2024 book 123

 Jacqueline Winspear's The American Agent

Ok, that was a little bit of whiplash—I decided not to reread the whole series and just jump ahead to the first one I hadn’t read, but suddenly we're in 1940 and there’s a lot I’m pretty hazy on! Anyway, this one involves the murder of an American woman, a war correspondent. I will say, I do like that this series focuses so much on Maisie and the other characters and what they're up to, but it would be nice if they made more of an effort to solve this crime. Like she doesn't talk to the victim's best friend for AGES, and when she does she doesn’t ask the important questions, as though to keep the mystery going for longer--it's very frustrating. I need to come to terms with the fact that these are a series of historical novels where the protagonist solves crimes sometimes, and not true mysteries. Mixed feelings on the ending, too. But I still like the characters! B/B+.