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Review
'Psychologically convincing'
(Jessica Mann, Literary Review 20060515)'The author captures the atmosphere of (the 1930s) with great accuracy, borne out by extensive research'
(Dover Express & Folkestone Herald 20060515)'A riveting read...it is an easy book to read yet is not, I felt, a light read as it delves into the horrors of the First World War'
(Newbooks 20060515)'So well written that it leaves you wanting more'
'The terrific mystery is intriguing and full of suspense which makes for an absorbing read'
(Dartford Messenger 20060515)'The accurate period detail makes this series a worthy successor to Agatha Christie's Miss Marple books'
(Good Book Guide )'She has created a fascinating working class heroine, Maisie Dobbs ... if you don't usually read detective stories just meet Maisie Dobbs and you may change your mind'
(Driffield Leader )Praise for Jacqueline Winspear
(*** )'In Maisie Dobbs, Jacqueline Winspear has given us a real gift. Maisie Dobbs has not been created - she has been discovered. Such people are always there amongst us, waiting for somebody like Ms. Winspear to come along and reveal them. And what a revelation it is!'
(Alexander McCall Smith )'A fine new sleuth for the twenty-first century' (Elizabeth George )
'A heroine to cherish' (New York Times )
'A wry and immensely readable beginning to what promises to be a vivid new addition to crime fiction' (Praise for MAISIE DOBBS, Daily Mail )
'The British counterpart to Alexander McCall Smith's The No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency' (Associated Press )
'Feisty, working-class heroine Maisie is a deliberate throwback to the sleuthettes of old-fashioned crime writing. The well-plotted story, its characters and the picture of London between the wars are decidedly romantic. American readers loved it; many Brits will, too.' (Guardian )
'A terrific mystery ... Intriguing and full of suspense, it makes for an absorbing read' (Observer )
'Even if detective stories aren't your thing, you'll love Maisie Dobbs' (New Woman )
'Think Upstairs Downstairs meets Miss Marple - with a touch of chirpy cheerful Cockney from the Dick Van Dyke school'
(Yorkshire Post )Product Description
1931. Maisie Dobbs' new case takes her investigation into the pastoral beauty of the Kent Weald where acts of arson, theft and vandelism around the village of Heronsdene have gone suspiciously unreported for more than a decade. With the country in the grip of economic malaise, Maisie is relieved to accept an assignment from an old friend who wants her to uncover the truth behind these crimes, before he can buy part of the magnificent Sandermere estate at the heart of the village.
It's hop-picking time and Londoners, including Maisie's assistant Billy Beale, wanting to escape the Smoke for the summer, set up camp in nearby fields. Gypsies, too, have arrived to work the land. Maisie discovers the villagers are bitterly prejudiced against outsiders and, even more troubling, seem possessed by the legacy of a war-time Zepplin raid.
She has less than a month to find out why no one has been brought to justice and why secrecy shrouds the village. She must draw on all of her finely honed skills of detection to solve one of her most intriguing cases.
(20060515)
It's hop-picking time and Londoners, including Maisie's assistant Billy Beale, wanting to escape the Smoke for the summer, set up camp in nearby fields. Gypsies, too, have arrived to work the land. Maisie discovers the villagers are bitterly prejudiced against outsiders and, even more troubling, seem possessed by the legacy of a war-time Zepplin raid.
She has less than a month to find out why no one has been brought to justice and why secrecy shrouds the village. She must draw on all of her finely honed skills of detection to solve one of her most intriguing cases.
(20060515)
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
25 of 25 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
For those who have not yet read the Maisie Dobbs series of novels, it is my advice not to start with this one, but with the first in the series entitled Maisie Dobbs and then read the next four in chronological order. For those already familiar with Maisie, and who already know the back story of our psychologist/private investigator, they certainly won't be disappointed with her latest exploits.
It is 1931, the country is deep in economic recession and Maisie is concerned about her business. She is therefore delighted to accept an assignment to investigate certain matters concerning a possible land purchase. Her investigations take her to rural Kent during the late summer hop picking season, to a village in which mysterious fires have taken place with alarming regularity and where the villagers - suspicious of everyone, particularly those involved in the hop picking (the families from London's East End and gypsies) - hide behind a wall of secrecy. As well as investigating the potential land purchase, Maisie is keen to discover the truth behind the fires.
As with Jacqueline Winspear's former Maisie Dobbs novel, this latest one is rich with period detail (a time when even a telephone was a luxury item) as well as instances of the gypsy language. This is the most exciting, atmospheric and enthralling of the Maisie Dobbs novels to date.
