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A Sunlit Weapon CD: A Novel Audio CD – Unabridged, March 22 2022
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In the latest installment of the New York Times bestselling series, a series of possible attacks on British pilots leads Jacqueline Winspear's beloved heroine Maisie Dobbs into a mystery involving First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.
October 1942. Jo Hardy, a 22-year-old ferry pilot, is delivering a Supermarine Spitfire—the fastest fighter aircraft in the world—to Biggin Hill Aerodrome, when she realizes someone is shooting at her aircraft from the ground. Returning to the location on foot, she finds an American serviceman in a barn, bound and gagged. She rescues the man, who is handed over to the American military police; it quickly emerges that he is considered a suspect in the disappearance of a fellow soldier who is missing.
Tragedy strikes two days later, when another ferry pilot crashes in the same area where Jo’s plane was attacked. At the suggestion of one of her colleagues, Jo seeks the help of psychologist and investigator Maisie Dobbs. Meanwhile, Maisie’s husband, a high-ranking political attaché based at the American embassy, is in the thick of ensuring security is tight for the first lady of the United States, Eleanor Roosevelt, during her visit to the Britain. There’s already evidence that German agents have been circling: the wife of a president represents a high value target. Mrs. Roosevelt is clearly in danger, and there may well be a direct connection to the death of the woman ferry pilot and the recent activities of two American servicemen.
To guarantee the safety of the First Lady—and of the soldier being held in police custody—Maisie must uncover that connection. At the same time, she faces difficulties of an entirely different nature with her young daughter, Anna, who is experiencing wartime struggles of her own.
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherHarperAudio
- Publication dateMarch 22 2022
- Dimensions13.46 x 3.81 x 14.73 cm
- ISBN-100063142325
- ISBN-13978-0063142329
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Review
“A superb combination of mystery, thriller, and psychological study with an emphasis on prejudice and hatred.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
A Sunlit Weapon, Maisie’s pluck, intelligence and moral fortitude are on full display.” — Washington Post
“Winspear weaves the many components of this mystery together skillfully to create another riveting entry in this long-standing series.” — Library Journal
“Over 16 novels spanning three decades, Winspear’s Maisie Dobbs has lived. In real life, her quiet bravery, compassion and dogged pursuit of the truth would have made her one of the Greatest Generation, a lesson in survival under the grimmest circumstances. The lessons are hard-won in The Consequences of Fear, set in the fall of 1941 but no less relevant today…. Fans and newcomers to the series will root for Dobbs and the other well-drawn characters.” — Los Angeles Times on The Consequences of Fear
“Outstanding…. Maisie and her loving family of supporting characters continue to evolve and grow in ways sure to win readers’ hearts. Winspear is writing at the top of her game.” — Publishers Weekly, starred reviewon The Consequences of Fear
“F-貹…Winspear never sugarcoats the horrors of war, and alongside the camaraderie shown by these characters and the Londoners surrounding them deliver terrible truths that must be endured….also recommend it as a less- weighty read-alike for Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See.” — Booklist, starred reviewon The Consequences of Fear
"A fast-paced tale of mystery and spycraft whose exploration of inner doubts and fears makes it much more." — Kirkus on The Consequences of Fear
“Series fans will find the characters’ personal development gratifying.” — Publishers Weekly
“’Sunlit’ sheds light on the United States' slow entry into the war, as well as the British response to that, while taking Maisie in bold new directions, personally and professionally.” — Star Tribune
“There’s a lot going on in the seventeenth Maisie Dobbs mystery starring the intrepid investigator… Winspear manages the multifarious narratives with aplomb.” — Booklist
“No one writes historical mysteries quite like Jacqueline Winspear, and her latest Maisie Dobbs novel should be a fitting continuation of the series, this one featuring a drop-in from none other than Eleanor Roosevelt (and we all know how good Winspear is at writing strong women with wit and verve).” — CrimeReads
“With so many strands … it is hard to anticipate a satisfying conclusion. But Winspear pulls it off brilliantly.” — Daily Mail, UK
“Profoundly humane and unflinchingly honest, A Sunlit Weapon marks another stellar installment in Winspear’s luminous body of work.” — The Free Lance Star
About the Author
Jacqueline Winspear is the author of the New York Times bestsellers The Consequences of Fear, The American Agent, and To Die but Once, as well as thirteen other bestselling Maisie Dobbs novels and The Care and Management of Lies, a Dayton Literary Peace Prize finalist. Jacqueline has also published two nonfiction books, What Would Maisie Do? and a memoir, This Time Next Year We’ll Be Laughing. Originally from the United Kingdom, she divides her time between California and the Pacific Northwest.
