In The Consequences of Fear, the 16th entry in Jacqueline Winspear's charming Maisie Dobbs series, London is being decimated by the Blitz. Twelve-year-old Freddie Hackett is serving as a message runner for the government, because children can get through bombed-out areas during the blackout, whereas cars or bicycles would be trapped. One dark night on a run, Freddie witnesses a struggle that he thinks ends in a stabbing. Shocked, he continues on to deliver his message, only to come face to face with the possible murderer. But by the time he reports the crime, the body (and the murderer) have both vanished.
The police think Freddie is delusional, traumatized by the things he has experienced during the Blitz. But Maisie, ever empathetic, is convinced that Freddie actually saw something. She begins a side investigation that puts her at odds with her current job working for a top-secret government agency--an agency that most emphatically does not want Maisie digging around for a murderer in the middle of the war effort, especially a murderer who may have diplomatic ties to the British government.
Gently paced and nuanced, The Consequences of Fear is a thoughtful look at the repercussions of war and trauma. Maisie's friends and relatives are affected by nearly every facet of the war, as are the Hacketts and countless other families. Winspear (To Die but Once) does a superb job of capturing the determined spirit of the British populace as they face down the Nazi threat. --Jessica Howard, bookseller at Bookmans, Tucson, Ariz.