Book cover:
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 the fall an accident, but the dead man's twin sister, Georgina, isn't convinced. When the authorities refuse to conduct further investigations and close the case, Georgina---a journalist and infamous figure in her own right---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. And while navigating her way into the heart of the aristocratic yet bohemian Bassington-Hopes, Maisie is deeply troubled by the tragedy of another, quite different family in need.
In Messenger of Truth, Maisie Dobbs 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 artists's death, she will have to remain steady as the forces behind his fall come out of the shadows to silence her.
Following on the bestselling Pardonable Lies, Jacqueline Winspear delivers another vivid, thrilling, and utterly unique episode in the life of Maisie Dobbs.
Okay, first off, this is an exceptional book. Delving into the mysteries and lives of the art world and the plot line of this story. Great book. Highly recommended.
But.....I think I hated this book. It is so filled with pain and despair that it affected my mood, or maybe it was my mood that affected how I related to the book, who knows. Several of the plot twists I probably could have lived without, personally. But they do not take away from the book, it really just enhances the emotions that the characters in the book are going thru.
But one pet peeve: I know we live in a time of "liberation" and "self-sustaining" lifestyles for women. I'm all for a strong female character. But it seems that time and time again, I am drawn to these series where the female lead is "doomed" "meant to" (whatever) be alone. As someone who is alone, I find it really irritating. It is all well and good to have characters who are so self assured that they don't "need" anyone else to make them whole. That is really great. But it seems to be a trend to have female characters standing alone rather than in a compatible relationship with whomever.
Not to take away from the character of Maisie Dobbs. It is just that by this time you've seen her go thru so much pain and desolation, that you just hope and pray that she finds someone, if not a mate/soul companion, then a truly good friend that she can enjoy life with. She is by now seeming to be so isolated. I hope that in the next installment, she starts living "outside/with-out" herself and has some joy in her life.
Okay, here are some of my favorite passages in the book...
[Billy] "So, what you're sayin' is that I've just got to swallow it and go on wiv me job."
Maisie nodded. "Look at the world beyond your immediate emotion, the immediate fury of inequality. Choose your battles, Billy."
The sea lapped even closer, though Maisie remained in place, her hands holding her collar to protect her neck. It's because it's the beginning, and also the end. That was what she loved about the place where the water met the land---the promise of something fresh, a suggestion that, even if what is happening now is to be suffered, there is an end and a beginning. I could sail away on that beginning, thought Maisie, as she turned to leave.
Something had been ignited within her in that house. If her soul were a room, it was as if light were now shining in a corner that had been dark. And she'd been touched by something less tangible, something she'd found among people who saw nothing unusual in painting trees on walls. Perhaps it was the freedom to strike out on one's own path, seeing not a risk in that which was new, only opportunity.
---but Nolly is the eldest, and that's almost like being another parent.
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