To Die But Once by Jacqueline Winspear

In the spring of 1940, London pub owner Phil Coombes asks Maisie Dobbs to look into the whereabouts of his youngest son, Joe. Joe has been travelling around the country with a painting company fireproofing buildings for the Royal Air Force. Phil reports that Joe has been feeling sick lately and has headaches, so Maisie wonders if the paint might have been making him ill. On a personal front, Maisie's best friend (Priscilla) and Billy (Maisie's long-time employee) worry about their sons who have already gone off to war or aching to enlist. Maisie, too, has heartache of her own as she attempts to adopt Anna, the young girl who has been entrusted to her care. To Die But Once is another satisfying mystery in the Maisie Dobbs series.