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Fiction. Mystery. HTML: In the latest installment of the New York Times bestselling series, a series of possible attacks on British pilots leads Jacqueline Winspear's beloved heroine Maisie Dobbs into a mystery involving First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. October 1942. Jo Hardy, a 22-year-old ferry pilot, is delivering a Supermarine Spitfire�??the fastest fighter aircraft in the world�??to Biggin Hill Aerodrome, when she realizes someone is shooting at her aircraft from the ground. Returning to the location on foot, she finds an American serviceman in a barn, bound and gagged. She rescues the man, who is handed over to the American military police; it quickly emerges that he is considered a suspect in the disappearance of a fellow soldier who is missing. Tragedy strikes two days later, when another ferry pilot crashes in the same area where Jo's plane was attacked. At the suggestion of one of her colleagues, Jo seeks the help of psychologist and investigator Maisie Dobbs. Meanwhile, Maisie's husband, a high-ranking political attaché based at the American embassy, is in the thick of ensuring security is tight for the first lady of the United States, Eleanor Roosevelt, during her visit to the Britain. There's already evidence that German agents have been circling: the wife of a president represents a high value target. Mrs. Roosevelt is clearly in danger, and there may well be a direct connection to the death of the woman ferry pilot and the recent activities of two American servicemen. To guarantee the safety of the First Lady�??and of the soldier being held in police custody�??Maisie must uncover that connection. At the same time, she faces difficulties of an entirely different nature with her young daughter, Anna, who is experiencing wartime struggles of… (more)
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England 1942. Amongst the many challenges she faces, investigator Maisie Dobbs comes face to face with some American problems—Racism, US Army regulations, a dead American serviceman, and assassins. On the more personal front her daughter Anna is having
Three spitfires have mysteriously crashed near a landing field in Biggin Hill, Kent.
One being flown by the fiancé of aviatrix Jo Harvey, who is with the Air Transport Auxiliary who ferry different planes to where they’re needed. Jo feels that something’s not quite right about these accidents and she employs Maisie to investigate.
Along with this a colored soldier has been accused of killing a white soldier, although mysteriously there’s no body. Alongside this is a security nightmare trip to England by a highly placed American, and the unexplained death of one of the aviatrix.
International and personal problems challenge Maisie’s thought structures. She finds herself returning to some of the basics inculcated from Maurice.
Although engaging I found that this phase of Maisie’s life becoming just too complicated. On the other hand, when has that not been the case?
A Harper ARC via NetGalley
I appreciate that Winspear keeps the narrative moving forward. We’ve been with Maisie through her
Winspear takes historical events and weaves them together with a mystery in each book. I really enjoy the historical bits. A Sunlit Weapon uses the air ferry women as a basis for one of Maisie's cases.
While the plotting and mysteries are always excellent, it is the characters that have me coming back for each new book. Maisie is a great lead - calm, thoughtful, somewhat impulsive and curious. Winspear has kept the personal lives of all the characters moving forward as well. I've become quite invested in their lives and what might be next for them all. Maisie's assistant Billy Beale is a perennial favorite supporting character. He and Maisie work well together. All of the characters have suffered some loss over the years - which mimics life. But, they continually put one foot in front of the other and move forward - can do, keep calm and soldier on.
The latest case is a complicated one and as things progress, two of Macy’s cases seem to have something in common. I appreciate the way the cases are solved with leg work, conversations and slowly piecing together clues and observations. And with Maisie there's also that extra little bit intuition.
The settings have always been a character in these books as well - each described so well that I can picture them. (I'd love to be in the car with Maisie, motoring down a country road.
Excellent plotting, wonderful characters and prose add up to another satisfying tale. But I knew it would be! If you love historical fiction and you haven't read Jacqueline Winspear you're missing out on an excellent series.
Her investigation ends up dovetailing with the US Embassies efforts to keep Eleanor Roosevelt safe while she is visiting England.
On the home front, Maisie's adopted daughter Anna is dealing with bullying at the local school, due to her "Italian" complexion. The person ultimately behind the bullying is the headmistress, an angry woman who has never recovered from the death of her WWI fiance. It turns out that her bullying has had far-reaching effects, even on Maisie's current case.
I read one review that referred to Maisie as a "Mary Sue," apparently a term for a person who is too good to be true. While Maisie is an honest and stoic investigator, the fact that Winspear does not paint her with any faults has never been a problem for me. I don't think Maisie is meant to be an individual so much as a representative of England during the periods during which the series takes place.
Winspear also reflects the current times in this book, by including Americans who have Nazi sympathies, and American blacks who are affected by American racist policies even on British soil.
