Among the Mad by Jacqueline Winspear

Just before Christmas Maisie and her employee, Billie see a man commit suicide in the street. The man was clearly a War Veteran and events very quickly turn Maisie back to her nursing days during the Great War. Soon after an anonymous letter is received by the police threatening violence if the comments in the letter are not adhered to.

Soon, Maisie is seconded to the Police as she and the police try and unravel the circumstances of the two issues. Is that deceased man part of the conspiracy to cause chaos in London? Next some animals in an animal shelter are found dead, the potential result of inhaling a poisonous gas, and then on the back of another letter some birds are found dead.

Maisie springs into action as she and Billy try to discover the truth whilst confronting their own fears. Billy meanwhile, is still struggling with his wife Doreen who can not move past her grief following the death of their little girl and soon Doreen is admitted to hospital to receive treatment.

In this book, which I think is one of the best, the author has tackled some real issues for the early 1930s. There has clearly been research done into early offerings by the War Office and poisonous gases and the 1930s treatment of those who were suffering from some kind of mental illness.

About Jacqueline Winspear

Jacqueline Winspear was born and raised in the county of Kent, England. Following higher education at the University of London’s Institute of Education, Jacqueline worked in academic publishing, in higher education, and in marketing communications in the UK.

She emigrated to the United States in 1990, and while working in business and as a personal / professional coach, Jacqueline embarked upon a life-long dream to be a writer.

Jacqueline Winspear is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Elegy for Eddie, A Lesson in Secrets, The Mapping of Love and Death, and Among the Mad, as well as five other national bestselling Maisie Dobbs novels. She has won numerous awards for her work, including the Agatha, Alex, and Macavity awards for the first book in the series, Maisie Dobbs, which was also nominated for the Edgar Award for Best Novel and was a New York Times Notable Book. She now lives in California and is a regular visitor to the United Kingdom and Europe.

Find out more about Jacqueline at her website, www.jacquelinewinspear.com, and find her on Facebook.

Book Tour Hosts

Monday, March 4th: The House of the Seven Tails – Maisie Dobbs

Monday, March 4th: BookNAround – Birds of a Feather

Wednesday, March 6th: Peppermint PhD – Pardonable Lies

Thursday, March 7th: Melody & Words – Birds of a Feather

Thursday, March 7th: The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader – Messenger of Truth

Thursday, March 7th: Anglers Rest – Messenger of Truth

Thursday, March 7th: Lavish Bookshelf – An Incomplete Revenge

Friday, March 8th: Olduvai Reads – Maisie Dobbs

Friday, March 8th: 5 Minutes For Books – Pardonable Lies

Friday, March 8th: In the Next Room – An Incomplete Revenge

Friday, March 8th: Anglers Rest – Among the Mad

Friday, March 8th: The Road to Here – Among the Mad

Friday, March 8th: A Bookish Way of Life – The Mapping of Love and Death

Friday, March 8th: The Book Garden – The Mapping of Love and Death

Messenger of Truth by Jacqueline Winspear

This year the tenth book in the Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear is being released. To celebrate, there is a month long blog tour called The Month of Maisie which will focus on the whole series, with the first seven books in the series being featured in this first week of the month, leading up to the newest book at the end of the month.

Because I was a bit slow in jumping on board this series, I have just read the fourth book, Messenger of Truth. Once again, investigator/psychologist Maisie Dobbs is asked to investigate a murder, or perhaps I should say possible murder. The young man who died was Nick Bassington-Hope, a young man who was forging a name for himself as an artist of some repute. When he died he was alone in an art gallery setting up for the installation of what he thought was going to be his greatest work yet. By all appearances he had been high up on the scaffolding when he fell and died. The police were called and it was declared to be an open and shut case of accidental death.

His twin sister, Georgina, is not convinced though. She believes that there was foul play and that her brother may have been murdered. The art piece that he was installing was one that he knew would upset people but no one was going to see it before the big unveiling at the art gallery. In fact, no one even knows where the major piece is. There is an American buyer who is keen to purchase, but Nick had made it clear that he wanted it to be donated to a public institution like the War Museum.

In the course of trying to work out how Nick Bassington-Hope died, Maisie is pulled in several different directions. There is his arty but dysfunctional family who draw Maisie into their colourful lives and to the darker London underworld, his friends who lived near the seaside in converted railway carriages (that sounded rather fab!) complete with strange goings on, as well as Nick's own history as a war artist and the legacy that left on his psyche, and the strange behaviour of the police.

