The American Agent (Maisie Dobbs Series #15)

by Jacqueline Winspear

Overview

Beloved heroine Maisie Dobbs, “one of the great fictional heroines” (Parade), investigates the mysterious murder of an American war correspondent in London during the Blitz in a page-turning tale of love and war, terror and survival.

When Catherine Saxon, an American correspondent reporting on the war in Europe, is found murdered in her London digs, news of her death is concealed by British authorities. Serving as a linchpin between Scotland Yard and the Secret Service, Robert MacFarlane pays a visit to Maisie Dobbs, seeking her help. He is accompanied by an agent from the US Department of Justice—Mark Scott, the American who helped Maisie escape Hitler’s Munich in 1938. MacFarlane asks Maisie to work with Scott to uncover the truth about Saxon’s death.

As the Germans unleash the full terror of their blitzkrieg upon the British Isles, raining death and destruction from the skies, Maisie must balance the demands of solving this dangerous case with her need to protect Anna, the young evacuee she has grown to love and wants to adopt. Entangled in an investigation linked to the power of wartime propaganda and American political intrigue being played out in Britain, Maisie will face losing her dearest friend—and the possibility that she might be falling in love again.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062436696
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	03/26/2019
Series:	Maisie Dobbs Series
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	384
Sales rank:	26,592
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Jacqueline Winspear is the author of the New York Times bestsellers The Consequences of Fear, The American Agent, and To Die but Once, as well as thirteen other bestselling Maisie Dobbs novels and The Care and Management of Lies, a Dayton Literary Peace Prize finalist. Jacqueline has also published two nonfiction books, What Would Maisie Do? and a memoir, This Time Next Year We’ll Be Laughing. Originally from the United Kingdom, she divides her time between California and the Pacific Northwest.

Hometown:

Ojai, California

Date of Birth:

April 30, 1955

Place of Birth:

Weald of Kent, England

Education:

The University of London¿s Institute of Education

Website:

http://www.jacquelinewinspear.com

Editorial Reviews

★ 03/01/2019

The Blitz is in full swing in the newest "Maisie Dobbs" mystery by Winspear (To Die but Once). Maisie and best friend Priscilla are driving their ambulance with young American reporter Catherine Saxon, who believes firsthand experience will help her get work with Edward Murrow on BBC radio. The day after this ride-along, Maisie receives a call from Scotland Yard and the American embassy requesting her investigative services for Catherine's murder. Maisie begins this sudden investigation while the stresses of the adoption process for her young ward, Anna, weigh on her mind. Maisie must collaborate closely with Mark Scott, the agent attached to the American embassy, whom she worked with in Berlin before the war. But as the case progresses, she feels romantically drawn to him, all while uncovering secrets about Catherine. VERDICT This is a fantastic read for historical mystery fans who enjoy complex and flawed characters. Highly recommended for all public libraries.—Kristen Stewart, Pearland Lib., Brazoria Cty. Lib. Syst., TX

Library Journal

★ 01/14/2019

As a volunteer ambulance driver in London in 1940, Maisie Dobbs aids the victims of the German blitz, in bestseller Winspear’s excellent 15th novel featuring the psychologist/investigator (after 2018’s To Die But Once). One night while on duty, she meets American journalist Catherine Saxon, who reports on the horrors of the blitz for radio listeners in the U.S. Maisie enjoys the company of the effervescent American, who unfortunately is found murdered in her flat the next morning. When Scotland Yard enlists Maisie’s help in solving the case, she’s reunited with Mark Scott, an American agent with whom she once had a brief flirtation in Munich. As the number of suspects in Catherine’s murder increases, Maisie’s romantic feelings grow for Mark, who’s also investigating the American ambassador to the U.K., Nazi sympathizer Joseph P. Kennedy. Meanwhile, Maisie seeks to adopt a war orphan. In Winspear’s capable hands, Maisie has evolved into a deeply sympathetic character. Readers will eagerly await her next outing. Agent: Amy Rennert, Amy Rennert Agency. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

Books in the Maisie Dobbs series are always as much about the heroine’s ongoing journey as they are about the mysteries she solves, and it’s the big changes in her life that make this 15th ‘Maisie’ book one of the best.” — Minneapolis Star Tribune

“Winning.” — USA Today

“Through it all she has solved sometimes harrowing cases with a mixture of intelligence, intuition, determination and compassion that makes her — and it’s an odd compliment, I know — one of the most soothing characters in crime fiction. Reading a Maisie Dobbs book is a little like spending time with an old friend you don’t see often enough, if your old friend’s gig is tracking down and capturing criminals.” — Tampa Bay Times

