A USO troupe causes almost as much mayhem in the Pacific as the Japanese. Unable to land Broadway roles and anxious to see if she can reconnect with her soldier ex- boyfriend Jack, now MIA somewhere in the Solomon Islands, Rosie Winter and her best friend Jayne join the USO and prepare to board a troupe ship headed for the Pacific. Their departure is delayed while a dead girl is fished out of the water. None of the other USO actresses admit to knowing her-not Kay, a former WAAC; not Violet, a highly competitive comedienne; not fading cinema beauty Gilda DeVane, recently dismissed by both MGM and her married lover, actor Van Lauer. Some of them are lying, of course. At length the ship docks at Tulagi, where resumes are compared and Gilda is dispatched by a bullet. It's clear, at least to Rosie, that both deaths are related. And there are more worries. Rosie learns that Jack is dead. Jayne loses her pilot beau in an air battle. And a poor Japanese soldier is framed for Gilda's murder. More sniping and more information about Jack will leave Rosie and Jayne to go on with the show with tears in their eyes. Haines, who excels at breezy nostalgia (The Winter of Her Discontent, 2008, etc.), focuses this time on sadder wartime memories. Not a three-hankie read, but certainly rates a sniffle or two.
Haines...excels at breezy nostalgia.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Lively....Full of evocative period detail....this entry, for all its humorous and lighthearted moments, builds to a dramatic and sobering conclusion.” — Publishers Weekly
“Firmly set in its wartime locale.” — Booklist
“Haines...always provides a good read.....Winter in June is a terrific summer read.” — Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
“Haines particularly excels at drawing interesting characters, and her story of USO performers in the South Pacific is well-paced.” — Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
“The historical atmosphere is deftly evoked, and Rosie is great company.” — Sullivan County Democrat
“Delightfully nostalgic and entertaining.” — Acadiana LifeStyle (LA)
“Haine’s assured debut brings the WWII era to vivid life.” — Publishers Weekly
“A fun romp.” — Publishers Weekly
“Highly satisfying and clever...a well-constructed theatrical treasure hunt.” — Pittsburgh Magazine
“Haines capably combines homefront ambience (rationing, worries over soldier boyfriends)with plenty of backstage drama…and Rosie and Jane make a winning team of fiesty homefronters.” — Booklist
“Haines brings home the painful price the “greatest generation” paid more gallantly than anyone then knew.” — Publishers Weekly
“Give Kathryn Haines...a standing ovation!” — Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
“What separates “Miss Winter” from the other well-plotted mysteries are the well-researched backdrop of New York in 1943 and the excellent writing.” — Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
“What a blast from the past. Kathryn Miller Haines perfectly captures the feel, sights and sounds of New York in the 1940s. Her Rosie (not a riveter but struggling actress and reluctant sleuth) is feisty, mouthy and a lot of fun.” — Rhys Bowen
“Newcomer Haines, artistic director of a regional-theater company, knowingly describes thespian combativeness and audition politics…But her real success is her pitch-perfect rendering of the early ‘40s, from rationing to java stops at the automat.” — Kirkus Reviews
“A breezy look back at the ’40s, complete with starlets in short skirts and mobsters smoking Cuban cigars.” — Kirkus Reviews
