When Winter Returns

The aspiring actress and sometime sleuth is back in this "captivating fourth Rosie Winter mystery" set in WWII-era NYC ( Publishers Weekly , starred review). It's fall 1943, and Rosie Winter and her best friend Jayne are back from their USO stint in the South Pacific. But before heading to New York City they go upstate to visit the home of Jayne's recently deceased fiance. But instead of saying goodbye to the man Jayne loved, both women are left wondering if he ever existed at all. As Rosie searches for the truth behind his identity—and a way to help heal Jayne's broken heart—she faces an unpleasant homecoming of her own. The newspapers are filled with tales of saboteurs infiltrating the East Coast. Her ex, Jack Castlegate, is under scrutiny for desertion and engaged to a gorgeous WAC private. And Rosie and Jayne are both blacklisted from the New York theater scene without explanation. Desperate to make things right Rosie finds herself telling lie after lie to protect her friends and herself. But as her deceit get her closer to the truth, Rosie wonders if they weren't all safer on the warfront than they are on the home front.