Product details
- Publisher : HarperAudio
- Publication date : March 22 2022
- Edition : Unabridged
- Language : English
- ISBN-10 : 0063142325
- ISBN-13 : 978-0063142329
- Dimensions : 13.46 x 3.81 x 14.73 cm
- Book 17 of 18 : Maisie Dobbs
- 鶹 Rank: #2,035,236 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #263 in Medical Fiction
- #641 in Military Historical Fiction
- #903 in British & Irish Literature
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Jacqueline Winspear is the author of eighteen novels in the award-winning, New York Times, National and International bestselling series featuring psychologist-investigator Maisie Dobbs. In addition, Jacqueline’s 2023 non-series novel, The White Lady was a New York Times and National bestseller, and her 2014 WW1 novel, The Care and Management of Lies, was again a New York Times and National bestseller, as well as a Dayton Literary Peace Prize finalist. Jacqueline has also published two non-fiction books, What Would Maisie Do? and an Edgar-nominated memoir, This Time Next Year We’ll Be Laughing. Jacqueline’s work encompasses essays and journalism covering a wide range of subjects, from women working in wildfire management to articles on international education and social history.
Customer reviews
Top reviews from Canada
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- Reviewed in Canada on January 15, 2025Verified PurchaseA fascinating mystery series.
- Reviewed in Canada on March 23, 2022Verified PurchaseI have read all the Maisie Dobbs books to date and have enjoyed them all. This one is no exception.
- Reviewed in Canada on March 28, 2022Set in Britain in 1942, this latest Maisie Dobbs adventure finds Maisie and her husband Mark Scott, an American attache in London, involved in two related concerns. Jo Harding, a pilot friend of Maisie's, enlists Maisie's help in solving mysterious gunfire from the ground aimed at aircraft. The investigation become even more concerning when a plot is suspected to murder Eleanor Roosevelt, the First Lady of the United States, who is visiting Britain.
The novel also deals with the practice in the US forces at the time of segregating white and black servicemen. This part of the story is a disturbing reminder of race relations in the United States at the time.
A very good read.
- Reviewed in Canada on May 25, 2022Verified PurchaseI recommend this series. This book is # 17 in the series. Strong, relatable female characters.
- Reviewed in Canada on April 25, 2022Verified PurchaseReally good - good character detail
- Reviewed in Canada on April 4, 2022A Sunlit Weapon is the 17th entry in Jacqueline Winspear's long running and much loved Maisie Dobbs series. Picking up the latest in this series feels like settling in with an old friend to catch up.
I appreciate that Winspear keeps the narrative moving forward. We’ve been with Maisie through her younger years through to the current time period - 1942 WWII. She's gone from a servant on an estate to now being a licensed psychologist and private investigator with her own office.
Winspear takes historical events and weaves them together with a mystery in each book. I really enjoy the historical bits. A Sunlit Weapon uses the air ferry women as a basis for one of Maisie's cases.
