Louise's War

Louise Pearlie #1

by Sarah R. Shaber

The first book in the Louise Pearlie mystery series is “Sarah Shaber’s best novel yet.” (Margaret Maron)   It’s 1942. Louise Pearlie, a young widow, has come to Washington, DC to work for the legendary Office of Strategic Services, the precursor to the CIA. When she discovers a document concerning the husband of her college friend Rachel Bloch—a young French Jewish woman she is desperately worried about—Louise realizes she may be able to help Rachel escape from Vichy France. But then a colleague whose help Louise has enlisted is murdered, and she realizes she is on her own, unable to trust anyone . . .   “A satisfying puzzle as well as a vivid picture of Washington during WWII.” —Publishers Weekly   “An auspicious debut.” —Library Journal

Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Fiction, Historical Mystery, World War II, Historical, Holocaust

242 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 2011

About the author

Sarah Shaber is an award-winning mystery author from North Carolina. Her WWII historical mystery series begins with LOUISE'S WAR. It features young widow Louise Pearlie, a government girl who works for the Office of Strategic Services, the United States’ first spy agency.

Shaber is also the author of the Professor Simon Shaw mysteries, BLOOD TEST, and editor of TAR HEEL DEAD. Her first book, SIMON SAID, won the St. Martin’s Press/Malice Domestic Award for best first traditional mystery. She is the Bouchercon15 (World Mystery Conference, 2015) Local Guest of Honor. Her home bookstore is Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh. www.facebook.com/LouisePearlie

Reviews

[Ivonne Rovira · Rating 5 out of 5]

The eponymous Louise is Mrs. Louise Pearlie, five years a widow and still not 30 years old. Louise is a lower-level manager of the typing/filing pool at the brand-new agency that would become the CIA: the Office of Strategic Services, or OSS. With the world at war, Louise has more responsibility than a woman would normally have — and, more importantly, she’s got an observant eye and a clever brain — and a very grateful heart. She exhausts every possibility — legal and not so legal — to rescue her college friend Rachel Bloch, a French Jew, from Vichy-controlled Marseilles. Louise owes everything she’s become to Rachel.

The hard-working women who made the World War II victory possible have gotten short shrift, of course. Louise’s plucky without being anachronistic. I’m so happy that Louise’s War is the first in a series. Glad that, unlike sugar in World War II, these books aren’t rationed! In fact, they’re available on Kindle Unlimited.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Louise is a widow from Wilmington NC (where I happen to live), working as a file clerk for the OSS in World War II era Washington, D.C. She's desperate to help a school friend Rachel Blach whose trapped in occupied France, facing the threat of deportation to a Nazi concentration camp. And then Louise's boss is murdered. Also, the file on Rachel's husband is missing. Knowing that file is the only hope for the survival of Rachel and her family, Louise sets out to find it.

Sarah Shaber paints a vivid portrait of life during war time--ration books, leg makeup to replace the nylon stockings which were in short supply, listening to the radio for entertainment, not to mention the societal norms of the 1940s. Women like Louise all knew they'd be expected to give up their jobs when the men came back for the war. They were also expected to look pretty, fetch coffee and make finding a good husband and raising a family their life's goal.

People of color "knew their place" and gays kept their sexual orientation to themselves.

I really enjoyed these little details of life in the time of the Greatest Generation. I also enjoyed reading about how a lowly file clerk tracks down a murderer. A great read.

[Gabriela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the suspense and the „no nonsense“ writing. Great characters, believable and likeable.

[Dennis Crotts · Rating 5 out of 5]

I not normally a person who read or listen to this type books but for some reason the title caught my eye and I had to hear it so I got the whole series.
Place Washington DC, time WW II and a young women name Louise from my neck of the woods Wilmington, North Carolina and works as file clerk for the government and lives in a boarding house with both men and women who in time became like a family and each member with secrets and mysterious backgrounds.
A file is found by Louise that shows a man and family from Nazi held France and the women turns out to be an old schoolmate of hers and now was in danger due to her, her husband and children being Jewish and living under Nazi rule. The husband has tried to get a visa to the US but was refused French government and the US had not tried to do anything to help. Then the file disappeared a man is murdered and now Louise must find a way to recreate the file and get it in the right hands to save her friend and also unknown to her the file she recreats does save her friend but at the same time shows who the murderer is and the reason the file was taken and that was to cover another crime done back in 1939.

