Maisie has traveled the world and endured unspeakable tragedy. Maisie's latest adventure, A Dangerous Place, begins four years after the end of her last, Leaving Everything Most Loved - and it's a departure from the series' usual structure. And those closest to her don't always appreciate her actions, despite her good intentions. Uncomfortable with wealth, especially when so many others are struggling, she still socializes with the upper crust. Blanche's mentorship, Maisie has been able to leapfrog social classes, occasionally causing trouble with friends, employees and even her father.

Sometimes it's her need to reconcile something from her own past, but often it's a parallel mystery with a broader canvas and a modern resonance: Economic disparity, racial tensions, health care, and the brutal treatment of 'the other' all make an appearance.Īnd Winspear pays particular attention to issues of class. Most entries in the series begin with a conventional mystery: A suspicious death, a missing person, a family's desire for closure - but once Maisie gets involved, she plugs into a secondary, connected storyline. There's a tragic romance and psychic wounds that Maisie - along with the rest of Europe no one went untouched during the Great War - must overcome, and the journey will span years, not to mention several more books. Eventually Maisie goes to Cambridge and then to the Western Front as a nurse. Then, the lady of the house catches her raiding the library, recognizes her potential, and brings in Dr. Young Maisie becomes a maid in a London mansion after her mother dies. Maisie would be interesting enough as a combination psychologist, empath and detective, but Winspear endows her with a rich backstory. But Maisie discovers the woman is mourning a childhood friend lost during the war - and in getting to that truth, she opens up a wealth of questions about The Retreat, a sinister institution that purports to be a home for shellshocked veterans. Maurice Blanche, has retired, and she's about to take on her first case, a young wife who might be having an affair, or so her husband believes. We first meet Maisie in 1929, as she is opening her own detective agency.

But, like many romance fans, I read eclectically – which brings me to another strong, smart woman: Maisie Dobbs, the World War I nurse-turned-sleuth created by Jacqueline Winspear. I'm a romance advocate, and one reason I love romance novels is because they're full of strong, smart, resilient women. Your purchase helps support NPR programming. Close overlay Buy Featured Book Title A Dangerous Place Author Jacqueline Winspear

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