Louise's Lies

Louise Pearlie #6

by Sarah R. Shaber

When a body is discovered in a Washington bar, Government girl Louise Pearlie is forced into a role of lies and deception."
On a bitterly cold night in December 1943, Government girl Louise Pearlie and her friend Joe Prager are enjoying a quiet drink in the Baron Steuben Inn when a bloodstained body is discovered behind the bar. Although the victim had been a regular customer, no one seems to know anything about him.
When it turns out there is a link to Louise s top-secret work at the OSS, she is ordered to find out as much as possible about the murder while keeping the connection secret from those involved, including the investigating police detective. Although Louise has been trained to keep secrets, the constant deception is taking its toll especially when she discovers that she s not the only customer at the Steuben that night with something to hide. Will Louise s silence result in an innocent man being arrested for murder?

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

192 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 2016

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

[Bebe (Sarah) Brechner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoy this series. The author has impeccably researched WWII Washington, DC, and the result is an authentic and highly entertaining glimpse at women working in government during wartime. Louise has worked herself into interesting but completely plausible situations. This time, she inadvertently encounters a murder at a local bar in which she and lover Joe have entered for a drink on a very cold evening.
If you are new to the series, this one will intrigue you, but I beg you to start from the very first book of the series. Shaber does a superb job in bringing to life a normal, ambitious young widow who is working her first job in wartime Washington, DC. I know of no series that gets such authentic details correctly! Superbly done.

[Peggyzbooksnmusic · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series gets better with each new novel. These are mysteries set in Washington D.C. during WWII. Louise Pearlie has become one of my favorite fictional characters. Plus the historical background information is very interesting. Best to read this series in order.

[Susan Chapek]

Went from Book #5 straight on to #6. It went down as easily as one of Louise's favorite martinis (no olive, scant vermouth--and in this book she even scores one made with Tanqueray, despite rationing).

[Antoinette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Louise's Lies, sixth in the Louise Pearlie World War II Novel of Suspense series, finds Louise a witness to the murder of a man in a bar in Washington DC. It turns out there is a link to Louise's top secret work at the OSS. Louise must find out as much as possible about the murder while keeping her connection to the war effort as secret as possible. And surviving the harsh winter of 1943.
As usual, Shaber delivers interesting characters, impeccable historical details, and a fast-moving plot, all for the reader's delight. Looking forward to Louise's next adventure.

[Patricia Gulley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series. This time Louise is involved with murder and can't tell her police friend everything. Thus the 'lies'. OTOH, the information about the German Embassy during the war is very interesting. Only a bit about Louise's 'real' work, but that bit of propaganda was interesting too.

[Paulatics · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another in an excellent series that is fun to read and educational. The author is a fine historian.

[Dick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good , easy read.

[Erin Woodall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It had great detail about Washington DC and was a great murder mystery story.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so sorry to see the Louise Pearlie World War II series end with "Louise's Lies" by Sarah R. Shaber. This last book in the six-book series was her best yet with several new characters, plot twists and turns that kept me on my toes, and reading the whole time how Louise's character grew up from a Wilmington, NC, fish camp worker, to a "government girl," a clerk really, who moved up her ladder of success as she showed how smart, inquisitive and thoughtful she could be with all types of secrets involving not only the war-time work she did but also with all the people she lived with in her boarding house. (Talk about your run-on sentence!) The series shows the backdrop of life in Washington, DC, during the war years and how people had to manage on the rationing of their food and gas, making any left-over money stretch as much as possible. I have thoroughly enjoyed this series and recommend it to history buffs who want to learn more about how secretive DC was and how it still kept going through the war years. Good stuff here!

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don't let the fact that this is part of a series stop you from reading this book! Not only are there enough references to keep you involved but the story and and the characters and the historical references are totally engaging.
Two people walk into a bar. .. well, they did. But what came next was a bloody corpse, not a punch line. It's a good thing that the investigating detective is known and friendly to Louise or things could really get messier. Both the detective and Louise investigate separately and things get more convoluted. An excellent read!
Jenny Hoops is really great as Louise and the narrative, and even better than most at defining the other characters.
I won this audiobook in a giveaway! I really win!

