War has broken out between England and Germany and city children are being hustled onto trains to be housed with rural families to protect them from the Blitzkrieg. Masie Dobbs is back at work in London as an investigator and is approached by a woman she has worked with in two other investigations, a Belgian named Dr. Francesca Thomas. Just as English children were sheltered in the countryside during this conflict, Belgian families and their children found refuge in England after fleeing the advance of the Germans in WW I. Many of those refugees returned home after that war, but some remained, having established roots and new families in England. One of those Belgian men has been found murdered execution-style and Thomas wants to know what’s behind it. Meanwhile, Maisie’s father and her stepmother have been asked to take a couple of brothers and a little girl into their country home in Kent. The five-year-old girl arrives without identification and has been struck mute by the trauma. Maisie is also being asked to use her skills as a psychologist to help them reach and help this frightened child. The mystery in many ways takes back seat to the story of this young orphan and Maisie’s growing involvement with her. Always a treat to enter the world of Maisie Dobbs. 332 pp.
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