Personally, Maisie is still recovering from an emotional breakdown the year before, a floundering romantic relationship and an icy distance to her mentor who has previously meant so much to her and been so helpful when he has acted as a sounding board for her in the past.

One of the things I really enjoy about this series is the way the legacy of World War I is explored. Just over 10 years after the war has ended, life continues to be heavily influenced by those dreadful years and now there is additional hardship as the effects of the Great Depression really begin to affect the lives of many, especially Maisie's assistant Billy. I also like the way that Maisie continues to develop as a character. It is clear that she has a lot more development to go too, which makes her an interesting character to read about. She clearly still is impacted heavily by her war time experiences, and sometimes she is not willing to concede that. She is a career driven woman in a time where the norm was still to get married and have children, but the times are changing and not only because there is a shortage of eligible men thanks to the war.

While I do enjoy these books, there are things that don't always work. For example, Maisie relies a lot on 'intuition' to help her move her cases forward - things like being able to sit in the space of a person and see their actions to help her find clues - and whilst this might be interesting, it doesn't always make sense when something comes completely out of the blue. Ultimately, the solution to the mystery made sense, but the pieces fell together in quite a rush in some ways. The other story lines also got a bit distracting at times too.

I did have reservations about this instalment, but they are not strong enough to prevent me from continuing on with the series. I just read the synopsis for the latest book and I have to say that I was intrigued. What a pity I still have five more books to read in the series in order to get to it!

Rating 4/5

Synopsis

London, 1931. When controversial artist Nick Bassington-Hope is found dead, the police believe it is an open and shut case and his death from a fall is recorded as'accidental'. But his sister is not convinced, so she turns to Maisie Dobbs for help, drawn by the investigator's growing reputation for her unique methods of solving crimes.

Moving from the desolate beaches of the English coast to the dark underbelly of post-war London, and full of intriguing characters, Maisie's new investigation entertains and enthrals at every turn.

Adapted from my original review

You can read Kelly's thoughts about this book here, and Julie's here.

Messenger of Truth by Jacqueline Winspear

This is the fourth book in the Maisie Dobbs series. This series gets better and better and as the character develops and takes further shape, we as readers are drawn in all the more to a great series.

The central character is Maisie Dobbs, a former nurse during the Great War. Now, though Maisie is a private investigator working in London and owns her own business, car and home. A rarity for the 1930s, this book is set during 1931. During this page turner Maisie is asked by Georgina Bassington-Hope to investigate the death of her brother, a former soldier and artist who died tragically whilst he is setting up an art exhibition. Nick has experienced war. His way of coping with the events he witnessed, first as a front line soldier and then as a war artist, is to paint what he sees and this does not always bode well with those around him. As Maisie investigates she encounters secrets, war stories, smuggling and does eventually seek out the truth.

Meanwhile, her associate Billy encounters a tragedy of his own and Maisie breaks off her relationship with her latest suitor.

The author has captured the essence of a "modern woman", perhaps Maisie was a woman before her time as she sets out on the road to independence and maintaining that independence. Very well researched and despite being a fictional book based upon tragic life events and the aftermath.

About Jacqueline Winspear

Jacqueline Winspear was born and raised in the county of Kent, England. Following higher education at the University of London’s Institute of Education, Jacqueline worked in academic publishing, in higher education, and in marketing communications in the UK.

She emigrated to the United States in 1990, and while working in business and as a personal / professional coach, Jacqueline embarked upon a life-long dream to be a writer.

Jacqueline Winspear is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Elegy for Eddie, A Lesson in Secrets, The Mapping of Love and Death, and Among the Mad, as well as five other national bestselling Maisie Dobbs novels. She has won numerous awards for her work, including the Agatha, Alex, and Macavity awards for the first book in the series, Maisie Dobbs, which was also nominated for the Edgar Award for Best Novel and was a New York Times Notable Book. She now lives in California and is a regular visitor to the United Kingdom and Europe.

Find out more about Jacqueline at her website, www.jacquelinewinspear.com, and find her on Facebook.