Maisie becomes in volved in a case brought to her by Jo Hardy, a 22-yeaar old aviatrix who ferries planes from one airfield to another in England. While bringing a spitfire to Biggin Field, she realizes someone is shooting at her plane from the ground. She returns to the sight to investigate and comes across a black American G.I., bound and gagged in a barn. Then several days later another ferry pilot crashes her plane and is killed. Jo calls on Maisie to help her discover what happened.
Meanwhile, Mark Scott is preparing for the arrival of Eleanor Roosevelt. Is there a connection between the plane mishaps, the trussed-up soldier and Mrs. Roosevelt’s visit? Maisie needs all her powers to deduction to solve this case.
With Germany bombing England every evening, Maisie is spending most of her time away from London. Not just because of the bombings, but because she wants to spend more time with her newly adopted daughter and her handsome hunk of an American diplomat. While in London, Maisie is approached by a young woman who is a ferry pilot responsible for delivering planes among the various British bases. Jo Hardy was flying a Spitfire to Biggin Hill when she realized someone was shooting at her. Surely not! This comes on the heels of learning her beloved fiancé has died in a crash – with no apparent reason for it. Later, the young woman went back to the site where she had been fired upon and discovered a young American soldier bound and gagged in the barn.
Days later, a good friend of Jo’s – another ferry pilot – is killed flying the same route as Jo had flown. While the official ruling was ‘pilot error’, Jo was quite certain that it wasn’t – and that her fiancé’s crash, Jo’s incident, and her friend’s crash were all related somehow. At the suggestion of another friend, Jo seeks out Maisie Dobbs and lays out her case. Maisie, of course, is intrigued and begins her investigation.
As the investigation progresses, Maisie begins to think maybe there is more than one case – and one of those sets of circumstances seems to cross paths with Maisie’s American diplomat husband (Mark Scott) who is responsible for the American First Lady who will be visiting soon. Are the cases related? Is there more than one case?
Interwoven with the fast-paced mystery is a bit of a mystery and strife in Maisie’s homelife. That home life highlights the circumstances those within England must confront daily. Are there spies within their midst? Are those people who look different or have strange-sounding names sympathizers of Hitler?
I thoroughly enjoyed this story and the mystery contained within as well as the characters who are wonderfully relatable. The story also highlighted American racist attitudes. I don’t question those, and it makes me ill to have borne witness to the treatment of the black American soldier. I think the author took great pains to subtly portray American racism for the vile thing it is – but – when it came to the English prejudices, it was a few villagers who had lost sons/husbands, etc. and their prejudice was toward the Italians, French, etc. because of that.
This is a great story, with strong, compelling characters and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did.
The book is #17 in the highly-acclaimed Maisie Dobbs series.
In the latest installment of the New York Times bestselling series, a series of possible attacks on British pilots leads Jacqueline Winspear's beloved heroine Maisie Dobbs into a mystery
“October 1942. Jo Hardy, a 22-year-old ferry pilot, is delivering a Supermarine Spitfire—the fastest fighter aircraft in the world—to Biggin Hill Aerodrome, when she realizes someone is shooting at her aircraft from the ground. Returning to the location on foot, she finds an American serviceman in a barn, bound and gagged. She rescues the man, who is handed over to the American military police; it quickly emerges that he is considered a suspect in the disappearance of a fellow soldier who is missing.
Tragedy strikes two days later, when another ferry pilot crashes in the same area where Jo’s plane was attacked. At the suggestion of one of her colleagues, Jo seeks the help of psychologist and investigator Maisie Dobbs. Meanwhile, Maisie’s husband, a high-ranking political attaché based at the American embassy, is in the thick of ensuring security is tight for the first lady of the United States, Eleanor Roosevelt, during her visit to the Britain. There’s already evidence that German agents have been circling: the wife of a president represents a high value target. Mrs. Roosevelt is clearly in danger, and there may well be a direct connection to the death of the woman ferry pilot and the recent activities of two American servicemen.
To guarantee the safety of the First Lady—and of the soldier being held in police custody—Maisie must uncover that connection. At the same time, she faces difficulties of an entirely different nature with her young daughter, Anna, who is experiencing wartime struggles of her own.”
This award-winning series is one of my all-time favorite reads. Each one is a perfect, seamless blend of history, mystery and psychology.
I have read all 17 titles (in order) and each one stays with me with Maisie and Maurice’s words always in the back of my mind.
The last book, The Comfort of Ghosts, is scheduled to be published in June 2024. I can’t wait to read it, but I will miss Maisie very, very much.
*****