cover image Lipstick and Lies

Lipstick and Lies

Margit Liesche, . . Poisoned Pen, $24.95 (314pp) ISBN 978-1-59058-320-3

This promising but flawed debut WWII-era spy novel introduces Pucci Lewis, a charming, savvy Women Airforce Service pilot who helps the FBI infiltrate a German spy ring in Detroit. To get to the bottom of things, Lewis must go undercover, first as a prisoner and then as a journalist. Some of the plot devices are predictable, and easily decoded cryptic messages also figure a little too prominently. Still, Liesche teases out interesting parallels between the 1940s and the present day: Lewis wonders whether the FBI's wartime domestic surveillance efforts erode "the individual's right to privacy... the bedrock of our nation's foundation." If Liesche will invest more in character development and rely less on formulaic plotting, she may produce a successful series. (Apr.)