A Lesson in Secrets, by Jacqueline Winspear

After reading Maisie Dobbs I discovered that I had two more books from that series on my shelves at home. Although twelve books have been published so far, I decided to jump in on this book, which is the 7th. It turns out that it's not necessary to read them in order; it was easy to pick up with Maisie's life even though books two through six must have been very eventful. This book takes place in 1932 when Maisie is asked to investigate possible espionage activity at a college in Cambridge. At the same time Maisie takes on a case investigating the murder of a friend. As with the earlier book, Ms. Winspear really brings the time period to life. A focal point is the rise of Nazism, even in England, before people realized how dangerous it really was. A great read!

Jacqueline Winspear. A Lesson in Secrets. New York: HarperCollins, 2011. 325 pages. ISBN 9780061727672. Uncorrected proof.

Maisie Dobbs, by Jacqueline Winspear

Maisie Dobbs is the first book in a series about a WWI nurse who opens her own detective agency. Through alternating chapters we learn about her early years working as a servant, and then attending college and serving as a nurse in France during WWI. In the meantime, she begins to investigate the mystery of how some badly disfigured veterans ended up dying all the same way. Jacqueline Winspear is an excellent writer, and brings the 1920s to life in this debut.

Jacqueline Winspear. Maisie Dobbs. New York: Penguin Books, 2003. 292 pages. ISBN 0142004332.

Outliers, by Malcolm Gladwell

I finally got around to reading this book, although I read so many reviews of it I felt like I'd read it before. As with his others, it was a fun romp through a lot of anecdotes and some research. It was also a bit inspiring to know what it takes to become a true expert at something. At this point in my life, I can say that the only things that I have spent 10,000 hours on is reading and perhaps writing!

Malcolm Gladwell. Outliers: The Story of Success. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2008. 309 pages. ISBN 9780316017923.