 “Excellent…. In Winspear’s capable hands, Maisie has evolved into a deeply sympathetic character. Readers will eagerly await her next outing.” — Publishers Weekly, starred review

“The London blitz is the backdrop to Winspear’s latest as the inimitable Maisie Dobbs investigates the death of Catherin Saxon, an intrepid American journalist determined to document wartime Britain’s hardships for the folks back home. An immersive tale of wartime grit and grief.” — Booklist

“Everything in this series turns on the psychological traumas of war. That’s what gives Maisie’s sometimes prosaic cases their sturdy backbone and air of urgency—that and Maisie’s own dynamic character. Hang on to your helmet and carry on, girl.” — New York Times Book Review

“Advances Maisie’s inspiring activities, highlights the bravery of an embattled people during the Second World War, and intimates that lessons from that period have yet to be learned.” — Kirkus

“Offers an intense portrayal of how ordinary British residents attempted to manage their ordinary lives amid extraordinary and traumatic circumstances. Maisie solves the crime (naturally), but just as compelling is her own personal journey, which leaves her poised to begin yet another new chapter of her eventful life.” — BookReporter

From the Publisher

Everything in this series turns on the psychological traumas of war. That’s what gives Maisie’s sometimes prosaic cases their sturdy backbone and air of urgency—that and Maisie’s own dynamic character. Hang on to your helmet and carry on, girl.

New York Times Book Review

Through it all she has solved sometimes harrowing cases with a mixture of intelligence, intuition, determination and compassion that makes her — and it’s an odd compliment, I know — one of the most soothing characters in crime fiction. Reading a Maisie Dobbs book is a little like spending time with an old friend you don’t see often enough, if your old friend’s gig is tracking down and capturing criminals.

Tampa Bay Times

Books in the Maisie Dobbs series are always as much about the heroine’s ongoing journey as they are about the mysteries she solves, and it’s the big changes in her life that make this 15th ‘Maisie’ book one of the best.

Minneapolis Star Tribune

Winning.

USA Today

Offers an intense portrayal of how ordinary British residents attempted to manage their ordinary lives amid extraordinary and traumatic circumstances. Maisie solves the crime (naturally), but just as compelling is her own personal journey, which leaves her poised to begin yet another new chapter of her eventful life.

BookReporter

The London blitz is the backdrop to Winspear’s latest as the inimitable Maisie Dobbs investigates the death of Catherin Saxon, an intrepid American journalist determined to document wartime Britain’s hardships for the folks back home. An immersive tale of wartime grit and grief.

Booklist

The London blitz is the backdrop to Winspear’s latest as the inimitable Maisie Dobbs investigates the death of Catherin Saxon, an intrepid American journalist determined to document wartime Britain’s hardships for the folks back home. An immersive tale of wartime grit and grief.

Booklist

Winning.

USA Today

Winspear captures the juxtaposition of the utter chaos and eerie normalcy of the Blitz with cinematic style… The looming questions of whether she will be able to balance motherhood with her dangerous career is brilliantly relevant both to the era Winspear writes about and the current era… The American Agent will satisfy fans and newcomers alike.

BookPage

This delightful audiobook, the fifteenth in the series, takes place in London of 1940. Catherine Saxon is a well-connected young American broadcast reporter hoping to become one of “Edward R. Murrow’s Boys,” making the Blitz real for the audience back home. When Saxon is killed, and not by a bomb, Maisie Dobbs must sort through a snarl of possible motives, including American war profiteering and isolationism as well as good old-fashioned domestic melodrama. In addition to Americans young and old, narrator Orlagh Cassidy here segues seamlessly among a daunting range of UK voices from Mayfair to Scotland. Not all her accents hit the bull’s-eye, but her Maisie is a winning heroine, and this production is thoroughly entertaining. B.G. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

MARCH 2019 - AudioFile

This delightful audiobook, the fifteenth in the series, takes place in London of 1940. Catherine Saxon is a well-connected young American broadcast reporter hoping to become one of “Edward R. Murrow’s Boys,” making the Blitz real for the audience back home. When Saxon is killed, and not by a bomb, Maisie Dobbs must sort through a snarl of possible motives, including American war profiteering and isolationism as well as good old-fashioned domestic melodrama. In addition to Americans young and old, narrator Orlagh Cassidy here segues seamlessly among a daunting range of UK voices from Mayfair to Scotland. Not all her accents hit the bull’s-eye, but her Maisie is a winning heroine, and this production is thoroughly entertaining. B.G. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

MARCH 2019 - AudioFile