Part of Maisie Dobbs, book 9
First published 2012
April 1933. The fruit and vegetable sellers of Covent Garden approach Maisie Dobbs with their suspicions. Eddie Pettit, a gentle man gifted with horses, has died in what authorities call an accident. The costermongers doubt this explanation. Maisie remembers Eddie from her childhood, when her father Frankie worked alongside these same street vendors. She agrees to investigate. Her inquiry starts in the Lambeth neighborhoods where both she and Eddie grew up. Soon she encounters resistance from powerful interests determined to bury the truth. The case draws her into contact with a ruthless newspaper owner and Winston Churchill, currently out of favor politically. Most shocking, the investigation leads to Douglas Partridge, married to her closest friend Priscilla. Maisie discovers deception and manipulation reaching the highest levels of society. She faces a choice between personal safety and justice for Eddie. London stands on the edge of another war, though the fighting has not yet begun.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, suspense, mystery
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, suspenseful
Tropes: investigation, social-commentary
Setting: Covent Garden, Lambeth, London
Period: April 1933
335 pages · Hardcover · Harper