Book Tour Hosts

Monday, March 4th: The House of the Seven Tails – Maisie Dobbs

Monday, March 4th: BookNAround – Birds of a Feather

Wednesday, March 6th: Peppermint PhD – Pardonable Lies

Thursday, March 7th: Melody & Words – Birds of a Feather

Thursday, March 7th: The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader – Messenger of Truth

Thursday, March 7th: Anglers Rest – Messenger of Truth

Thursday, March 7th: Lavish Bookshelf – An Incomplete Revenge

Friday, March 8th: Olduvai Reads – Maisie Dobbs

Friday, March 8th: 5 Minutes For Books – Pardonable Lies

Friday, March 8th: In the Next Room – An Incomplete Revenge

Friday, March 8th: Anglers Rest – Among the Mad

Friday, March 8th: The Road to Here – Among the Mad

Friday, March 8th: A Bookish Way of Life – The Mapping of Love and Death

Friday, March 8th: The Book Garden – The Mapping of Love and Death

Birds of a Feather by Jacqueline Winspear

Maisie Dobbs is a private investigator like no other. And her detective skills are about to be tested as never before...

London, 1930. Joseph Waite is a man who knows what he wants. As one of Britain's wealthiest men, he last thing he needs is a scandal. When his daughter runs away from home, he is determined to keep the case away from the police and the newspapers. So he turns to a woman known for her uniquely intuitive approach to criminal investigation, and for her discretion - the extraordinary Maisie Dobbs.

Waite's instructions are to find his daughter and bring her home. But the task is far from straightforward. Maisie soon uncovers a chilling link to a recent murder case, and finds herself revisiting the tragedy of the Great War.

Having put off reading the first Maisie Dobbs books for years, I was determined to not do the same thing with the second book! It took me only five months!

When Maisie is called in by one of the richest men in Britain, it seems a relatively simple task. Find his missing daughter without involving the police and the media, and do it quickly and Mr Waite would reward her sweetly.

This isn't the first time that Miss Charlotte Waite has disappeared which is in itself quite perplexing, because she is a young lady who seems to have a very comfortable life - she is wealthy and pampered and has the best of everything. The only down side seems to be that she has recently broken off her engagement although it soon becomes clear that she lives in a very controlled environment - everything being controlled by her father.

Appearances can be deceptive though, especially when a friend of hers is murdered and by tying the clues together it becomes clear that there is something far more sinister going on. Maisie needs to find Charlotte and her friends and work out what it is exactly that makes four respectable young women the target for a killer.

Once again, the lasting effects of World War I play a huge part in the storyline, and for me that is one of the biggest pluses to reading this series. It is often easy to think that World War I went from 1914 to 1918, and then the Great Depression went from the late 1920s, and then World War II started in 1939 and that they were almost standalone events. The reality is though that many of the people who were affected by the first war were affected by the Depression and were again affected by the second war, and so they are indelibly linked in the lives of these people. I have a post half written in my drafts about something along these lines that I might get around to finishing one of these days.

One of my favourite quotes from Birds of a Feather addresses exactly this subject. It comes from page 263 and it is Lady Rowan, Maisie's original employer, who is speaking to Maisie:

"That's one more thing that I detest about war. It's not over when it ends. Of course, it seems as if everyone's pally again, what with agreements, the international accords, and contracts and so on. But it still lives inside the living, doesn't it?"

Maisie's assistant Billie was really the embodiment of this sentiment in this book. His war wounds are playing up and he seems to be making some dubious choices, which gave Maisie something additional to worry about whilst she completes her investigation.

The secondary characters are all present including her aging father, Lady Rowan, Maurice Blanche and more. I was pleased to see that Maisie felt more comfortable with Simon's place in her life, but I was also glad that she seems to have decided that it might be time to at least start thinking about moving forward.

I have already picked up the next book in the series from the library!

This review is adapted from the original posted at The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader

Eagerly Anticipating in 2012

Marg's Choice - Voice of the Falconer by David Blixt

I was a huge fan of Master of Verona by David Blixt to the extent that I have posted my review of that book here at Historical Tapestry and twice on my own blog! I think I have also strongly recommended this book to a number of my fellow readers.  (Yes, I am one of those people who strongly suggests that others read certain books!)

For a long time it looked like this book was not going to see the light of day, but hurrah! this year it will be published. It won't have the cover above, which is a pity because it is a gorgeous cover, but I am even more excited by the contents of the book than the fact that this won't be the cover after all!

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Alex's choice - The Second Empress by Michelle Moran

The minute I read the blurb, I wanted this book, I craved for it ! I'm not a big fan of Napoleon (never was, never will !) but a book about his second wife, Marie-Louise, is certainly a must read for me. I can't wait for the release of The Second Empress. You can read more about it at Michelle Moran's website: http://michellemoran.com/books/releases.html

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Ana's choice - The Perfume Garden by Kate Lord Brown

There's something about restoring old houses full of secrets that I just can't seem to resist. The fact that Kate Lord Brown's next book adds to that a Spanish Civil War secret is the cherry on top of the cake. I haven't read her first book, although it was reviewed here at HT and it seemed interesting, but I know I'll have to pick this one up when it comes out. Sadly there's no cover image but I will add it when I find it.

