Evelyn Bishop, heiress to an aeronautics fortune, joined the an office of Strategic Services as a spy in 1942 to find her missing brother. She is often paired with Nick Gallagher on different missions and the two grow close.
Six years later, Evelyn is back home in Los Angeles, working as a private investigator. The war was supposed to change so much, but Evelyn is feeling old rules encroaching on her previous years of personal freedoms. A murder case brings Nick back into her orbit and they realize they can’t escape parts of the war that has followed them home.

The difference from war time to immediately after had to be a difficult transition. Women had power and had show more to hand it back to the men afterwards. For Evelyn, that doesn’t work.
The chemistry between Evelyn and Nick is interesting. The book has an old fashioned hard boiled edge to it with a strong female. Almost a noir feeling.
Tracking secondary characters is important to appreciate the subtlety.
It was missing a likable edge for the characters for me. I understood them but didn’t like them which is unusual for me. show less

I received a free copy of this e-book from the publisher (via Netgalley) in exchange for an honest review.

This film noir inspired mystery features two former OSS spies who find themselves working together again in Los Angeles. Evelyn was a great leading lady, but I felt that Nick was a little too hard-boiled for my taste. The plot was intriguing and the unraveling mystery kept me turning pages, but the action was very much dialog-driven.

This would be a good choice for someone interested in film-noir, Raymond Chandler-esque mysteries featuring a strong female lead.

This story just didn't do it for me. The premise was interesting, but it didn't execute very well. The mystery plot was just OK, and the villains were stock characters you can meet in any number of WWII thrillers and Noir stories. The personal story between Evelyn and Nick aims for snappy repartee a la Nick and Nora Charles but ends up wallowing in a soap opera sentimentality. Nope. I won't be reading further in this series.

Enthralling post WWII Thriller!

Evelyn Bishop is the daughter of a wealthy American aeronautics industrialist.
Evelyn is totally out of step and bored by the expectations her social strata has for women. When her brother Matthew, fighting in Europe, (pre the US’s entry into the war) is captured by the Nazi’s she can’t sit quietly at home.
Evelyn goes to London and ostensibly becomes a translator. Evelyn speaks five languages.
In reality she joins the Office of Strategic Services, a clandestine US organization and becomes an intelligent officer. She spent the war parachuting out of planes behind enemy lines, over France. Evelyn is always searching for any news of her brother Matthew’s whereabouts.
She works closely with Nick show more Gallagher, who’s the leader of the Intelligence Team Evelyn’s assigned to. The chemistry between them is volcanic. So it’s all the more shocking when something happens after Victory Day, something that ruptures their relationship.
Returning back stateside after the war Evelyn can’t settle down She becomes a detective. Her’s and her brother’s childhood friend James is there waiting for her. Evelyn is prevaricating about marriage though. Does she want that?
Nick returns back to the States, working with the LAPD, and of course drinking too much. When that fails he too becomes a detective, still climbing into the bottom of a cheap bottle of whiskey.
Now fate throws them together once more. It seems they’re both working on the same case, but for different parties.
What neither expects is the growing number of bodies strewn across their path and a dark mystery emerging, reaching back into their OSS days.
I loved the chemistry between Nick and Evelyn. Their repartee is often sharply laconic and understated. The contrast between their characters charges the pages in the best possible way.
The action moves between 1942 London and France, and 1948 Los Angeles, inserting the important back story into the now.
Parts verged on the predictable but that didn’t any anyway lesson my enjoyment.
A very readable thriller that smacks somewhat of Sam Spade. I must admit to seeing flashes of Bogart and Lauren Bacall. I loved it!

A Kensington Books ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher. show less

In 1948, Evelyn Bishop operates a thriving private investigation firm, Evelyn Bishop Investigations, in the glamorous locale of Rodeo Drive, Los Angeles, California. Her firm specializes in aiding women. In her personal life, she resides with her father, Logan, and cherishes the companionship of James Hughes, a childhood friend who has been a loyal employee at Bishop Aeronautics since his Army discharge.

Reconciling her wartime experiences with the Office of Strategic Services has taken time for Evelyn. However, a pivotal moment arrives when the carefully guarded secrets of the men in her life—secrets they kept to protect her—begin to unravel. Secrets of war that you were not privy to directly affected everything you thought you show more knew, everyone you loved.

I loved the intermingling of flashbacks to 1942 London and Northern France that revealed Evelyn’s experiences during the war, the purpose behind her choice of service, and navigating the delicate balance between working and loving a man named Nick Gallagher. The complexities of relationships during the war are creating tension and drama in the present. With long-held secrets in jeopardy of being revealed, there is history, romance, suspense, and mystery with each turn of the page.

A Reading Group Guide at the end of the novel will be an invaluable resource for book clubs that enhances their reading experience and fosters engaging discussions.

Thank you to the Kensington Books BTC Staff for recommending this title as a Staff Favorite, offering a great alternative for the 2025 BTC Reading Challenge in April. I’m so glad I didn’t miss it! show less

Shaina Steinberg's work of historical fiction, "Under the Paper Moon," moves back and forth between Europe during the Second World War and Los Angeles in 1948. Evelyn Bishop is an heiress whose father owns a large aeronautics company, but she has no desire to be a pampered socialite. Instead, this unique woman—who is fluent in five languages, an expert markswoman, and skilled in hand-to-hand combat—joins America's Office of Strategic Services. She and her fellow agents carry out perilous missions behind enemy lines. After the war is won, one of Evelyn's greatest regrets is that she parted from her lover and fellow OSS operative, Nick Gallagher, on unpleasant terms.

In 1948, Nick and Evelyn are both private investigators in L. A. who show more are handling different aspects of the same case. Nick has been hired to protect George Palmer, a successful munitions supplier who has been threatened, while Evelyn tries to obtain information for George's wife about a young woman who has been seen with him on more than one occasion. Nick and Evelyn do not have a warm reunion, but when a murder occurs, they collaborate on an investigation that will lead to shocking revelations.

Although Evelyn and Nick are appealing protagonists, they cannot carry this novel by themselves. The author's prose is riddled with clichés, and the villains are cookie-cutter baddies. On the plus side, there are some amusing passages, a diverting romantic triangle between Nick, Evelyn, and her childhood sweetheart, James Hughes, as well as some dramatic physical and psychological confrontations. Too often, however, Evelyn and Nick are viciously attacked, but miraculously bounce back with few ill-effects. "Under the Paper Moon" had promise, mostly thanks to the spunky and unconventional Evelyn, but this story is neither nuanced nor realistic enough to be truly gripping. show less

This mystery had a bit of a slow start, but I really got into the story about a third of the way in and found this tale of two former OSS agents more engaging than most mysteries. Evelyn Bishop and Nick Gallagher fell in love while serving together during World War II, but they went their separate ways after the war, only to cross paths again while uncovering treasonous arms supplies in Los Angeles. This book made for a fast-paced and fun read and I was happy with the conclusion it came to.