While the plotting and mysteries are always excellent, it is the characters that have me coming back for each new book. Maisie is a great lead - calm, thoughtful, somewhat impulsive and curious. Winspear has kept the personal lives of all the characters moving forward as well. I've become quite invested in their lives and what might be next for them all. Maisie's assistant Billy Beale is a perennial favorite supporting character. He and Maisie work well together. All of the characters have suffered some loss over the years - which mimics life. But, they continually put one foot in front of the other and move forward - can do, keep calm and soldier on.
The latest case is a complicated one and as things progress, two of Macy’s cases seem to have something in common. I appreciate the way the cases are solved with leg work, conversations and slowly piecing together clues and observations. And with Maisie there's also that extra little bit intuition.
The settings have always been a character in these books as well - each described so well that I can picture them. (I'd love to be in the car with Maisie, motoring down a country road.
Excellent plotting, wonderful characters and prose add up to another satisfying tale. But I knew it would be! If you love historical fiction and you haven't read Jacqueline Winspear you're missing out on an excellent series.
- Reviewed in Canada on May 29, 2022Verified PurchaseSadly, this is the weakest book so far in the beloved Maisie Dobbs series. What's wrong, Ms. WInspear? Too much pressure from the publisher? Run its course? I have read the entire series and this was not up to standard. It felt like reading an old, dated Nancy Drew mystery. Let's hope for better things in the next instalment.
Top reviews from other countries
- reading addictReviewed in Australia on March 22, 2022
5.0 out of 5 stars Splendid! Do not miss this one!
Verified PurchaseMaisie goes from strength to strength and this is one of her best cases yet. Characters are finely drawn and the various locations become visible as we read. So many aspects of the war are brought into sharp relief as the fi
Ctional characters who represent the real heroes during that time are brought to life.
I thoroughly recommend this book to new and old readers of this series.
- palmerReviewed in the United States on June 24, 2025
5.0 out of 5 stars Mixed Feelings As I Read One
Verified PurchaseThis book, as all the others in the series was a great -- now I'm looking forward to what I am sure to be the final of the 18 book series. It's certain to be a fascinating finish to a fascinating series! I was hesitant to finish this novel, since I had checked and found out it was next to the last in the series. I simply wanted to extend my reading as long as possible. The series introduced me to what harrowing experiences our brave men and WOMEN, both the British and the American, face in protecting their countries’ freedom.
Truly, these books have been gifts to their readers.
- SusanReviewed in Australia on August 31, 2022
3.0 out of 5 stars How the British people coped in a country at war. A homage to the women pilots of the ATA.
Verified PurchaseIn this the latest (17th) instalment of Jacqueline Winspear's bestselling ‘Maisie Dobb’s series, fatal and near-fatal attacks on RAF pilots in the English Countryside become enmeshed in a threat to the safety of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt on her wartime visit to Britain. The author pays homage to the women pilots of the Air Transport Authority and their invaluable work and paints a vivid picture of a country at war. Maisie, her new husband Mark Scott, and the regular cast of characters are just as likeable as in previous novels. And if Maisie seems to have, at times, superhuman deductive powers, and there is the occasional almost unbelievable coincidence, it is the heroine’s reflections on life, truth and fidelity that make the novel an enjoyable read. As Winspear writes in the Author’s Note: ‘Though most writers of fiction will weave facts into the narrative when facts either inspire or support the story, as a group we’re probably more interested in touching upon universal truths – which means we sometimes take a few wide turns with those facts.’ Winspear’s determination to give the women pilots their full due accounts for some of those ‘wide turns’.
- ScoobsReviewed in the United Kingdom on February 14, 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars Getting names right!!
Verified PurchaseI gave this book full star rating because the author is a BRILLIANT writer. The way she can weave the characters together and make you draw breath about so much. HOWEVER, the author has been badly let down by whomever put this book on kindle as they spoilt my reading of this book by their inability to understand Scott is Mark's surname. On so many pages it was frustrating to find him referred to as Mark, Scott and then Mark Scott. It is lack of attention to detail that detracted from the reading flow.