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.