This is a strong follow-up to the first in this series, and again it’s a thoroughly enjoyable look at the aftermath of WWII, both personal and political. You could read this as a standalone but it will make more sense and have more meaning if you have read the first. Evelyn and Nick are now engaged and get drawn into two separate cases, one leftover from their spy work during the war and one more local, with ties to Nick’s past. Both story lines are well done, and I like that the author never tried to make them overlap but instead kept both moving along at pace. The characters and their relationships continue to grow, and the details of the time period add a richness to the story. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy. All views are entirely my own and offered voluntarily.

This was a strong entry in the Bishop & Gallagher Mystery series, it had that feel that I was looking for and enjoyed that it had that spy element that I wanted. I thought the use of the late-1940s element was great and that the character was a former spy. It added to the element that I was hoping for and was hooked from the first page. Shaina Steinberg has a strong writing style and was glad I got to read this, I hope there is more in this series and from Shaina Steinberg.

4.5 stars, rounded up.

Under the Paper Moon, the first book in Shaina Steinberg's Bishop & Gallagher Mystery series, was one of my absolutely favorite reads this year, and I was thrilled to get an ARC of its sequel, An Unquiet Peace.

Set in 1948 Los Angeles, the series follows Evelyn Bishop and Nick Gallagher, who worked together as spies for the OSS during WWII. Having fallen in love during the war, only to break up over a perceived betrayal at its end, they're drawn back together in Under the Paper Moon, having to team up as private investigators to solve a murder. Now engaged, Evelyn and Nick are pulled into two new mysteries in An Unquiet Peace, Nick searching for a kidnapping victim who works for his long-lost childhood friend, and Evelyn trying to track down the missing family of a German scientist they helped escape Berlin during the war. I really love these characters and their relationship (which I was very glad to see remained strong through the book, avoiding the common sequel pitfall of breaking up or having serious issues for the sake of drama), and adored seeing more of them. I'm also a huge film noir fan and love the postwar Los Angeles setting, which is really finely drawn and—as in all LA noirs—an essential part of the story.

That said, one thing that didn't work as well for me in this one as in the first (the main reason it wasn't a quite a five star read for me) is that I was really hoping for more of Evelyn and Nick working together to solve the mystery, when for much of the book, they're each investigating separate cases, largely on their own. My favorite variety of mystery is those starring love interests solving crimes together, and that's part of what drew me to this series—along with the fantastic LA noir vibes. I really love the dynamic of a couple who aren't just romantic partners, but also have to rely on each other and work as a team investigating, facing danger together, and so on. That dynamic was one of my favorite parts of Evelyn and Nick's relationship in the first book, from their past as spy partners to their investigation of that book's central murder. That's still present in An Unquiet Peace (more in the last third or so, when they start participating more in each others' cases), but up until then, it felt like they were mostly just doing their own thing, when I really wanted to see more of them together. [Slight spoiler] I also kept expecting both cases would end up intersecting, but that never happened, they remain separate and unrelated through the end.

Overall, I greatly enjoyed An Unquiet Peace, and very much recommend it to fans of Under the Paper Moon. To anyone new to this series, I would definitely recommend reading the first book before this one; though the mystery is new/relatively standalone, I do think the book works best with a good knowledge of the characters. I'm greatly anticipating more books with Evelyn and Nick (though hope to see them working as a team more in the next)!