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Teddy's Choice- Sarah Thornhill by Kate Grenville

In the final book of a trilogy that began with her bestselling novel, The Secret River, Commonwealth Prize–winner Kate Grenville returns to the youngest daughter of the Thornhills and her quest to uncover, at her peril, the family’s hidden legacy.

Sarah is the youngest child of William Thornhill, the pioneer at the center of The Secret River. Unknown to her, her father—an uneducated ex-convict from London—has built his fortune on the blood of Aboriginal people. With a fine stone house and plenty of money, Thornhill has re-invented himself. As he tells his daughter, he “never looks back,” and Sarah grows up learning not to ask about the past. Instead her eyes are on handsome Jack Langland, whom she’s loved since she was a child. Their romance seems destined, but the ugly secret in Sarah’s family is poised to ambush them both.

As she did with The Secret River, Grenville once again digs into her own family history to tell a story about the past that still resonates today. Driven by the captivating voice of the illiterate Sarah—at once headstrong, sympathetic, curious, and refreshingly honest—this is an unforgettable portrait of a passionate woman caught up in a historical moment of astonishing turmoil.

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Kailana's Choice - Elegy for Eddie by Jacqueline Winspear


I love this series, so I am always excited for the newest release.

In this latest entry in Jacqueline Winspear’s acclaimed, bestselling mystery series—“less whodunits than why-dunits, more P.D. James than Agatha Christie” (USA Today)—Maisie Dobbs takes on her most personal case yet, a twisting investigation into the brutal killing of a street peddler that will take her from the working-class neighborhoods of her childhood into London’s highest circles of power. Perfect for fans of A Lesson in Secrets, The Mapping of Love and Death, or other Maisie Dobbs mysteries—and an ideal place for new readers to enter the series—Elegy for Eddie is an incomparable work of intrigue and ingenuity, full of intimate descriptions and beautifully painted scenes from between the World Wars, from one of the most highly acclaimed masters of mystery, Jacqueline Winspear.

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What are your eagerly anticipated reads for 2012?

Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear

She started as a maid in an aristocratic London household when she was thirteen. Her employer, Lady Rowan Compton, a suffragette, took the remarkably bright youngster under her wing and became her patron, aided by Maurice Blanche, a friend often retained as an investigator by the elite of Europe. It was he who first recognised Maisie's intuitive gifts and helped her to earn admission to prestigious Girton College at Cambridge where Maisie planned to complete her education.


The outbreak of war changed everything. Maisie trained as a nurse, then left for France to serve at the Front, where she found - and lost - an important part of herself.


Ten years after the Armistice, in the spring of 1929, Maisie sets up on her own as a private investigator, one who has learned that coincidences are meaningful, and truth elusive. her very first case involves suspected infidelity but reveals something very different. In the aftermath of the Great War, a former officer has founded a convalescent refuge for those grievously wounded, ex-soldiers too shattered to resume normal life. It is a working farm known as The Retreat. When Fate brings Maisie a second case involving The Retreat she must confront the ghost that has haunted her for over ten years.

Okay, I am going to start with shallow and make my way to a bit more depth in this review!

Firstly, can I say how much I dislike this cover! It might be correct for the era but it is also drab and boring especially when you are holding the book in your hand and I am so glad that they have moved onto new covers for this series.Aren't these ones much, much better?

Anyway ... moving on.

Do you have strategies as to how and what you are going to read next? For the longest time I had put off reading this book because I was reading the Phryne Fisher mystery series which is also set in the late 1920s and I had decided that I didn't want to mix the two series. Now that I seem to have fallen off the Phryne Fisher series (not deliberately I just haven't read one for ages) it was time to give Maisie a go. To be honest though, other than the superficial similarities of a woman detective in the late 1920s there is really not a lot in common and so I could have been reading them both the whole time! Oh well, lesson learned!

Maisie Dobbs started out as a maid in the London household of Lady Rowan Compton, mother, suffragette and determined to make a difference. Early on Maisie's enthusiasm for education and learning is identified when she is found reading in the library in the early hours of the morning, and so Lady Compton brings in her friend Maurice to teach her, leading to a place for Maisie at Girton College in Cambridge. Her future education is pretty much assured until World War I interrupts and instead of continuing her education she becomes a nurse first in a London hospital but later on is sent to the French fronts.

