In this book, the fourth in the Maisie Dobbs series, Maisie is asked to investigate the death of an old school acquaintance’s twin brother. Nick Basington-Hope was a controversial artist and a veteran of the recent Great War, as is Maisie. He had been keeping his work from the view of others due to its controversial content, but had just arranged for a grand showing. Some of the pieces were quite large, and apparently, as he was installing them on his own on a landing, he fell to his death. His sister finds this hard to believe, as he was used to doing the installations. Also the art works in question have now disappeared. Maisie must investigate his fellow veteran artists, living in an artist colony living in shanties on a beach in Kent.
But there is another issue closer to home. Her assistant Billy’s young daughter has come down ill with the flu. Money is tight, and the parents delay a day or two before taking her to a doctor. This occurs while Maisie is in Kent, and she can’t help feeling that if she had stopped to see her, as she has nursing experience, she could have given Billy and his wife better advice. But there’s no help for it, and the young girl is dead within days. This sends his wife into a tailspin, and Billy is left with two young boys to take care of and keep on his job as well. It does manage to work out reasonably well at the end, all things considered. It is alarming however, especially as a parent myself, to realize how quickly your life can change, and second guessing a child’s health is still, even now, a chancy proposition. Much easier to deal with murders of the rich and famous.