In This Grave Hour: A Maisie Dobbs Novel [L0042]

2018 - PB Excellent condition. New York Times Bestseller. The thirteenth installment in Jacqueline Winspear's enormously popular New York Times bestselling historical mystery series. As Britain declares war on Germany, the indomitable Maisie Dobbs stumbles on the deaths of refugees who may have been more than ordinary people seeking sanctuary on English soil. "A female investigator every bit as brainy and battle-hardened as Lisbeth Salander." - Maureen Corrigan, NPR's Fresh Air. 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 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. 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.

From recent Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "This book is the first that I have read in the series, and I wasn't lost. The times that the author referred to earlier events, she gave plenty of details about it. I loved Maisie. This woman is an established investigator with complicated war and personal backgrounds. The story is so well structured that I never guessed the killer."; "Winspear's clear and thoughtful prose is refreshingly honest and clever and she can weave an intelligent mystery with historically accurate facts that provide a very entertaining read. I found myself devouring this particular Maisie Dobbs mystery in a day."; "The plot is full of twists and turns and Maisie shines in her efforts to unravel things. In the meantime you get a hearty helping of what England was like at the beginning of the Second Wold War, and the lack of preparations brought on by Chamberlin's efforts at appeasement. The author has really done her homework so you get not only a very good, factual picture of the times but a ripping good story that will keep you guessing. This is the only mystery I know of that I wish came with a bibliography."