Fast forward 10 years and Maisie is setting herself up as a private investigator. Her first case involves a husband who believes that his wife is cheating on him. The clues eventually lead Maisie to a working farm which was set up to provide a safe haven for those returned soldiers who suffered horrific injuries that make it difficult to live a normal life, but Maisie thinks that there is something a bit odd about the set up. When Lady Compton's son James decides that he wants to go and live at The Retreat, Maisie knows that she needs to investigate, with the assistance of Billy. He was a patient in France and they meet again fortuitously when she rents the rooms where he is the building handyman/supervisor.

The structure on this one was interesting. The first part of the book is all about the cases she is working on, but the second part takes us back to her humble beginnings and works through her past leading right up to her time as a war nurse. The scenes portrayed in this section in particular were heart rending and this reader could almost hear the guns booming through the pages. The third section of the book then went back to the case, and to the memories that Maisie is forced to confront and deal with, especially the memories of the heart. The supporting cast of characters include not only those I have mentioned previously and her father Frankie, and they all work to assist Maisie with her case but also with her own emotional issues.

I feel a little silly that I waited so long to start this series because I knew I would like it. I can assure you that I will be reading the next book in the series fairly soon! It is waiting at the library to be picked up as we speak!

Rating 4/5

You can read Ana's thoughts about this book here.

Cross posted at my blog

Pardonable Lies by Jacqueline Winspear

A deathbed plea from his wife leads Sir Cecil Lawton to seek the aid of Maisie Dobbs, psychologist and investigator. As Maisie soon learns, Agnes Lawton never accepted that her aviator son was killed in the Great War, a torment that led her not only to the edge of madness but also to the doors of those who practice the dark arts and commune with the spirit world." Maisie accepts the assignment - determined to prove Ralph Lawton either dead or alive - and in doing so is plunged into a case that tests her spiritual strength, as well as her regard for her mentor, Maurice Blanche. The mission also brings her together once again with her college friend Priscilla Evernden, who served in France and who lost three brothers to the war - one of whom, it turns out, had an intriguing connection to the missing Ralph Lawton.

This is my third Maisie Dobbs mystery and my favourite so far. In this one Maisie ends up involved in three different mysteries - she tries to help a young girl charged with murder; she is hired to prove if a young aviator, Ralph Lawton, was actually killed during the war and her old school friend Priscilla asks her to find out how one of her brothers died in the war.

I think that what made me like this one so much is that there was a bit more of history here than in previous books. Maisie actually has to travel to France to find out the answers she needs and a lot is mentioned about life during the war. Then there seemed to be less of Maisie's "supernatural" powers in this one which, to me, is always a good thing. And her mentor Maurice Blanc seems to be more involved than we knew in the war's intelligence service.

There were strong characters, interesting plots and the mysteries were engaging although we could guess at a distance what had separated Ralph Lawton from his father and I think Maisie finding what happened to him involved quite a bit of luck. In the end my favourite resolution was the mystery of what happened to Priscilla's brother.

I am now looking forward to see how Maisie will do in future mysteries since she probably won't feel as close to Maurice as she did thus far.

Grade: 4/5

Birds of a Feather by Jacqueline Winspear

The spirited heroine of Maisie Dobbs (Soho, 2003) is back to solve another puzzle in post-World War I London. Having been trained by a master detective, the former serving girl now a Cambridge graduate is hired by grocery magnate Joseph Waite to find his wayward daughter, Charlotte. What begins as a simple missing-person case evolves into the investigation of three murders, all of young women who were friends during the war. Charlotte may be the next target. Chock-full of period details such as how to start a 1920s-era MG, what to buy at the grocer's, what to wear in the country, soup kitchens, and heroin use, the novel follows Maisie's progress as she uses detection, psychology, and even yogalike centering to clear her mind. There is much substance to this mystery, which mines the situations brought about by the horrors of the war–both on the front and at home, and its still simmering aftermath–plus a hint of romance and the beginning resolution of two father-daughter rifts.

Birds of a Feather is the second book in the Maisie Dobbs series. Set after WWI Maisie is a young girl of the working class who had the fortune of being protected and educated by the Lady her father worked for. After the war she decides to become a private detective following in the footsteps of her mentor, Maurice Blanc.

