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The American Agent

A compelling wartime mystery
Series: Maisie Dobbs
4.32 goodreads logo

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( 19,409 ratings, 1,930 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The American Agent by Jacqueline Winspear is a gripping crime and thriller novel set during WWII. It follows investigator Maisie Dobbs as she navigates the chaos of wartime London to solve the murder of an American journalist. Balancing her personal life and the investigation, Maisie's journey unveils complex relationships and political intrigue.
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book may appeal to you if you're drawn to historical crime dramas set against the backdrop of World War II. You'll enjoy the intricate investigation, rich period detail, and the gripping narrative that blends personal stakes with professional duty. If you appreciate a strong, insightful protagonist navigating turbulent times, this might be the perfect read for you.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

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.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

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 get out of 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.

Series: Maisie Dobbs

View all
  • A Sunlit Weapon
    Several days later, when Jo recounts the story to several other women, she receives the news that Erica, another ferry pilot flying the same route she had, has been killed in a crash near Kent. Erica's death is attributed to 'pilot error,' but Jo is convinced there is a link between her own experience and Erica's — and that of...
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  • The Comfort of Ghosts
    1945. In London, it feels as if the peace is harder than the war. Years of devastating Luftwaffe bombing have obliterated stretches of the city and left others abandoned. Against this backdrop, psychologist-investigator Maisie Dobbs is drawn into the plight of a group of adolescent orphans, along with a gravely ill demobbed soldier who are squatting in a Belgravia mansion....
    Paperback
    $2600
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
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  • A Sunlit Weapon
    October 1942. Jo Hardy, an Air Transport Auxiliary ferry pilot, is delivering a Spitfire to Biggin Hill Aerodrome when she has the terrifying experience of coming under fire from the ground. In a bid to find out who was trying to take down her aircraft, she returns on foot to the area and discovers an African American soldier bound and...
    Paperback
    $2600
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The American Agent
    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...
    Paperback
    $2600
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Elegy for Eddie
    April, 1933. To the costermongers of London, Eddie Pettit is simply a gentle soul with a near-magical gift for working with horses. When he is killed in a violent accident, the costers are sceptical about the cause of his death, and recruit Maisie Dobbs to investigate. Maisie, who has known these men since childhood and remembers Eddie fondly, is eager...
    Paperback
    $2600
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    Available
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  • In This Grave Hour
    Britain is at war. Returned from a dangerous mission onto enemy soil and having encountered an old enemy and the Fuhrer himself along the way, Maisie Dobbs is fully aware of the gravity of the current situation and how her world is on the cusp of great change. One of those changes can be seen in the floods of refugees...
    Paperback
    $2799
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  • Leaving Everything Most Loved
    The year is 1933. Maisie Dobbs is contacted by an Indian gentleman who has come to England in the hopes of finding out who killed his sister two months ago. Scotland Yard failed to make any arrest in the case, and there is reason to believe they failed to conduct a thorough investigation. The case becomes even more challenging when...
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  • A Dangerous Place
    A Dangerous Place by Jacqueline Winspear unfolds four years after Maisie Dobbs set sail from England, leaving everything she loved behind. At last, she returns, only to find herself in a dangerous place. In this powerful story of political intrigue and personal tragedy, a brutal murder in the British garrison town of Gibraltar leads Maisie into a web of lies,...
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  • The Mapping of Love and Death
    August 1914. When war in Europe is declared, a young American cartographer, Michael Clifton, is compelled to fight for his father's native country and sets sail for England to serve in the British Army. Three years later, he is listed as missing in action. April 1932. After Michael's remains are unearthed in a French field, his devastated parents engage investigator...
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  • Journey to Munich
    It's early 1938, and Maisie Dobbs is back in England. On a fine yet chilly morning, as she walks towards Fitzroy Square—a place of many memories—she is intercepted by Brian Huntley and Robert MacFarlane of the Secret Service. The German government has agreed to release a British subject from prison, but only if he is handed over to a family...
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  • A Lesson in Secrets
    In the summer of 1932, Maisie Dobbs's career takes an exciting new turn when she accepts an undercover assignment directed by Scotland Yard's Special Branch and the Secret Service. Posing as a junior lecturer, she is sent to a college in Cambridge to monitor any activities, "not in the interests of His Majesty's Government." When the college's controversial pacifist founder...
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  • To Die But Once
    Spring 1940. With Britons facing what has become known as the Bore War—nothing much seems to have happened yet—Maisie Dobbs is asked to investigate the disappearance of a local lad, a young apprentice craftsman working on a hush-hush government contract. As Maisie's inquiry reveals a possible link to the London underworld, the country is bracing for a possible enemy invasion...
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Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

The American Agent by Jacqueline Winspear has been praised for its engaging character development, particularly of Maisie Dobbs, described as a revelation by one review. The book is noted for its readability and continual improvement, with each entry in the series receiving positive recognition. Maisie Dobbs's evolution into a sympathetic character is highlighted, making readers anticipate her future adventures.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780749024703

Publisher: Allison & Busby

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 22 August 2019

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Allison & Busby

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 416

About the Author

Jacqueline Winspear was born and raised in Kent and emigrated to the USA in 1990. She has written extensively for journals, newspapers and magazines, and has worked in book publishing on both sides of the Atlantic. The Maisie Dobbs series of crime novels is beloved by readers worldwide.

