History buff that I am, I just had to look up what the status of the war was in England in 1942. Bottom line, precarious. The year was scarred by several major military defeats abroad with a heavy loss of trans-Atlantic shipping. On the other hand, it also marked the beginning of the post Pearl Harbor change in status as U.S. troops were beginning to land on the home front. While I was thoroughly engrossed in the mystery, I also noted that one of the best virtual scenes in the book came toward the end when Jane and Arthur see groups of neatly and warmly dressed children at a train station. My take was they were part of the effort of many parents to remove their children from harm, most likely bombings, by sending them to be cared for by others, not always family, in less prominent areas. Many were also transported overseas, I'll note, many Jewish children smuggled out of occupied countries amongst them. And, thus ends my history lesson. On to the story....
While the storyline, as always, remains strong with an emphasis on the war effort involving Jane and Arthur this go-round, the protection of valuable art objects. I won't go into great detail but it's rather astounding to recognize that the extreme measures described here were probably real, albeit maybe not all in one location. As always, there's a spy/traitor in the midst that results in deaths that Jane and Arthur must sort out asap. Crosswords play a role with cryptic clues hidden within. I won't detail the plot but was delighted to get some insight into the people behind the mission, in this case largely Jane and Arthur's man-servent Benson. To be honest, I didn't much care for Jane when the series began despite finding the stories intriguing, though I've gradually warmed up to her. This go-round we find out more about her past, not to mention get another glimpse of her complicated relationship with her diva star of a mother. The Benson reveal is a quick glimpse at the end that I'm sure will be followed up in the next book. So far, Arthur remains largely a mystery other than that he inherited his home from an uncle if I remember correctly. Surely it'll be turn for a reveal on him soon. In any case, much to my surprise, I've come to like all the characters, well, Jane's office nemesis isn't a favorite but there's probably lots to him we don't know yet, either. As a history buff and reader drawn to characters, this has been a delight of a series.
Bottom line, if you love clever mysteries and history, you'll like this one. The three main characters have become a tight team and have each other's backs, and it's been fun to see them grow as a team and individuals. I mean, Jane is still smoking, yes, but is being more and more aware of avoiding sending smoke in asthmatic Arthur's face as well as slowing her pace to his when walking. Trust me, those are serious improvements in her awareness and behavior towards others. The settings are largely away from prime bombing target London but that only reminds us that the war was by this time truly a world wide war, not to mention how much was going on that the public wasn't aware of. Thanks #Bookouture for originally introducing me to Jane, Arthur, and Benson and the early reads that so satisfy both my love of history and well-written, character driven mysteries. Heck, there's a lot to be learned about the war and history here, too.
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