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The Lipstick Bureau is an intriguing historical fiction book that follows the life of Niki Novotna, an intelligence officer in World War II Italy. In the 1940s, the Americans engaged in what were known as “Morale Operations” to weaken the resolve of the Nazis, using propaganda in the form of newspapers and messages purported to have come from inside Nazi borders. Niki not only wrote for these papers, but helped organize prisoners of war to deliver these messages into enemy territory, even going against her superior officers to complete missions that she felt were crucial for the war effort.
I found it interesting to learn that many of the events and missions they went on were historical realities, and the character of Niki was also based on a real woman. Her life was fraught with danger, but she displayed great courage and resolve on her mission. It was fascinating to learn about the hardships that people underwent during the Nazi and then American occupation in Italy, and it felt real and raw to explore their struggles. Despite this, I found Niki’s character hard to connect with and felt her sense of morality was lacking. We can see that she cares for her family, but her interactions with the people around her are more remote and calculated. Moggy, Niki’s sister-in-law, provided too stark a foil to Niki, being extremely emotional and at times silly. I found this to be overdone (and Moggy’s character very annoying!).
Niki’s relationship with Will was all right but could have been developed further. I felt like we were getting a glimpse into their lives rather than the real thing.
It also took a while to get used to the many acronyms used, for instance MO (Moral Operations) and OSS (Office of Strategic Services), and it would have been very helpful to have a glossary at the back of the book so I wouldn’t have had to flip back to try to find where the term was first defined.
Overall, The Lipstick Bureau was well written but not remarkable. From a historical point of view, it was intriguing, but as a narrative, I found it lacking.
Rated: High. There are a few instances of the f-word as well as other profanities. Firearm violence, blood, and death are present in story. There are some brief scenes with sexual content and language used to describe intimate body parts in some detail.
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