“A female investigator every bit as brainy and battle-hardened as Lisbeth Salander.” — Maureen Corrigan, NPR’s Fresh Air, on Maisie DobbsSunday September 3rd 1939. At the moment Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain broadcasts to the nation Britain’s declaration of war with Germany, a senior Secret Service agent breaks into Maisie Dobbs’ flat to await her return. Dr. Francesca Thomas has an urgent … Dobbs’ flat to await her return. Dr. Francesca Thomas has an urgent assignment for Maisie: to find the killer of a man who escaped occupied Belgium as a boy, some twenty-three years earlier during the Great War.
In a London shadowed by barrage balloons, bomb shelters and the threat of invasion, within days another former Belgian refugee is found murdered. And as Maisie delves deeper into the killings of the dispossessed from the “last war,” a new kind of refugee — an evacuee from London — appears in Maisie’s life. The little girl billeted at Maisie’s home in Kent does not, or cannot, speak, and the authorities do not know who the child belongs to or who might have put her on the “Operation Pied Piper” evacuee train. They know only that her name is Anna.
As Maisie’s search for the killer escalates, the country braces for what is to come. Britain is approaching its gravest hour — and Maisie could be nearing a crossroads of her own.
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I am fascinated by WWI and WWII stories; particularly about the British. It’s impossible to imagine what they went through as a people.
I wish BBC would make the Maisie Dobbs books into a TV series.
A good look into the world just before WWII and how the English coped. Well written and well researched.
Reading a Maise Dobbs books are like visiting a lifelong friend. She is still the same essentially but has grown from her experiences and become an even more powerful character. She brings along her friends and family we have grown to love. In this book she returns to her work as investigator and psychologist solving a case that begins in WW1 as WW2 is declared. It opens the way to more cases and as always leaves something that the reader is curious enough to know that leaves us longing for the next book.
One of my favourite authors. I have read most of her Maisie Dobbs stories and if you are English and like to know interesting things about WW1 and WW2, then you will enjoy her books. The main character in the books is Maisie and how she started out and how she became what she is in the books. Maybe not for everyone, but definitely for me.
I’ve loved Jacqueline Winspear’s novels.
Maisie Dobbs is one of my favorite fictional investigators. Jacqueline Winspear’s writing is top notch.
One of her best.
What an amazing tour de force.
The mystery is solid.
The characterizations spot on.
The blending of “the old war” and “the new war” is frighteningly believable.
It will be interesting to see where the author goes with the character of Ann.
My only complaint is that critical information shared by the Belgian priest is kept from us until the very end. I understand the necessity for this for the story-line, but it was a bit annoying.
I am enjoying this series.
I read all of Jacqueline Winspear’s books. They are historically accurate and Maisie is an interesting and unique character. I enjoy the way her character and life unfold in successive books.
I always look forward to the next book in the Maisie Dobbs series. Winspear has created believable characters of such depth, and they always remain in character. Maisie is a wonderful person, someone who is intelligent, loyal, kind, and thoughtful. She is always willing to go the extra mile. Winspear’s prose is beautiful, and her dialogue fantastic. She lets life throw it’s curve balls into the story, even hard lessons for Maisie. I will be sad the day Winspear decides she’s written enough about Maisie Dobbs.