As Europe buckles under Nazi occupation, Maisie Dobbs investigates a possible murder that threatens devastating repercussions for Britain's war efforts in this latest installment in the New York Times bestselling mystery series.
October 1941. While on a delivery, young Freddie Hackett, a message runner for a government office, witnesses an argument that ends in murder. Crouching in the doorway of a bombed-out house, Freddie waits until the coast is clear. But when he arrives at the delivery address, he’s shocked to come face to face with the killer.
Dismissed by the police when he attempts to report the crime, Freddie goes in search of a woman he once met when delivering a message: Maisie Dobbs. While Maisie believes the boy and wants to help, she must maintain extreme caution: she’s working secretly for the Special Operations Executive, assessing candidates for crucial work with the French resistance. Her two worlds collide when she spots the killer in a place she least expects. She soon realizes she’s been pulled into the orbit of a man who has his own reasons to kill—reasons that go back to the last war.
As Maisie becomes entangled in a power struggle between Britain’s intelligence efforts in France and the work of Free French agents operating across Europe, she must also contend with the lingering question of Freddie Hackett’s state of mind. What she uncovers could hold disastrous consequences for all involved in this compelling chapter of the “series that seems to get better with every entry” (Wall Street Journal).
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“Winspear never sugarcoats the horrors of war, and alongside the camaraderie shown by these characters and the Londoners surrounding them she delivers terrible truths that must be endured. There’s romance here, too.”
— Booklist (starred review)
“Once again, Ms. Winspear brings a vanished era to life with clarity and insight. Maisie Dobbs…continues to mature and impress in her admirable mission to balance the scales of justice.”
— Wall Street Journal“Cassidy’s spot-on performance…excels at performing the emotionally fraught dialogue…Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”
— AudioFile“A lesson in survival under the grimmest circumstances…no less relevant today.”
— Los Angeles Times“Winspear’s sense of place is acutely evocative of wartime England’s fears and hopes.”
— Seattle Times“Outstanding…Maisie and her loving family of supporting characters continue to evolve and grow in ways sure to win readers’ hearts.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review)“An excellent fit for readers of historical and thoughtful mysteries.”
— Library JournalBe the first to write a review about this audiobook!
Jacqueline Winspear is the author of several New York Times bestsellers in her historical fiction series featuring Maisie Dobbs. She has won numerous awards for her work, including the Agatha, Alex, and Macavity awards. She was born and raised in the county of Kent in England. Her grandfather had been severely wounded and shell-shocked in World War I, and learning his story sparked her deep interest in the “war to end all wars” and its aftereffects, which would later form the background of her novels. She studied at the University of London’s Institute of Education and later worked in academic publishing, in higher education and in marketing communications in the United Kingdom before emigrating to the United States.
Orlagh Cassidy, an American actress of stage, television, and film, is an audiobook narrator who has twice won the prestigious Audie Award for best narration, as well as many AudioFile Earphones Awards. She is a graduate of SUNY at Purchase and a recipient of the Princess Grace Foundation Scholarship. She has been seen on and off Broadway and in films, including Definitely Maybe and Calling It Quits. Her television credits include roles in Law & Order and Sex and the City and as Doris Wolfe on Guiding Light.