Category: World War II Era (1939-1945)

A Sunlit Weapon by Jacqueline Winspear

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Historical Mystery, Part of a Series, World War II Era (1939-1945)2 Comments

A Sunlit Weapon (Maisie Dobbs #17)

Barbara’s rating: 4.5 of 5 Stars
Series: Maisie Dobbs #17
Publication Date: 3/27/22
Period: 1942 – WWII
Number of Pages: 366

The previous books in this series have spanned 3 decades and two world wars. I will admit that I was not a fan of the first books in the series – not because they weren’t wonderful stories, but because Maisie seemed to have the saddest life of anyone I’ve ever seen and that just wasn’t for me. These later books have a more settled Maisie and the mysteries are just as good as those in the beginning. So, a win-win for me.

With Germany bombing England every evening, Maisie is spending most of her time away from London. Not just because of the bombings, but because she wants to spend more time with her newly adopted daughter and her handsome hunk of an American diplomat. While in London, Maisie is approached by a young woman who is a ferry pilot responsible for delivering planes among the various British bases. Jo Hardy was flying a Spitfire to Biggin Hill when she realized someone was shooting at her. Surely not! This comes on the heels of learning her beloved fiancé has died in a crash – with no apparent reason for it. Later, the young woman went back to the site where she had been fired upon and discovered a young American soldier bound and gagged in the barn.

Days later, a good friend of Jo’s – another ferry pilot – is killed flying the same route as Jo had flown. While the official ruling was ‘pilot error’, Jo was quite certain that it wasn’t – and that her fiancé’s crash, Jo’s incident, and her friend’s crash were all related somehow. At the suggestion of another friend, Jo seeks out Maisie Dobbs and lays out her case. Maisie, of course, is intrigued and begins her investigation.

As the investigation progresses, Maisie begins to think maybe there is more than one case – and one of those sets of circumstances seems to cross paths with Maisie’s American diplomat husband (Mark Scott) who is responsible for the American First Lady who will be visiting soon. Are the cases related? Is there more than one case?

Interwoven with the fast-paced mystery is a bit of a mystery and strife in Maisie’s homelife. That home life highlights the circumstances those within England must confront daily. Are there spies within their midst? Are those people who look different or have strange-sounding names sympathizers of Hitler?

I thoroughly enjoyed this story and the mystery contained within as well as the characters who are wonderfully relatable. The story also highlighted American racist attitudes. I don’t question those, and it makes me ill to have borne witness to the treatment of the black American soldier. I think the author took great pains to subtly portray American racism for the vile thing it is – but – when it came to the English prejudices, it was a few villagers who had lost sons/husbands, etc. and their prejudice was toward the Italians, French, etc. because of that.

This is a great story, with strong, compelling characters and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did.

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The Key to Deceit by Ashley Weaver

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, George V - 1910- 1936, Historical Mystery, Part of a Series, World War II Era (1939-1945)Leave a comment

The Key to Deceit (Electra McDonnell, #2)Barbara’s rating: 5 of 5 stars
Series: Electra McDonnell #2
Publication Date: 6/21/22
Period: WWII – London
Number of Pages: 288

This series was off and running no-holds-barred with the first book in the series, A Peculiar Combination, and now this one is proudly carrying the torch. With strong major characters and strong supporting characters, this book (and this series) will definitely leave you with a pounding heart and fraught nerves! The mystery is excellently plotted and the book is well-written and perfectly paced.

I had wondered if there would be any movement in the quasi-love triangle that was set up in the first book – and the answer is – there is and there isn’t. While the Major’s interest in Ellie is quite obvious to the reader, it isn’t at all obvious to Ellie because she thinks he only tolerates her because he has to. Then there is her childhood friend Felix who is developing feelings for her. Or is he? I wonder if it is more to do with him being injured, etc. and he sees Electra as a solid in his life. Not that he doesn’t care for her, but I wonder if it is ‘the real thing’. I guess we’ll just have to continue to read and find out – but I hope it doesn’t drag on too long because that gets tiring to me – and seems unfair to the character who doesn’t ‘win’.

Everyone is on tenterhooks waiting for the German bombings that they know are coming. They know they are coming, but they are also in denial – until the bombs actually start dropping. Amid the tensions, Major Ramsey arrives at the McDonnell home to ask for their assistance with a lock – which happens to be on the wrist of a body at the morgue. Ellie takes a big breath and then agrees to help – little knowing that it would lead to a search for a nest of German spies who are helping to target London locations for the bombers.

There are banks to rob, suspects to follow, bodies to identify, and spymasters to catch all while London is being bombed into oblivion by the Germans. Before the search is over, the entire McDonnell clan along with Felix and an interesting new character will be involved. While they are pursuing the spies, Ellie and Felix are searching for information on Ellie’s mother (FYI – her mother died in prison after being convicted of murdering Ellie’s father – and she was pregnant with Ellie at the time she was convicted.)

I highly recommend both this book and the series. I hope you will read it and love it as much as I did.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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