[Tatiana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now this is how WWII historical fiction is done! (Not so much a mystery, but I’ll get to that.)

Washington, D.C. 1942. Louise Pearlie, a young widow, rises above her station of file clerk at the Office of Strategic Services (OSS, the government division that would become the CIA) after a mysterious death within the Agency. To further complicate matters, Louise’s dear college friend, Rachel, and her family are trapped in France with the Gestapo closing in on the Jews of the country. What can a humble file clerk do to help her friend without casting doubt on her loyalty to job and country?

Louise’s War deftly evades the greatest pitfall of historical fiction novels, that of embracing the time period without coming off like an encyclopedia entry. It was 1942 through and through, and the characters were at home in the setting. The research that surely went into this story’s construction is nothing short of exhaustive.

The mystery aspect of the plot was one-and-done, with a lot of rehashing of evidence, rather than compiling more along the way, and the resolution was told instead shown. Yet the murder was intended to set a stage for Louise’s adventures in spying, and on that account, it did its job.

Louise is an endearing protagonist, if sometimes contradictory in her words and actions. Like countless women during wartime, she discovers her true capabilities while the men are off on the battlefield. Her evolution was predictable, but also engaging to chart through the story.

Engaging is an apt descriptor for the book as a whole. Even with pockets in the plot, I was enthralled from page 1 to the end. I’m thrilled to have found a new WWII series that hits all my loves: spies, D.C., and compelling writing. Can’t wait to get into the next book.

[Ed · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Louise's War" is a terrific book that introduces a character that we like almost immediately. Sarah Shaber creates the world of Washington D.C. in 1942 almost perfectly, from a dress Louise made with narrow lapels due to the shortage and rationing of fabric to the almost unbearable heat and humidity of a rough D.C. summer. Believable and well developed characters in a setting in which we can almost feel the sweat soaking everything set the basis for the reader to follow Louise (and Shaber) wherever they decide to take us. This is the first of a new series. I hope it is a long one and that Sarah Shaber is able to write quickly in addition to writing well. I want to see what happens next.

Small touches of life in Washington tell us a lot about the wartime capital and the people in it. With bus drivers drafted and the bus company refusing to hire men of color as drivers public transportation is a mess. The drivers of private cars almost always stop at corners where people are waiting for buses that may not show up and take as many as will fit in the direction they are going. Louise squeezes into the back seat of a Packard next to a very young woman--Louise guesses she is seventeen and a callow Army private. They are on their way to a magistrate to be married but while she congratulates them and wishes them the best, Louise is thinking that the girl would be better off going back home unmarried. Louise is a young widow and a friend is a widow with an infant.

So we find out about Louise and those around her by eavesdropping on their thoughts, privy not only to their actions but their hopes and fears as well.

[Miki · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a fairly good (I think, I wasn't there!) depiction of wartime in Washington DC, with a credible mystery. However, there was something that just didn't quite ring true, that kept me from giving it three stars. Maybe there was too much "product placement" and name-dropping (a problem in another, similar book), but I'm not sure..I couldn't put my finger on it. In spite of that feeling, I liked the book. Louise is different from the usual stock character - she's a widow and not especially young, or overly pretty. She's very smart, and likes being independent since her husband's death and she's looking forward to getting an apartment and a car of her own, and leading a life much different from what she was born to. Overall, an interesting read. I also read the next two books in the series and have reserved the fourth.

The only other problem I had with this one, and the rest of the series is a personal quirk of my very own. I happen to think that exclamation points belong in conversation, not narrative, and as the series goes on, there are more and more sentences that end with one! And it irks me! I wish the writer would stop!

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sarah Shaber's latest release, the first in a new series, is hitting the mass market soon but it is already occasionally available on Amazon.

For those of you who love Professor Simon Shaw, Louise will appear familiar as a North Carolinian and as an intelligent and somewhat reluctant sleuth. For the most part, the comparisons end there.

Louise is a bright widow of thirty something who moves to Washington DC in 1942 to become a file clerk for the young OSS (the precursor to the CIA). She happens across a file pertaining to an old college friend trapped in Vichy France with her husband, a Jewish hydrographer. Soon after a colleague turns up murdered in his office and the file goes missing. Can Louise figure it out in time to save her friend's family?

