cover246588-mediumBook Synopsis “In the latest instalment 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 her own. “

My Review

I do love a Maisie Dobbs story and have been reading Jacqueline Winspear’s fab series for years I always love catching up with Maisie. I love finding out what’s going in her personal and professional life, it’s like I’m catching up with an old friend.

This is the 17th book in the series and while it’s not my favourite in the series, it’s still a good historical cosy mystery. I must admit that I did get a bit confused at times with the ins and outs of the mystery, because there were a few strands to it, but that’s definitely down to me as my concentration hasn’t been that great recently.

As always Jacqueline Winspear writes about really interesting aspects of the time and  I loved reading about different women involved in the Air Transport Axillary. They really were very brave women ferrying RAF aircraft to different parts of the country, without no back up and no way to defend themselves against enemy aircraft! I knew about these women but didn’t realise that they weren’t able to defend themselves should the need arise! I also didn’t realise that on occasion aircraft was flown all the way from Canada and that there were no toilets on board, so the pilots had to wear adult nappies!

I also loved seeing a different feisty side to Maisie in this book with regard to her daughter Anna and bullying at school. It was really good to see Maisie in protective mother mode, rather than her usual professional mode, and it really suited her!

I still love this series and definitely recommend it if you enjoy cosy historical mysteries set in WW2.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Allison & Busby for my digital copy via the NetGalley app.