Journey to Munich by Jacqueline Winspear (2016)

And we continue the WWII theme of the year. I read two of the first Masie Dobbs books and I promised myself to pick up some more, as I liked her. This is many years later, she has lived through a lot, luckily enough of her back story is told throughout the book.

It is 1938. Maisie has returned to London after helping wounded soldiers in Spain. She is staying with a long time friend, looking for a place of her own as a widow. Her old friends at secret service contact her and ask her to bring an important British businessman out of Munich, out of Dachau prison. She is to pretend she is the man's daughter. Masie reluctantly takes on the task and, of course, things don't go as planned. The Germans toy with her, asking her to return to Nazi headquarters numerous times. Then the person they bring out of Dachau is not the right one. Plus she has been given another task by a rich Englishman to bring his daughter back home. The plot is complex with Germans, Brits, Canadians and an American. All set in pre-war Germany. During the story Germany annexes Austria and Maisie keeps feeling that something is very wrong in Munich though it is in beautiful Bavaria - e.g. she sees two little girls playing in a deserted alley, so their families would not see them. They are not allowed to play together, as one of them is Jewish. This unease is well justified as we know the future events. She does face real danger, but in her usual composed way, deals with it.

I really should read some of the other Maisie Dobbs books. It was seven years ago that I read the first two - http://mairasbooks.blogspot.com/2009_04_01_archive.html