“One always has riches when one has a book to read.”  —Jacqueline Winspear

Who am I to contend with the British puzzler who conjured up Maisie Dobbs? Personally, I feel filthy rich when I have a great book to read. Great as in “of an intensity considerably above the normal or average.” Thank goodness for writers like Jacqueline Winspear who think average is a failing formula. Why, oh why, have we not talked about Winspear before now? I’m baffled. Incredulous. In fact, I scrolled through the entire blog, from last week’s post down through the years—all the way back to August 19th, 2015—no Winspear. Shame is working overtime on my face. So, without further ado, it’s time for you to meet the British mystery writer whose “interested in how ordinary people have endured in extraordinary times, especially a time of war.”

If you love a series and a quirky character that rocketed out of an award-winning first novel, meet Winspear through the eyes of detective Maisie Dobbs. You’ll be glad you did. (Dobbs doesn’t have a cult following by accident.) If you prefer to dip your toe in the water, start with Winspear’s latest The White Lady. Not-Your-Average Jac creates a highly intelligent, unimpeachable character in Elinor White. This history-based mystery vacillates between the 20th century’s two world wars. Elinor’s life is forever changed by the 1st and she finds her country in need of her for the 2nd. But the real mystery takes place in 1947, when the wartime operative is trying to leave her turbulent life behind. She can’t seem to ditch her moral duty. And so she helps her vulnerable neighbors who happen to be tied, by blood, to one of the most powerful (and dangerous) criminals in London. Elinor’s help, in turn, unknots a haunting secret of her own.

Winspear goes well beyond the bounds of average in The White Lady. I love her timely underlying theme that men always underestimate women. Which gives us an advantage. I’ll defer now to Rae’s very own Louise Penny: “The White Lady is a triumph of storytelling. Rarely have I been swept up into a novel, into the lives of the main characters, so quickly and thoroughly. Winspear creates in Elinor White a complex, endearing, achingly flawed hero. This is both fast-paced and thoughtful, bold and nuanced, a thriller that is thrillingly human. I loved it.”

Posted by Tracy