Poster Girl
It’s 1942. Cynical young gossip columnist Jane Benjamin joins FDR’s Office of War Information, a propaganda unit, to find a Wendy-the-Welder poster girl to urge more women to the shipyard work essential to America’s winning World War II—and, incidentally, to make herself into the new Hedda Hopper. But somebody doesn’t want those women at work.
During a five-day contest to beat the world speed record for building a liberty ship, Jane investigates the lives of the first women welders and learns more about her flyboy former lover’s secret post–Pearl Harbor mission—and her cynicism begins to melt. But when inspectors find and publicize a series of flaws in the contest-week welding, the women welders are blamed. Worse, two poster girl candidates are killed.
Are they being sabotaged by a belligerent male shipyard supervisor? The industrialist shipyard owner with a history of controlling women? Or someone else trying to diminish the success of the US liberty ship program? To find out, Jane must choose between her professional ambition and service to the women welders—before the murderer harms another girl and America’s best chance of winning the war.
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“Lively prose, enjoyably edgy dialogue, and a delightful, unconventional, feminist heroine add up to a captivating page-turner.”
“Fans of Tracy Chevalier and Kate Atkinson will love being immersed in the detail-driven historical atmosphere, while hard-boiled mystery fans will thoroughly enjoy being led by our whip-smart and street-savvy heroine through the maze of clues leading to a shocking final plot twist.”
“Aficionados of historical fiction and the Jane Benjamin series will be delighted . . . The novel is an excellent read, with sympathetic characters and set in a place and time that leaps off the page.”
“Mirroring ongoing misogyny, racial discrimination, and economic challenges women continue to face today, Poster Girl takes readers behind the scenes to experience the toll exacted on women who dared to break molds in the 1940s. A five-star read. Highly recommended.”
“A cracking plot, exquisite detail, and grand cast of characters.”
“Jane Benjamin has come into her own in this third book of the series. A fast-paced story that had me turning pages long into the night. Highly recommend!”
“A can’t-put-it-down kind of book . . . every moment perfectly crafted to keep the reader turning pages to the gripping end.”
“A high-wire, ripped-from-vintage-headlines series-ender.”
“A historically accurate, action-packed adventure, making WWII era intrigue and sexual and racial discrimination feel contemporary.”
“Casts an observant eye on the misogyny, racism, and classism of the time, allowing the reader to witness that not much has changed.”
“A page-turner that delivers a strong message for our time: we must take care of each other. I absolutely loved this novel.”
“Weaves challenging and timeless social issues into a story about people we grow to care about while maintaining tension and suspense—you won’t put this one down.”