Part of Maisie Dobbs, book 6
First published 2009
Maisie Dobbs watches a man kill himself on a London street on Christmas Eve 1931. The next day brings a letter to the prime minister's office. Someone threatens mass casualties unless demands are met. The letter names Maisie specifically. Detective Chief Superintendent Robert MacFarlane questions her, clears her, then pulls her into Scotland Yard's Special Branch as an adviser. Maisie must find a man who has both the knowledge and determination to kill thousands of innocent people. Time runs short as the threat grows real. Meanwhile, her assistant Billy Beale struggles with personal tragedy. His wife sinks deeper into depression after losing their daughter. Maisie faces a darkness she has not encountered since treating shell-shocked soldiers as a nurse. The investigation becomes a desperate race to prevent mass destruction.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, mystery, thriller, detective, 21st-century
Vibes: dark, emotional, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: London, Scotland Yard
Period: 1931
303 pages · Hardcover · Henry Holt and Co.
Content warnings: depression, mental-illness, suicide