In this second installment of the series Maisie is hired by Joseph Waite, a self made millionaire, to find his missing daughter Charlotte. Joseph seems a hard man only interested in the business and in keeping his daughter in line and, from what Maisie finds out, Charlotte was a deeply troubled and unhappy woman. When she tries to find out more about Charlotte she discovers that her school friends are being murdered and that the reasons behind Charlotte's actions may be connected to what is happening to them.

I really like Maisie has a heroine, she is nice and sensible, sometimes too perfect, but she is an interesting character and the series provides a very interesting glimpse of the life after WWI and how the war affected both the high and lower classes. I have a bit of trouble believing the paranormal side of Maisie's investigations but that is really the only down side. In this particular story I really liked how the mystery developed, I was kept intrigued and in suspense till the last page. I also liked that the motivations were so well connected to the period; I learned quite a few things.

I also enjoyed revisiting the characters we got to know in the first book, like Lady Rowan, Maurice, Maisie's father and Billy. Maisie still visits Simon, her former fiancé who was wounded in the war and that now lives in a hospital unaware of the reality around him but Winspear seems decided to give her a new love interest in this story. Although love triangles are not a favourite with me this might make her more human as Maisie is usually too emotionally contained.

Looking forward to the next book now...

Grade: 4/5

An Incomplete Revenge: A Maisie Dobbs Novel by Jacqueline Winspear (Book 5)

*Note: Because of library due dates, I did wind up reading book 5 before book 4 in this series! Something I try to avoid, but it was just how things worked out!

With the country in the grip of economic malaise, Maisie Dobbs is relieved to accept an apparently straightforward assignment to investigate a potential land purchase. Her inquiries take her to a picturesque village in Kent during the hop-picking season, but beneath its pastoral surface she finds evidence that something is amiss. Mysterious fires erupt in the village with alarming regularity, and a series of petty crimes suggest a darker criminal element at work. A peculiar secrecy shrouds the village, and ultimately Maisie must draw on her finely-honed skills of detection to solve one of her most intriguing cases yet.

Title and author of book: An Incomplete Revenge: A Maisie Dobbs Novel by Jacqueline Winspear (Book 5)

Fiction or non-fiction? Genre? Historical Fiction. Historical Mystery.

What led you to pick up this book? This is one of the series that I am aiming to finish this year. I just have to read book 6, the newest one, and I am all caught up!

Summarize the plot, but don’t give away the ending! See above...

What did you like most about the book? Anyone that knows me will know that I am not a big fan of mysteries. It is just not a genre that I read a lot. I love this series, though! The use of actual history makes the series a learning experience, while at the same time there is a mystery to solve. The series is set leading up to the second World War, so it is the Great Depression around this time. Maisie, though, was in the First World War, which is a subject that comes up again and again throughout the series. This means that Winspear talks about the times as they are now, but also flashes back to Maisie's past. I learn a lot reading these books. The World Wars have some of the best books set during them, which makes it a time period that I am usually pretty quick to pick up a new book set during.

What did you like least? Nothing really jumps to mind.

Have you read any other books by this author? What did you think of those books? Yes. At this point I have one more to read and then I am caught up. I will be reviewing book four after book five, though. Birds of a Feather (Book 2) and Pardonable Lies (Book 3). I read book one last year, but I didn't review it.

What did you think of the main character? I love Maisie. She is a fantastic character! If I didn't love her, I probably would not have read almost the entire series. She is a bit remarkable for her time period, but Winspear pulls it off. Her sweetheart was severely injured during the First World War, so she has been essentially single ever since. She is a career woman. She suits her time period, though. She might solve cases and act as a bit of a psychologist, but she doesn't overstep the boundaries of how women lived during this period. I love how Winspear has a mystery as the main part of the book, but at the same time with each new book you learn more about Maisie. As a result of five books, I feel like I really know her. I look forward to learning more about her in the future books. Frankly, Winspear writes good characters period. The secondary characters develop throughout the novels, too, which is another thing that I really like about the series.

What about the ending? I have no complaints about the ending. Any loose ends you know are going to be cleared up in future books, so there is no stress. The mysteries are always tied up by the end, but the character development is an on-going thing.

I strongly recommend this series!

