A review by tfpjr492
The White Lady by Jacqueline Winspear

adventurous inspiring tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

The White Lady by Jacqueline Winspear is an action novel with the main character Elinor White, who has training and experience as a spy in the two world wars. A large part of the story details her experiences as a child spy in occupied Belgium during WWI and as a behind-the-lines operator inserted under cover of darkness into occupied Belgium during WWII. She has natural talents with firearms and foreign languages. She is trained to leverage normal fears into intensified awareness during high-pressure situations.

These experiences have prepared her for a new challenge in post-war Britain. She endeavors to adapt to a simple and slower lifestyle in rural Britain. She appears aloof and mysterious to her neighbors, but Elinor is keenly observant of their daily lives.

“And how did Elinor know all this? Because she made it her business to know. Just as she knew the butcher was fiddling the books and his customers, just as she knew Mrs. Butler at the tea shop in Shacklehurst was a receiver of black market goods.”

Elinor is drawn into the affairs of an organized crime family. In the course of her inquiries and investigation into the crime family, she learns new insights about her traumatic and mysterious past. This book is recommended for readers, who enjoy a spy tale combined with some episodes of an organized criminal enterprise.

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