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.

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!