Louise's Blunder: A 1940s spy thriller set in wartime Washington

By Sarah R. Shaber

1940s, Washington DC. Government girl Louise is blackmailed into investigating the suspicious death of a missing co-worker, with sinister consequences
1940s, Washington DC. Government Girl Louise Pearlie is asked to review the file usage of a missing analyst from the Office of Strategic Services – the US’s wartime intelligence agency – only to learn he’d drowned in the Tidal Basin days before. OSS confirm it was an accident, and Louise is sent back to her regular job in the file rooms.

Her time spent investigating Paul Hughes at least has one positive outcome, though: Louise meets a young woman in the OSS Reading Room, who asks her to join her ‘salon’, where she is encouraged to talk about controversial issues like racial segregation and equal pay for women. Socializing with the women helps her cope with her beau Joe Prager's transfer to New York City.

But Louise’s life soon takes a dangerous and sinister turn, and she can’t help but worry if she’ll wind up floating in the Tidal Basin herself . . .

• Language: English
• Publisher: Severn House Digital
• Release date: Oct 1, 2014
• ISBN: 9781780105581

Sarah R. Shaber

Sarah R. Shaber won the St. Martin's Press Award for Best First Traditional Mystery for her first book, Simon Said. Three sequels have followed, the most recent of which is The Bug Funeral, and she is at work on the fourth. She lives in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Reviews for Louise's Blunder

[kaulsu · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It is simply ridiculous. In one scene Louise sits down in a pair of woolen trousers and stands up in dress. In another she leaves the office wearing a straw Fedora and takes off her headscarf when she reaches her destination. These types of errors happen when revising, but are easi spotted by a discerning reader. The main plot of this book was fresh, a new roommate was added to the boarding house, and more information on the OSS was included. It is such a shame that Shaber handicaps herself unnecessarily.

[gloria2015books · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Quick, page-turning read.

[jetangen4571 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

historical-research, historical-fiction, historical-setting, spies, WW2, Washington DC, short ***** The OSS was the precursor of the CIA and it operated during WW2 (check out the biography of Julia Child!). This agency was every bit as disjointed and dysfunctional as the current one and many of the employees, both stateside and overseas were inadequately prepared for the tasks that they were assigned. Enter Louise Pearlie, government worker, widow, a woman of her time but more willing than some to get out of her comfort zone. The publisher's blurb is a good start, but I really liked the whole thing even though I hadn't read any others in the series. It's a nice length, too. I recognized the narrator from other work she's done, and I really enjoy the narrations by Jenny Hoops! I won this audio book in a giveaway.

[newsieq · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Louise Pearlie, a clerk in the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) in World War II Washington, is asked by her superiors to do some minor investigating into the death of a colleague. She mistakenly gives the dead man’s landlady her real name – and then she’s tracked down outside the OSS building by the police officer investigating the death, which turns out to be a murder. The officer wants her inside help and threatens to rat her out to her bosses, who would probably be miffed that she gave so much away while on a spy mission. As much as Louise wants to get to the bottom of the mystery, she knows she could be in trouble, even lose her job. This is a delicate dance Louise has done before – satisfying her curiosity while keeping it hidden from the bosses. This is a satisfying historical series and Louise is a dynamite heroine. The author immerses readers in wartime Washington, giving them a time-traveler’s adventure into that time period. Keep them coming, Ms. Shaber!