Winspear, Jacqueline: An Incomplete Revenge


Book excerpt: In her fifth outing, Maisie Dobbs, the extraordinary psychologist and investigator, delves into a strange series of crimes in a small rural community.

With the country in the grip of economic malaise, and worried about her business, Maisie Dobbs is relieved to accept an apparently straightforward assignment from an old friend to investigate certain matters concerning 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 suggests a darker criminal element at work. As Maisie discovers, the villagers are bitterly prejudiced against outsiders who flock to Kent at harvesttime--even more troubling, they seem possessed by the legacy of a wartime Zeppelin raid. Maisie grows increasingly suspicious of a peculiar secrecy that shrouds the village, and ultimately she must draw on all her finely honed skills of detection to solve one of her most intriguing cases.

Rich with Jacqueline Winspear's trademark period detail, this latest installment of the bestselling series is gripping, atmospheric, and utterly enthralling.

This is definitely my favorite so far of the series. Especially considering I found the last one to be most depressing. Hope seems to be returning to Maisie's world, despite her suffering one more loss in this book. And the portent of WWII looms in the not so distant future.

Winspear's books are very much a recommended read, and as I have now caught up with the books so far published, I shall sit here and sulk until another comes out...

For those who know a little as I do about the Depression era in the UK as compared to the US, this would help realize the helplessness and hopelessness and despair of the time.

Here is a passage that I found rather moving:


Quote:
'"In some ways, Maisie, similar work has engaged us of late. We --- my contacts overseas and my colleagues in London --- are most concerned with a growing frustration on the other side of the Channel. The depression we find ourselves in here, and which is causing havoc in America, is allowing people to give weight to that which divides them, rather than to the shared experiences and elements of connection they see mirrored in their fellow man. There are those in Germany who would use discrimination to elevate their politics, which gives us cause for disquiet. And on the continent in Spain, inequities threaten to become incendiary. There are many people, Maisie --- and I confess, I am among their number --- who believe our peace to be only so resilient and who fear another war."
"I pray it doesn't come to that, Maurice."
"Yes, pray, Maisie. Do pray."
And as her beloved mentor regarded the vista before him, his hands clenched on the arms of his chair, Maisie reached across and placed her hand on his.'



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