I'm rereading this one and already anticipating the sequel coming out Christmas 2011.

[Suzanne Manners · Rating 3 out of 5]

The war in this story is in the early stages of WWII. Louise is working as an office clerk in Washington D.C. Her longtime friend from college, Rachel, is a Jewish girl living in Vichy, France and Louise must find a way to help her escape before the city is occupied by Germans. I learned new things about this period of time with Sarah Shaber' s excellent historical references. The mystery unfolds when Louise's boss "dies" unexpectedly and a file about Rachel's husband goes missing. Louise becomes involved in some daring escapades when looking for the file, the key to helping her friend. While at a high-class party, Louise smells something strange ... a reference to "reefer madness." And one time she ends up in a compromising situation with a French man. Scandalous for the times! An interesting fact I learned was about Clark Gable and his promotion of war bonds.

[Nina I · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this on the goodreads giveaway! I loved reading about WWII. The tough times that humans endure to survive. Emotional and physical. The friendship that bonds these women had me reflecting on my life.

[Renee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comparable to Mr. Churchill's Secretary but tamer, cozier. That's weird, I know: a World War II Cozy?

[Linda Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Louise's War is the first in a six-book series from North Carolina author, Sarah R. Shaber. The "Louise" of the title is Louise Pearlie, a young widow from North Carolina who left home to work as a file clerk at the OSS, precursor of today's CIA in Washington, DC. Louise has been concerned about a college friend, a young Jewish woman living in France. When Louise runs across a document concerning the friend's husband, she becomes determined to get her and her family out. The husband has skills that America can use in the war effort. She enlists the help of a colleague, but he is murdered, and the document goes missing. Louse is determined to uncover the murderer, but more importantly, get her friend out. In doing so, she runs across some rough customers and gets into danger herself.

I had a particular interest in this series because my own mother was roughly the same age in North Carolina in 1942. She was not a widow but had a young husband already enlisted in the Marines at the time. The war years always seemed very present to her, even long after. Shaber has done her research on the period and setting, evoking a steamy and muggy summer DC. The attitudes and limitations towards being a working woman at the time are an essential part of the novel. We have come a very long way, but there is still a long way to go! I did find the ending a bit rushed, but perhaps the government moved more quickly in wartime.

I received an audiobook version of Louise's War courtesy of the author. The opinions are my own.

[L.S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Louise - a widow from North Carolina - is employed by the OSS in Washington D.C during the war as a "file clerk", when, in fact, she is so much more. The author homes in on the way of life during those time with lovely details of Louise's working life and her home life, renting a room with 4 others out of town. Their conversations and behaviours are laced with perfect snippets that build up the picture of life during the war years (before Pearl Harbour).

At work, Louise is anxious to use her "connections" to help out an old school friend, now living in France at the time of the German Occupation. At first, she feels Rachel and her family are safe in the rural south, until the Occupation extends their way and they face being sent to a concentration camp. Rachel's husband, an expert on N Africa, has already been taken from the family home, his exact whereabouts unknown.
Being an expert, Louise hopes his skills might be the family's ticket out of France and earn them a visa to America, but then the file goes missing and Louise's boss is found dead. Louise realises that file is Rachel's only hope, and the hunt is on to find it.

In doing so, she relies on her friends and colleagues for help, but has to take a fair few risks herself on the way.
The narration of this audiobook was wonderful, so vivid and entertaining. I hated having to stop listening. Which is why I have downloaded the next in the series already.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a First Read's book that I just tore through. This was a great read but I wished the ending would have tied up a few more loose ends. For that reason I want to give it 4.5 stars.

The story is set in Washington, DC during WWII. The main character, Louise Pearlie, is a young woman working for a government organization, the Office of Strategic Services as a file clerk. Her job exposes her to some top secret files and she comes across one pertaining to the husband of a college friend. Louise ends up playing detective in an effort to help her friend. In her role as detective she meets friends, foes and has to figure out who can help and who can be trusted.

I like that this is a WWII story told from a woman's and an American-centric point of view as well as as story told as it takes place rather than in hind sight, which is different than most of the WWII stories I read.

