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The latest
Maisie Dobbs novel by Jacqueline Winspear, Journey to
Munich, finds our intrepid private investigator on an
undercover assignment on behalf of the British Secret Service.
Although not the first time she has been on such a mission,
it is a changed Maisie Dobbs that journeys to Nazi Germany
in early 1938 at the point Germany is annexing Austria.
What I have always liked and appreciated in this and previous
novels in the series is the focus on daily life and changes
in Britain, Maisie's life following WWI, and how Maisie navigates
through these changes while dealing with her own personal
challenges. I see Maisie as a more assertive person as a result
of personal tragedies and her involvement in the Spanish Civil
War that preceded her current mission. This novel also marks
a shift from the prior novels focusing on the years following
WWI and to the verge of WWII.
I found Journey to Munich to be a strong character-based story
told from the perspective of a well-educated and self-assured
single woman who continually searches for meaning in what
she does or plans to do. The novel gave me an opportunity
to see the differences and outlooks of both Britain and Nazi
Germany in the run-up to WWII. While not creating the dark
and foreboding atmosphere of pre-WWII Europe that Alan Furst
is well known for, Winspear does a good job describing the
horrors and repression that gripped Nazi Germany in 1938 from
Maisie's perspective. Her calm and determined demeanor provides
a contrasting foil to the ruthless SS officials she must deal
with. One of the novel's subtexts threading throughout the
narrative deals with the British decision makers Maisie meets
or works with -- men who were fully aware of Nazi Germany's
true political intentions.
Reviews
of other titles in this series
Pardonable
Lies #3
Messenger
of Truth #4
An
Incomplete Revenge #5
A
Lesson in Secrets #8
Journey
to Munich #12
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