Messenger of Truth: A Maisie Dobbs Novel by Jacqueline Winspear (Book 4)

Sue Feder/Macavity Award for Best Historical Mystery Award Nominee London, 1931. On the night before the opening of his new and much-anticipated exhibition at a famed Mayfair gallery, Nicholas Bassington-Hope falls to his death. The police declare it an accident, but the dead man's twin sister, Georgina, isn't convinced. When the authorities refuse to conduct further investigations, Georgina takes matters into her own hands, seeking out a fellow graduate from Girton College: Maisie Dobbs, psychologist and investigator. The case soon takes Maisie to the desolate beaches of Dungeness in Kent, as well as the sinister underbelly of the city's art world. She again uncovers the dark legacy of the Great War in a society struggling to recollect itself in difficult times. But to solve the mystery of the artist's death, she will have to remain steady as the forces behind his death come out of the shadows to silence her. Jacqueline Winspear delivers another vivid, thrilling, and utterly unique episode in the life of Maisie Dobbs.

Title and author of book: Messenger of Truth: A Maisie Dobbs Novel by Jacqueline Winspear (Book 4)

Fiction or non-fiction? Genre? Historical Fiction. Historical Mystery.

What led you to pick up this book? Continuing on with the series.

Summarize the plot, but don’t give away the ending! See above...

What did you like most about the book? I think I would consider this my favourite book in the series. That might be because it was my most recent read, but I really liked the storyline to this one. It might be because of the art history courses I took in university. Anyway, in this book Maisie is investigating the mysterious circumstances surrounding Nicholas Bassington-Hope. I think this book was the one that surprised me the most, actually. The others I had things generally figured out, but this one did not happen the way I expected it to at all! I will say that I really wish I could actually see the painting that was the central aspect of the novel. It sounds like it would be something that you would not soon forget. Nicholas was a World War I veteran who saw things that I can only begin to imagine. This book also has great secondary characters. I enjoyed them immensely! There were also some interesting developments in Maisie's life during the course of this book.

What did you like least? There were things that happened that I wished didn't happen, but they fit the book. It was just sad. You get to know the characters during these books, so you feel for them when something bad happens.

Have you read any other books by this author? What did you think of those books? By reviewing this one, it means that I just have to read book six and I will be caught up!

What did you think of the main character? Basically the same things that I said in my review for An Incomplete Revenge. I like her and enjoy the character development. I look forward to more from Maisie in the future novels.

What about the ending? The ending worked for the book. It tied up the mystery, which is really what you would expect. It had a happy, but bittersweet, ending. Anything else and I will be spoiling it!

Another recommended read!

HT News

Danielle from A Work in Progress has an interview with Jacqueline Winspear, author of the popular Maisie Dobbs mystery series set in the 1920s. For you lucky people who live in the US or Canada there is also a giveaway of the latest Maisie Dobbs novel, Among the Mad.

I know we only just had some Deanna Raybourn news, but there's more. If you are planning to buy Silent on the Moor some time before 9 March hold onto your receipt as there will be a chance to win a Kindle 2. The details aren't all up yet, but be sure to keep an eye out on Deanna's blog so that you see the contest when all the details are released.

Pardonable Lies: A Maisie Dobbs Novel by Jacqueline Winspear

Books Completed: 29
Completion Date: February 3, 2009
Pages: 384
Publication Date: June 27, 2006

Reason for Reading: Third book in the Maisie Dobbs series.

Agatha Christies Miss Marple. Sue Graftons Kinsey Millhone. Alexander McCall Smiths Precious Ramotswe. Every once in a while, a detective bursts on the scene who captures readers heartsand imaginationsand doesnt let go. And so it was with Jacqueline Winspears Maisie Dobbs, who made her debut just two years ago in the eponymously titled first book of the series, and is already on her way to becoming a household name. A deathbed plea from his wife leads Sir Cecil Lawton to seek the aid of Maisie Dobbs, psychologist and investigator. As Maisie soon learns, Agnes Lawton never accepted that her aviator son was killed in the Great War, a torment that led her not only to the edge of madness but to the doors of those who practice the dark arts and commune with the spirit world. In accepting the assignment, Maisie finds her spiritual strength tested, as well as her regard for her mentor, Maurice Blanche. The mission also brings her together once again with her college friend Priscilla Evernden, who served in France and who lost three brothers to the warone of whom, it turns out, had an intriguing connection to the missing Ralph Lawton.

For those that read my blog, you would probably have noticed two things about me that I feel like mentioning. Firstly, I don't read a lot of mystery novels. They enter the picture from time to time, because I try not to be close-minded, but generally I don't read a lot. Secondly, I am terrible with finishing series. I start them and then months later might read the next book! This book is an exception to both of these commonly held opinions about me, though. This is a mystery book and I only read book two in the series last month! I am breaking rules this reading year, apparently.