As I mentioned, I wish the ending would have been a little longer with a bit more closure on different aspects of the story. As I read along toward the end I kept thinking there is no way this can all conclude in the few pages remaining. Otherwise, I loved the story!

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the details of daily life in the Washington D.C. of 1942. Louise Pearlie is a clerk in the OSS (the CIA of its day). Ms. Shaber does a great job of physically bringing you into 1940s office work: carbon paper & manual typewriters, walls covered in file drawers, the challenge of making a phone call to London. These little details are a treat.

I was occasionally pulled out of the story when Louise, a war widow from North Carolina, expressed attitudes toward Jews, homosexuals and blacks that are mainstream for today but seem very unusual for someone of her era and background.

And yes, there is a central mystery and a series of minor love-life mysteries which work well together to pull the story along.

[Jo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Plodddding. Detailed look at women’s work during WWII which I did enjoy, and it explained the ubiquitous Coke in another book set at this time (I had been perplexed that everyone drank Coke when I thought Southerners likes iced tea, but this book mentioned that Coke was exempt from the sugar restrictions, being a wartime necessity!!)
But the mystery was plodding and dull and the climax didn’t save it. In fact it made it even worse. Weird POV changes, writing that I found hard to follow even though it was very plain and straightforward (I kept reading every sentence twice - it didn’t flow), and overall just not a good mystery.

[Susan Chapek]

I don't know which Good Fairy led me to notice this book among all the others in the Fiction section of my public library, but--wow!

It's a WW2 amateur spy (sort of amateur, because she works in the OSS, the precurser of the CIA--but she's a mere file clerk). The plot is great, but even better are the details of daily life for everyday people in wartime Washington DC--not merely the difficulties of rationing and shared bathrooms in boarding houses, but hair styles, the prices of things, what you'd be offered at the cafeteria at work, what amusements might be found.

Also love a main character who not the typical wide-eyed young thing looking for first love.

I loved it all.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Widowed Louise Pearlie goes to Washington to help win World War II, even though she's only a file clerk for the OSS. By a strange coincidence, she finds a file that may help Rachel, her French-Jewish college roommate, now trapped with her family in occupied Marseilles. No sooner does she bring the file to her boss's attention then he dies and the information disappears. Impelled to help Rachel, Louise investigates as best she can, taking some terrible risks and learning a lot about her own future. The hot summer of 1942 and Washington boarding house culture will stay with you.

[Margie Schoenberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in two hours. It is going to be part of a series. I already contacted the author.
She has written a series of mystery novels. A college professor is the hero. I look forward to the sequels.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting mystery set in DC during World War II (1942). Brings to light the personal sides of war and issues of trust.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me, the mystery was secondary. I read it for the descriptions of DC life during WWII. Louise's experience as a government girl was fascinating, and I can't wait to read the next book.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book for free. I am voluntarily leaving this review and all opinions expressed herein are mine.

This is the first book in the Louise Pearlie series. It is set during WWII in Washington DC. Louise is a widow and has gotten a job as a clerk with the US govt. Through this job, she is privy to a lot of secrets. Her Jewish friend from college is living in Nazi occupied France. Louise comes upon some information which she believes will help her friend escape. She passes the file to her superior and soon thereafter, he is dead and the file is gone. Louise decides to investigate so she can help her friend.

I read the 4th book in this series - and so enjoyed it that I wanted to start from the beginning. I love the historical aspect of this series. It is also very interesting to see a woman - who is learning to stand up for herself - navigate her way through a very male-dominated workplace with the male-dominant thinking of the time. Especially intriguing, given the time period, is Lousie trying to determine who to trust and who is not quite what they seem. Louise lives in a bording house and the sub-story of the other borders, especially Joseph, was a lot of fun.

I listened to this book - the narrator is absolutely perfect for this series - and her accents for the various characters were great.

