Part of Maisie Dobbs, book 16
First published 2021
September 1941. Freddie Hackett crouches in a bombed doorway, watching an argument turn deadly. The young message runner has just witnessed murder, but when he reaches his delivery destination, the killer stands before him. The police dismiss his story. Desperate, Freddie seeks out Maisie Dobbs, a woman he met during his rounds. Maisie believes the boy, but she faces her own complications. She works secretly for the Special Operations Executive, evaluating candidates for dangerous missions with the French resistance. When Maisie spots the killer in an unexpected location, her two worlds crash together. The murderer carries motives rooted in the previous war. Maisie finds herself caught between British intelligence operations in France and Free French agents across Europe. She must also question Freddie's mental state and reliability. Her investigation threatens to expose secrets that could destroy Britain's war efforts and everyone involved in the conspiracy.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, mystery, crime, thriller
Vibes: atmospheric, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Britain, Europe, France
Period: 1941, September 1941
341 pages · Hardcover · Harper
Content warnings: violence