I really like this series, though. This book takes place about 12 years after the end of the First World War. Maisie Dobbs was a nurse in the war and she knows many people that served in the war and were touched by the effects of the war. So, even though this book doesn't take place during the war itself; it is still necessary to draw on the events of the past. The first book set up what life was like for Maisie during the war, and then each successive book has built on it. In this novel, Maisie actually has to go back to France for the case that she is working on and finds herself facing the terrible place where she almost lost her life. I think the mentioning of the war is the main reason that I stick with this series, but I also really like Maisie. For her times she is considered a spinster, but she really does not let her unmarried status or the fact that she is female stop her from living her life. It makes her a very likable and intriguing character; which makes you want to read more about her.

There are three cases on the go in this book. Two of them are directly tied in with the First World War, so I enjoyed learning the details while Maisie worked to track down the information that she needed. Obviously I have read a bit on what it was like during the war, but these men lead lives that I had never really read anything about before. They were very brave, not that everyone wasn't back then, and lead very interesting lives. Since they were not your typical wartime stories, though, it left me wondering if there are not more books on the subject. In any case, this was another good addition to the series and I cannot wait to read more!

Birds of a Feather by Maisie Dobbs

Books Completed: 23
Completion Date: January, 2009
Pages: 360
Publication Date: June, 2004

Reason for Reading: Book Two in the Maisie Dobbs series. I read book one last year, but apparently never reviewed it.

Jacqueline Winspear's marvelous and inspired debut, Maisie Dobbs, won her fans from coast to coast and raised her intuitive, intelligent, and resourceful heroine to the ranks of literature's favorite sleuths. Birds of a Feather finds Maisie Dobbs on another dangerously intriguing adventure in London "between the wars." It is the spring of 1930, and Maisie has been hired to find a runaway heiress. But what seems a simple case at the outset soon becomes increasingly complicated when three of the heiress's old friends are found dead. Is there a connection between the woman's mysterious disappearance and the murders? Who would want to kill three seemingly respectable young women? As Maisie investigates, she discovers that the answers lie in the unforgettable agony of the Great War.

I can't believe I never reviewed book one in this series! I really was slack on the reviewing front last year. Anyway, I actually really like this series, even if it is a mystery series. I am not big on ones set in a more modern period, but I have enjoyed several with historical settings. This series takes place in between the First and Second World War. The Depression years were just about to set in, actually, which is something that was mentioned throughout the book.

My favourite thing about this series, so far, is how there is of course the mystery, but Winspear also works a lot of historical elements into the novel. Maisie might be a bit revolutionary for her time: being a detective and having her own business, but she also is plagued with the same problems that other women of her age and class experienced during the early to mid-twentieth century. Things were going to change again with the declaration of war, but for now, everyone is trying to come to terms with what happened during the first major war and get on with their lives. To solve this case, though, Maisie has to go back to the events of World War I, which I found really interesting.

So, maybe I should mention the case a bit. A local businessman has employed Maisie's services to search for his missing daughter. She has run off before, but this time he really has no idea where she is and wants her back safe and sound in his house. Maisie is not sure what to make of the case or the missing heiress, but it turns out to be quite the chase when other wealthy women starting turning up dead. Could the missing heiress be next, or has she already been murdered? These are just some of the things that Maisie has to wonder as she chases down the truth.

I really like this series so far. There are lots of interesting return characters, not just Maisie. Maisie also is shown to have a life, it is not only about the case with no character development. The same could be said for many of the secondary repeat characters, they also are given time to develop. It makes for a really interesting series, I must say! I am looking forward to reading more!

Maisie Dobbs - Jacqueline Winspear

This book is set in the 1920s and when we meet Maisie she has just established herself as a Private Investigator. As she starts investigating her first case we are given a view of her past as a young house maid and then, through hard work and kind employers, as a student in Cambridge University and after that as a nurse in France during World War II.

I particularly liked two things, the sense of time and place of the descriptions and the psycological approach to every situation. Maisie's interactions with other people are always analised by her according to the teachings of her mentor, Maurice Blanche. There's a part in the book where he asks her what she wants to do and she replies: I want to do what you do. I want to heal people!

The first case Maisie investigates while seeming just an ordinary infidelity case will make her revisit her past, relive the horrors of the war and the problem the wounded soldiers faced on returning home not whole and finally it will make her deal with the loss of her love.

I can't wait to get my hands on the second book, as a matter of fact I read this one as part of a bookring but I think I'll have to find my own copy soon. I want to keep it and reread it.