[Laura Edwards · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this story and the WWII time period is quite interesting to me. I think Sarah Shaber's series is a step up from the Maggie Hope books by Susan Elia MacNeal. The mystery was much more plausible and the characters far more interesting. I like that Louise isn't perfect. I like the vulnerability she still possesses and her cautious eagerness to test her limits. I also like that she's not sure what she wants in life. She isn't eager to get married again nor has she closed the door on the possibility if the right man comes along. I do find the relationship between her and Joe intriguing. She also has a yearning to learn and do more with her life now that she's left societal constraints behind and has experienced a little taste of freedom. It's also interesting how so many people had secrets and hush-hush occupations during this time which leaves the reader guessing in so many instances and wanting to come back for more. Ms. Shaber does an excellent job of painting a picture of wartime Washington D.C. I plan on ordering the next book in the series as soon as I finish this review. If you like novels set during WWII and you enjoy mysteries, "Louise's War" might be right up your alley.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Slightly Different Take

I enjoyed this book because it didn’t totally beg belief as some mysteries do. Louise Pearlie struck me as an “every woman” - not wealthy, not a super brainiac, but someone with native intelligence, common sense, and a terrific sense of loyalty and determination. I also thought the author did a stellar job re-creating war-time DC, capturing the mood, the crowds, and the muggy heat in that city along the Potomac. I felt there were plenty of unanswered questions but of the sort that could lead us into Louise’s next adventure rather than those that make you feel that the author has left their readers hanging. I look forward to reading the next one in this series.

[Jeanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Louise Pearlie is a file clerk for the burgeoning OSS shortly before the US enters WWII. She becomes involved in a mystery when her boss seems to die of a heart attack and a particular file goes missing. The file is on Louise's friend's husband, a French expert on North Africa. Because she doesn't know who to trust Louise feels she's on her own to find the culprit. This is the first in a short series (5, I think). This is almost a "cozy" mystery as there's not much danger and no violence. Louise is likable and, my gosh, the security at the OSS office in this work of fiction is ridiculous lax. This takes away from the story a bit as it seems as though anyone could walk off the street and into the building.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a pleasant surprise this book was! It offers a fascinating look at wartime Washington, D.C., and is filled with random tidbits of information that were new to me. The main character, Louise, is completely authentic as a young widow enjoying her independence working at the OSS instead of living with her parents in Wilmington, North Carolina. I loved the ensemble cast of characters that live in the same boarding house with Louise, too. I hope they are included in the rest of the series. Besides being a well-written story in an interesting setting, the author also addresses segregation, LGBTQ issues, and the barely there women's rights issues throughout the book. I look forward to reading the entire series.

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can you call it a murder mystery if it takes most of the book before the murder is no longer called *a heart attack*? Louise works as a file clerk for a clandestine agency and discovered that the good friend from college is in danger from the Nazis in occupied France. Just after she passed information to her boss that would help her friend and her family, the man is found dead of an apparent heart attack and his office a mess. The file that would help her friend goes missing and the story gets progressively more interesting!
The story is well worth the read, but narrator Jenny Hoops makes it even more so!

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed Sarah Shaber's first series with Simon Shaw and wish I could remember to whom I loaned my entire hardback set!! What a delight to find this new series! I have listened to Louise's War on audible and read the book. My enjoyment was not diminished the second time through. These characters are interesting and her descriptions of DC during the 1940's are detailed and rich. Louise is a compelling character. My aunts both left NC to work in DC during the war so I reading this story brought back many memories they shared as I was growing up. I feel like I understand my aunts better having met the ambitious Louise. The mystery kept me thinking until the last chapter.

[Cecilia · Rating 2 out of 5]

This sounded interesting, set in Washington DC during WWII with the main character, Louise working in a semi-supervisory capacity at the OSS (pre CIA). There was some moderate excitement, intrigue, a murder of course, and romance.

Louise learns a very good friend was trapped in Vichy, France which was under Nazi oversight. Louise's friend, Rachel and her young children are Jewish and her friend's husband works for the French resistance. Using spy craft she didn't know she had, she works to get enough leverage with those in power to get her friend out before it's too late.

The story had the potential ingredients to be really meaty but never lived up to its potential for me.

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately, this book was just not for me. I picked it up because the setting of Washington D.C. during WWII intrigued me. While I did love that aspect, and seeing the day-to-day life of a government worker, the rest of the story just fell flat to me. This was not a long book but man, did some parts drag. I had to push myself to finish it. There would be random narrator changes that were not clearly denoted at all- it was very confusing to know whose POV we were in. Louise is a likable character, but I won't continue with the series.