It's the summer of 1932 and Maisie has several investigations going on. Her friend Sandra's husband dies in a mysterious accident. She is asked by the Secret Service to take a position as philosophy instructor to monitor activities at a small college. She is also in the process of purchasing a house for her employee, Billy Beale without letting him know that it is for him. Her lover is supposed to be in Canada but she gets letters from him that are postmarked London.
When the head of the college where Maisie is teaching is murdered, she will be told to leave the investigation to Scotland Yard. Maisie will find that hard since her investigation keeps bringing her back to Greville Liddicote and a book that he published during World War I which changed lives.
Maisie's razor sharp mind will find connections that no one else will pick up on. Her investigation will expose her to the students who actively support Adolf Hitler and his fascist ideals.
Usually, I prefer comedic mysteries but I've been fascinated by Maisie Dobbs and her life since the first book came out. The reader will be exposed to the horrors of World War I and the impact it had on Britain as they read the series. This latest is a convoluted tale which forces Maisie to leave more of their every day business to Billy. Through Maisie's eyes, the reader will see the beginning of the events that lead to the second World War and learn about Maisie's fears for the future.
Maisie Dobbs's first assignment for the British Secret Service takes her undercover to Cambridge as a professorβand leads to the investigation of a web of activities being conducted by the emerging Nazi Party.
In the summer of 1932, Maisie Dobbs's career takes an exciting new turn when she accepts an undercover assignment directed by Scotland Yard's Special Branch and the Secret Service. Posing as a junior lecturer, she is sent to a private college in Cambridge to monitor any activities "not in the interests of His Majesty's government."
When the college's controversial pacifist founder and principal, Greville Liddicote, is murdered, Maisie is directed to stand back as Detective Chief Superintendent Robert MacFarlane and Detective Chief Inspector Richard Stratton spearhead the investigation. She soon discovers, however, that the circumstances of Liddicote's death appear inextricably linked to the suspicious comings and goings of faculty and students under her surveillance.
To unravel this web, Maisie must overcome a reluctant Secret Service, discover shameful hidden truths about Britain's conduct during the Great War, and face off against the rising powers of the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterparteiβthe Nazi Partyβin Britain.
As the storm clouds of World War II gather on the horizon, this pivotal chapter in the life of Maisie Dobbs foreshadows new challenges and powerful enemies facing the psychologist and investigatorβand will engage new readers and loyal fans of this "outstanding" series (Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review).
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