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is December 1943 and Washington is almost closed down because of the severely cold weather and a flu epidemic. Louise Pearlie and her friend Joe Prager are having a nightcap at an inn across the street from the German embassy – shut down since the U.S. entry into WWII. When a body is found hidden behind the bar, Louise fears that being involved in any publicity might jeopardize her top-secret job. Nevertheless, she cannot avoid getting involved in the investigation. It turns out that one of her fellow drinkers works at the Washington zoo and he invites her to a behind the scenes look at a newborn baby gorilla. The author has the gift as well as the research for drawing readers into the world of wartime Washington.

[Laura Edwards · Rating 3 out of 5]

More a 3.5. I feel bad giving "Louise's Lies" only a 3 star rating since it was definitely better than the previous book which I also gave three stars. Maybe I should have given Louise's Chance two stars. Oh well.

I hate to repeat myself from past reviews, but there is too much repetition in these books. Heh heh.

I do like the character of Sergeant Royal, however, but unfortunately it seems the friendship between he and Louise is coming to an end.

And the cover annoys yet again. The woman on the front looks like Hedy Lamarr not Louise Pearlie, a bespectacled, thirty-year-old widow.

[Molly Weston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Louise's job at the OSS has changed considerably since she began as a file clerk. She's now deeper and deeper into secrets--and the secrets are quickly leading to lies. The body behind the bar leads to a web of secrets that Louise must keep from Joe, from her landlady, and from the police.

As always in this series, life in WW-II Washington DC is as interesting as the fine web of intrigue! If you haven't yet begun this wonderful series, get ye to a bookshop!

[SFrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Louise Pearlie and her companion, Joe Prager"have stopped into a local pub for a drink which leads into unexpected complexities". The author Sarah R. Shaber once again steers the reader into a murder mystery with a backdrop of the now close German embassy. Found in later years was about 3 million dollars stashed away.

[Jo Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book in the Louise Pearlie series that I have read. The events take place in Washington, D.C. in December, 1943. Louise has a top secret job with the OSS and must solve the mystery without jeopardizing her clearance. I look forward to reading others in the series.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again Sarah Shaber hasn't disappointed. I lucked up and found this book at the library and read it within a day. Louise Pearlie has once again found herself at the center of a murder mystery. Really good book, solid historical details, interesting plot and kept me guessing.

[Marna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Louise, a "Government Girl", working for the OSS during WWII, is present at the discovery of a dead body behind a bar. Curiosity aroused, she begins investigating the murder while keeping her work with the government a secret.

[Stewart Wolfe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Keep Writing About Louise And I Will Read Them

Louise Strikes again. Another fast paced, well written, novel. Sarah Shaber is an excellent author and storyteller who keeps your interest all the way to the end.

[Ellen White · Rating 4 out of 5]

Louise is caught having to investigate, due to her top secret work, and being at the bar. When a body is found behind the bar. Good mystery and the added detail of that time period and working in .washington.
Given audio for my voluntary review and my honest opinion

[Carolyn (in SC) C234D · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this series because Louise is a smart, independent woman who can hold her own in a crisis, and one learns a lot about what life was like in D.C. during WWII, what with gasoline and food shortages, and rationing. The stories are interesting and suspenseful.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this series. Great perspective of a working woman's role in Washington, DC during World War II.

[Jane Marchionna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the book up until the end when Louise was at the zoo. I really could have given it a 4.5 if the end was different. But I do love this series.

[Jennie Millerhagen · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are great books, but they drive me crazy because the last paragraph of the book is the first paragraph of the next book!

[Barbara Cryer · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5. A short enough cozy mystery that the author should not have needed to pad it with so many re caps of the plot.

[Larisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one is good, despite the villain being obvious. Dearly hope we get a book seven,and maybe even an eighth and ninth installment.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very short mystery.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciated that the author wrote briskly and told her story without repetition and unnecessary details.