Also by Jacqueline Winspear

View all
  • A Sunlit Weapon
    Several days later, when Jo recounts the story to several other women, she receives the news that Erica, another ferry pilot flying the same route she had, has been killed in a crash near Kent. Erica's death is attributed to 'pilot error,' but Jo is convinced there is a link between her own experience and Erica's — and that of...
    Paperback
    $3400
    Elsewhere:
    $3699
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • The Comfort of Ghosts
    1945. In London, it feels as if the peace is harder than the war. Years of devastating Luftwaffe bombing have obliterated stretches of the city and left others abandoned. Against this backdrop, psychologist-investigator Maisie Dobbs is drawn into the plight of a group of adolescent orphans, along with a gravely ill demobbed soldier who are squatting in a Belgravia mansion....
    Paperback
    $2600
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The White Lady
    Britain, 1947. This captivating novel follows the coming of age and maturity of former wartime operative Elinor White. The White Lady features Winspear's complex heroine, a veteran of two world wars, a trained killer, and someone fiercely protective of her anonymity. As Elinor grapples with past trauma, she finds herself in the midst of one of the most dangerous crime...
    Paperback
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  • The White Lady
    1947. Elinor White, known locally as the White Lady, is living a solitary, quiet life in a grace-and-favour cottage in the Kent countryside. Unbeknownst to her neighbours, she is the veteran of two world wars, a trained killer and former intelligence agent. Yet Elinor's private and seemingly tranquil existence conceals a past trauma that comes to the fore when she...
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  • An Incomplete Revenge
    1931. Maisie Dobbs' new case takes her investigation into the pastoral beauty of the Kent Weald, where acts of arson, theft, and vandalism around the village of Heronsdene have gone suspiciously unreported for more than a decade. With the country in the grip of economic malaise, Maisie is relieved to accept an assignment from an old friend who wants her...
    Paperback
    $2899
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  • Birds of a Feather
    London, 1929. Joseph Waite is a man who knows what he wants. With his Havana cigars and Savile Row suits, he is one of Britain's wealthiest men. And the last thing he needs is a scandal. When his eighteen-year-old daughter runs away from home, he is determined to keep the case away from the police and the newspapers. So he...
    Paperback
    $2899
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • A Sunlit Weapon
    October 1942. Jo Hardy, an Air Transport Auxiliary ferry pilot, is delivering a Spitfire to Biggin Hill Aerodrome when she has the terrifying experience of coming under fire from the ground. In a bid to find out who was trying to take down her aircraft, she returns on foot to the area and discovers an African American soldier bound and...
    Paperback
    $2600
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Messenger of Truth
    London, 1931. Nick Bassington-Hope, a veteran of the Great War and a controversial artist, is suddenly found dead. His death from a fall, the night before a much-anticipated exhibition of his work, is recorded as 'accidental'. But his sister is not convinced. Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, Georgina Bassington-Hope believes her brother was murdered, and she turns to Maisie...
    Paperback
    $3199
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    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Maisie Dobbs
    Young, feisty Maisie Dobbs has recently set herself up as a private detective. Such a move may not seem especially startling, but this is 1929, and Maisie is exceptional in many ways. Having started as a maid to the London aristocracy, studied her way to Cambridge, and served as a nurse in the Great War, Maisie has wisdom, experience, and...
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  • Pardonable Lies
    London, 1930. Maisie Dobbs, the renowned psychologist and investigator, receives a most unusual request. She must prove that Sir Cedric Lawton's son Ralph really is dead. This is a case that will challenge Maisie in unexpected ways, for Ralph Lawton was an aviator shot down by enemy fire in 1917. To get to the bottom of the mystery, Maisie must...
    Paperback
    $2899
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Elegy for Eddie
    April, 1933. To the costermongers of London, Eddie Pettit is simply a gentle soul with a near-magical gift for working with horses. When he is killed in a violent accident, the costers are sceptical about the cause of his death, and recruit Maisie Dobbs to investigate. Maisie, who has known these men since childhood and remembers Eddie fondly, is eager...
    Paperback
    $2600
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • In This Grave Hour
    Britain is at war. Returned from a dangerous mission onto enemy soil and having encountered an old enemy and the Fuhrer himself along the way, Maisie Dobbs is fully aware of the gravity of the current situation and how her world is on the cusp of great change. One of those changes can be seen in the floods of refugees...
    Paperback
    $2799
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks

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