Jacqueline Winspear Forces Wartime Decisions
The study of war, from a historical perspective at least, generally entails looking at military clashes between countries as well as civilian casualties and displacements. Life, however, tends to go on one way or another for the countless nobodies caught in the wartime whirlwind, as it did for the Brits during the Second World War. In To Die but Once, Jacqueline Winspear sends Maisie Dobbs on an investigation smack-dab in the middle of the Second World War.
The fourteenth book in The Maisie Dobbs series (which, by the way, totally works as a standalone offering) takes place in the months following Britain's declaration of war on Germany, a time when nothing can be taken for granted and everyone lives with about as uncertain a view of tomorrow as possible. With news coming through of British soldiers stranded on the beaches of France, the country threatens to fall into disarray.
On her end, Maisie Dobbs is trying to live her life as best she can and serve her country to the best of her abilities. In this case, she is called upon to track down an apprentice who simply vanished while working on an extremely sensitive government project.
As is often the case, the search begins relatively innocently, but as the thread is unravelled it becomes increasingly obvious something truly foul is at play. Taking Maisie from rural Hampshire all the way down to the depths of the London underworld, the investigation will have her standing face-to-face with some of the worst and most powerful men in her society, criminals who found their own profit in wartime.
As if she didn't already have enough responsibilities hanging on her shoulders, the recent developments in the war push a certain young man, beloved by her, to making the kind of decision which will change both of their lives forever, and possibly not for the best.
The History Around the Mystery in To Die but Once
I suppose this statement is addressed more towards those who are unfamiliar with Jacqueline Winspear's previous writings, but her staple in The Maisie Dobbs series has always been to provide a strong historical context to whatever mystery was being solved. Up until the previous book we've been exploring Britain between the two World Wars, and this time Winspear finally settles at the start of the Second World War.
As a matter of fact, while the novel can certainly be classified as a detective mystery (more on this aspect a bit later), it very much works as a piece of historical fiction which provides an in-depth look at Britain and its people in the few months following their declaration of war on Germany.
Most prominent is the Dunkirk evacuation event, with the story taking place during the crucial point in the country's history. Naturally, Jacqueline Winspear gives a detailed, well-researched and captivating account of how the event transpired, but she doesn't stop there, taking it a step further and examining how the regular citizens were involved with it, and how they had to deal with it.
Personally, I found the author's description of the harrowing experience faced by the parents of all the young soldiers stuck on the French beaches to have been absolutely breathtaking. She captured the utter horror and despair they were facing on a daily basis with a striking and unforgiving prose which seeks to show this time period in all of its terror and beauty.
Speaking of the beauty, she also devotes some time to describing the various ways in which people helped each other, the sacrifices they made for complete strangers, and the resolve they found to keep a steady hand for the coming years. I'd say the balance between the depictions of good and evil is professionally-handled and imbues the big picture with the quality of realism.
The Trail of the Apprentice
Needless to say, we are still in a Maisie Dobbs novel, and rest assured there is a great and complex mystery for her to solve here for the psychologist and investigator, still at the service of those who need it. As I mentioned it at the beginning, the search for the missing young man begins innocuously enough; a teenage boy running away isn't exactly an extraordinary circumstance.
However, our interest in the case is drummed up fairly quickly when it's soon revealed he's working for the Royal Air Force, and from there on out the complex web of mystery begins to sprawl and take on a truly imposing shape.
As is always the case with the novels in this series, the investigation is handled very carefully and precisely. I can safely say I haven't had any trouble following the events and understood Maisie's chain of logic quite easily without ever feeling lost. While the subject matter isn't necessarily simple, Winspear's way of tackling it is concise and never overly descriptive.
As things tend to be with grand conspiracies, the trail eventually leads her to bigger and badder fish, pitting her face-to-face with one of the most despicable crimes humans are capable of: war profiteering. Here the author once again puts on display her understanding of psychology and human behaviour, describing in convincing detail the thought processes of the kind of people I doubt I'll ever be able to understand as well.
Finally, there are little passages here and there which focus on Maisie's personal life, and while I didn't find them as interesting as the rest of the story, I always welcomed their appearance for the brief respite they provided from the war and the investigation. Rest assured, Winspear knows to keep these moments short and sweet, and they too play their role in adding the colour of life to a novel about a grim subject.
The Final Verdict
To Die but Once by Jacqueline Winspear sees Maisie Dobbs return to full form and can be seen as both a piece of historical fiction and a detective mystery. From the author's descriptions of wartime Britain to the investigation leading us to the bowels of its criminal underworld, everything is made captivating by the author's prose and powerful imagination.
If you're a fan of The Maisie Dobbs series, or are looking for a historical mystery set in Britain at the start of WWII, then I think you'll have a real blast with this novel.
 | Jacqueline WinspearPersonal site Jacqueline Winspear is a mystery author hailing from the United Kingdom, best-known for writing the Maisie Dobbs Series, taking place after WWI and following the titular inspector's investigations across over fourteen books at this point. The first novel in the series, Maisie Dobbs, earned her numerous award nominations, Such as the Edgar Award for Best Novel and the Agatha Award for Best First Novel. Additionally, she was also a finalist for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize in 2015. |
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