It is 1931, the country is deep in economic recession and Maisie is concerned about her business. She is therefore delighted to accept an assignment to investigate certain matters concerning a possible land purchase. Her investigations take her to rural Kent during the late summer hop picking season, to a village in which mysterious fires have taken place with alarming regularity and where the villagers - suspicious of everyone, particularly those involved in the hop picking (the families from London's East End and gypsies) - hide behind a wall of secrecy. As well as investigating the potential land purchase, Maisie is keen to discover the truth behind the fires.
As with Jacqueline Winspear's former Maisie Dobbs novel, this latest one is rich with period detail (a time when even a telephone was a luxury item) as well as instances of the gypsy language. This is the most exciting, atmospheric and enthralling of the Maisie Dobbs novels to date.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Maisie Dobbs is a private investigator and psychologist in early 1930s London.
She solves mysteries by a combination of intuition and gentle probing. Shades of Miss Marple perhaps - only younger and driving an MG.
The nuances of 1930s class and speech are well observed, though sometimes the use of modern psychological ideas such as focusing or visualisation jar with the 1930s setting.
All the problems Maisie deals with have their roots in the First World War. Its aftermath and effect on combatants and non-combatants alike is a theme running through all the Maisie Dobbs novels - an original idea.
Dramatisations of the novels would make ideal Sunday night viewing. I wonder if any production company has shown interest?
She solves mysteries by a combination of intuition and gentle probing. Shades of Miss Marple perhaps - only younger and driving an MG.
The nuances of 1930s class and speech are well observed, though sometimes the use of modern psychological ideas such as focusing or visualisation jar with the 1930s setting.
All the problems Maisie deals with have their roots in the First World War. Its aftermath and effect on combatants and non-combatants alike is a theme running through all the Maisie Dobbs novels - an original idea.
Dramatisations of the novels would make ideal Sunday night viewing. I wonder if any production company has shown interest?
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Enjoyed this episode of the Maisie Dobbs series very much. I had felt that one or two of the more recent one's weren't quite as strong, but this one tied up loose ends and filled in some gaps in the backstory and seemed to set the stage for Maisie to go forward in future episodes with a renewed strength. The whole series is an interesting exploration of the aftermath of the First World War which was still evident when I was a child (in the late 40s and 50s)when the widows and spinsters of the First War were joined by those whose lives were similarly reshaped by the Second. It's made me reconsider the wonderful women who were my teachers and who had experienced similar traumas. A fascinating social history of this period and it's social effect on women is to be found in "Singled Out" which I'd also highly recommend.
If you decide to read these books do start at the beginning to really appreciate Maisie's psychological approach to detection.
If you decide to read these books do start at the beginning to really appreciate Maisie's psychological approach to detection.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Marvellously atmospheric
This is a highly atmospheric novel combining a vivid picture of life in the 1930s with a well-researched portrayal of Romany culture. Read more
Published 9 months ago by H. Jenkins
Designed for those who enjoy cozies
First Sentence: The old woman rested on the steps of her home, a caravan set apart from those of the rest of her family, her tribe. Read more
Published 15 months ago by L. J. Roberts
Maisie Dobbs An Incomplete Revenge
This is the 5th in the Series of Maisie Dobbs Books & a great read
In this one you read about how Londoners & Gypsies went down to the hop fields of Kent you still have the... Read more
In this one you read about how Londoners & Gypsies went down to the hop fields of Kent you still have the... Read more
Published 16 months ago by J.A
Too slow pace and too much psychic ockult things going on
While I did enjoy this book, it had a VERY slow start and it took me weeks to read it which is unusual for me. Read more
Published on 24 Mar 2010 by Luthien Arnatuile
Female sleuth hits the depression era
'The old woman rested on the steps of her home, a caravan set apart from those of the rest of her family, her tribe. Read more
Published on 19 Mar 2010 by purpleheart
Good story but poor and clumsy writing
Every time I was getting into the story a clumsy or flowery phrase would remind me that this was not a real world but just a novel. Read more
Published on 9 Sep 2009 by Ransen Owen
"So alone in her flat, Maisie Dobbs danced"
In An Incomplete Revenge the plucky and inimitable Maisie Dobbs, a woman of no certain substance, returns to solve a series of petty crimes and inexplicable fires that have been... Read more
Published on 1 Mar 2008 by Michael Leonard
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