What I'm thinking about today

The Consequences of Fear: A Maisie Dobbs Novel (Book 16 of 17) ~ by Jacqueline Winspear, 2021, mystery (England), 352 pages

As Europe buckles under Nazi occupation, Maisie Dobbs investigates a possible murder that threatens devastating repercussions for Britain's war efforts.  While on a delivery in October 1941, young Freddie Hackett, a message runner for a government office, witnesses an argument that ends in murder.  Crouching in the doorway of a bombed-out house, Freddie waits until the coast is clear.  But when he arrives at the delivery address, he’s shocked to come face to face with the killer.

Dismissed by the police when he attempts to report the crime, Freddie goes in search of a woman he once met when delivering a message:  Maisie Dobbs.  While Maisie believes the boy and wants to help, she must maintain extreme caution because she’s working secretly for the Special Operations Executive, assessing candidates for crucial work with the French resistance.  Her two worlds collide when she spots the killer in a place she least expects.  She soon realizes she has been pulled into the orbit of a man who has his own reasons to kill — reasons that go back to the last war.

As Maisie becomes entangled in a power struggle between Britain’s intelligence efforts in France and the work of Free French agents operating across Europe, she must also contend with the lingering question of Freddie Hackett’s state of mind.  What she uncovers could hold disastrous consequences for all involved.

My best friend Donna gave me a hardback copy of this book for my birthday in 2021, which was the latest in the Maisie Dobbs series at the time.  As most of you know who've been reading this blog for awhile, Donna died in 2021, three months after she gave me this book.  It's the 16th in the series, and I was trying to read all the others first (Donna had read them already), so I put the book aside until I had finished reading the earlier ones.  I "inherited" Donna's Kindle and have just discovered this book among the 333 books on her Kindle.  She rated it 5 stars out of 5, the highest rating.  I don't need TWO copies of the same book, so I have donated this brand-new hardback copy to our little library here at the Crown Center.  It's with the newly acquired books, unless someone has already checked it out.

Here's the whole list of books in this series now:

1.  Maisie Dobbs (2003)

2.  Birds of a Feather (2004)

3.  Pardonable Lies (2005)

4.  Messenger of Truth (2006)

5.  An Incomplete Revenge (2008)

6.  Among the Mad (2009)

7.  The Mapping of Love and Death (2010)

8.  A Lesson in Secrets (2011)

9.  Elegy for Eddie (2012)

10.  Leaving Everything Most Loved (2013)

11.  A Dangerous Place (2015)

12.  Journey to Munich (2017)

13.  In This Grave Hour (2018)

14.  To Die But Once (2018)

15.  The American Agent (2019)

16.  The Consequences of Fear (2021)

17.  A Sunlit Weapon (2022)

It's Monday, and I'm thinking about what else has happened this past week besides donating a book in Donna's memory.  Construction of the new building here is coming along nicely, and they seem to be putting the roof on the top (5th) floor.  We gathered on Friday in the Café for Florence's retirement after working more than 20 years at the Crown Center; we'll really miss her.  I got a flu shot.  Okay, that's not a very pleasant memory, but there's one recent memory that's TERRIBLE:

Someone tried to SCAM me.  I got an email from an old friend I hadn't talked to in years, saying she needed "an important favor" from me.  She is "very busy right now, emails only."  When I responded, asking what the favor was, "she" emailed back that she needs

"...to get an eBay gift card for my nephew,  it's his birthday but I can't do this now because I'm seriously ill and my doctor said I should stay indoors for some reason.  I have tried to purchase it online but unfortunately no luck with that, can you get it from any store around you?  I'll reimburse you as soon as possible."

I wrote back that I no longer have a car, so can't do it.  "She" responded:

"You can get an eBay gift card at Walgreens, Target, CVS, Walmart or any store around you. the amount needed on the eBay gift card is 400 dollars 200 dollars each, Right now I’m isolated at the health center I’m not home, once you have gotten the card scratch the back of the card showing the pins and then write it out and send the pins of the card to me here so I can forward it to my nephews to purchase games online.  Please keep me updated, I need it urgently.  Thanks."

So, let me get this straight:  (1) she's too busy, (2) she's seriously ill and should stay indoors, (3) then she's isolated at the health center, and yet (4) getting a game for a nephew is urgent.  Yeah, right!  How can she be "too busy" when she is in isolation?  Also, she's older than I am, so if she has a nephew, he would be retirement age.  I would say that very few elderly men "urgently" need an online game that costs hundreds of dollars ... AND ... my friend knows I don't have that kind of money in the first place.  

Also notice that (4) "nephew" became the plural "nephews" and (5) there's that confusing "400 dollars 200 dollars each."  Two strange things about that:  first, "she" didn't type $400 and $200, like most of us would, but typed out the word "dollars" instead.  Second, "she" is now saying "each" like there's more than one nephew.  Has he suddenly become twins?  If not, why would "she" want to buy games "urgently" for more than one nephew's birthday?  I wrote back:

"This is beginning to sound very much like a SCAM, you know.  Especially, since we haven't been in touch lately.  So name three or four of our mutual friends before I do anything else."

Surprise, surprise!  "She" suddenly ended the emails to me.  No list of friends, not even one.  I was not at all surprised.  Not having my friend's phone number in my current phone, I googled her online.  The most recent mention I could find, without rejoining Facebook, was dated 2017.  I tried calling a mutual friend, whose number I found in one of my old daily planners, but she didn't answer because "that number is no longer in use."  I looked HER up and found she had died, and so had two other mutual friends.  I finally realized she was probably still in my email contacts.  Ta-da!  Yes!  So now I have emailed her, saying, "Let me know how you are, and I'll give you more details."

Word of the Day

mind·ful / noun = the quality or state of being conscious or aware of something.  Example:  I'm glad I was mindful of things that didn't add up, like "my friend" not using correct punctuation and grammar.  (Yeah, go back and re-read it.  Run-on sentences are not like her at all.)