Part of Maisie Dobbs, book 8
First published 2011
Maisie Dobbs arrives at a Cambridge college in summer 1932 with a secret mission. Scotland Yard's Special Branch has placed her there as a fake junior lecturer to watch for activities that threaten the government. She must monitor the faculty and students while keeping her true identity hidden. The assignment takes a deadly turn when Greville Liddicote, the college's pacifist founder, is murdered. Detective Chief Superintendent Robert MacFarlane and Detective Chief Inspector Richard Stratton lead the official investigation, but Maisie discovers the killing connects to the suspicious behavior she has been tracking. Her inquiry uncovers shameful secrets from Britain's role in the Great War. She also confronts the growing influence of the Nazi Party within Britain itself. The Secret Service tries to block her progress, but Maisie pushes forward to untangle the web of deception surrounding her.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, mystery, detective, political-thriller, academia
Vibes: atmospheric, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: amateur-sleuth, enemies-to-lovers, secret-identity
Setting: Cambridge, Britain, Scotland Yard
Period: 1932, Great War
321 pages · Hardcover · Harper
Content warnings: violence