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Narrated by Orlagh Cassidy
Jacqueline WinspearUnabridged — 9 hours, 54 minutes
Narrated by Orlagh Cassidy
Jacqueline WinspearUnabridged — 9 hours, 54 minutes
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From New York Times bestselling author Jacqueline Winspear, now available in paperback-the newest installment in the New York Times bestselling series, Maisie Dobbs is hired to unravel a case of wartime love and death, an investigation that leads her to a doomed affair between a young cartographer and a mysterious nurse.
August 1914. As Michael Clifton is mapping land he has just purchased in California's beautiful Santa Ynez Valley, war is declared in Europe-and duty-bound to his father's native country, the young cartographer soon sets sail for England to serve in the British army. Three years later, he is listed as missing in action.
April 1932. After Michael's remains are unearthed in France, his parents retain London psychologist and investigator Maisie Dobbs, hoping she can find the unnamed nurse whose love letters were among their late son's belongings. It is a quest that leads Maisie back to her own bittersweet wartime love-and to the stunning discovery that Michael Clifton was murdered in his dugout. Suddenly an exposed web of intrigue and violence threatens to ensnare the dead soldier's family and even Maisie herself as she attempts to cope with the impending loss of her mentor and the unsettling awareness that she is once again falling in love.
Always the thorough researcher, Winspear surpasses herself in this absorbing novel by giving Maisie an exacting assignment: learning the skills cartographers bring into battle and then discovering why someone would want to kill one of them.
—The New York Times
Set in 1932, bestseller Winspear's endearing seventh Maisie Dobbs novel (after 2009's Among the Mad) centers on Michael Clifton, a young American cartographer during the Great War, whose remains turn up in a French field. Evidence suggests to Maisie that Michael, rather than dying in a shell blast, was murdered. Michael's parents arrive in London with letters from an unnamed English nurse that raise disturbing questions about the nurse's relationship with their son. The plucky inquiry agent embarks on a search for this woman, following a trail that leads to Chatham, home of the School of Military Engineering, which Michael attended. There she learns about the vital role that cartography played in the war. At times, subplots involving socialite James Compton, a frustrated suitor, and the family problems of Maisie's assistant, Billy Beale, slow the pace. As often in this winning series, the action builds to a somewhat sad if satisfying conclusion. 10-city author tour. (Apr.)
Mapping the human heart is more art than science. Winspear's seventh Maisie Dobbs novel (after Among the Mad) finds the detective employed by the parents of a soldier and cartographer, Michael Clifton, who fought during World War I. Missing for 16 years, the bodies of Clifton and his unit are discovered in France. The postmortem reveals that while the unit perished during a shelling attack, Clifton was already dead from a crushed skull. The only clues found with the body are Clifton's deteriorated journal and love letters to an unnamed nurse. There's also the dilemma of the California land purchase, potentially lucrative, that Clifton made just before he enlisted. With no deed of sale or will apparent, the land is mired in legal entanglements. This case has long grown cold, but Maisie is too relentless an investigator to let it prevent her from bringing a murderer to justice. VERDICT An engaging plot coupled with captivating characters makes this the best Dobbs novel to date. Highly recommended for historical mystery aficionados who enjoy intriguing whodunits wrapped in a wartime love story.—Susan O. Moritz, Montgomery Cty. P.Ls., MD
The long aftermath of murder on a World War I battlefield. Sixteen years after he enlisted in the Royal Engineers and was declared missing somewhere in France, American cartographer Michael Clifton's remains and few possessions are dug up by a farmer in the Somme Valley, setting his parents on a quest to find the author of the surviving love letters signed only as The English Nurse, or Tennie. They appeal to London private investigator Maisie Dobbs (Among the Mad, 2009, etc.) for help, but a quick scan of the autopsy work convinces Maisie that she's involved not only in a missing-person case but a murder enquiry-Michael was bludgeoned to death with one of his surveying instruments. Then things start to happen in the present. Edward and Martha are nearly killed in their hotel room. Maisie is attacked on the street and her briefcase stolen. And Tennie remains elusive. Through it all, Maisie remains unruffled. Several likely beaux for her pop around, and she finds time to consult with two mentors, one on his death bed, the other urging her to close her eyes and see. There'll be another death, Upstairs-Downstairs snobbery, greed, romance, familial revenge and lots of tea drinking before Maisie wraps up the case and even becomes an heiress herself. Undemanding fare, with perhaps too many characters whose tragic episodes in their past are exacerbated by family silences.
Compelling.” — People (3 ½ out of 4 stars)
“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
“An engaging plot coupled with captivating character makes this the best Dobbs novel to date.” — Library Journal
“Endearing. . . . As often in this winning series, the action builds to a somewhat sad if satisfying conclusion.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“When people ask me to recommend an author, one name consistently comes to mind: Jacqueline Winspear.” — Deirdre Donahue, USA Today
“A sleuth to treasure.” — Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review
“A detective series to savor.” — Johanna McGeary, Time
“[Catches] the sorrow of a lost generation in the character of one exceptional woman.” — Dick Adler, Chicago Tribune
“What charms most is Dobbs herself: a woman ‘not as adept in her personal life as she was in her professional domain,’ and all the more engaging for that.” — Tom Nolan, Wall Street Journal
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!
What charms most is Dobbs herself: a woman ‘not as adept in her personal life as she was in her professional domain,’ and all the more engaging for that.
A detective series to savor.
Compelling.
[Catches] the sorrow of a lost generation in the character of one exceptional woman.
When people ask me to recommend an author, one name consistently comes to mind: Jacqueline Winspear.
Compelling.
"Compelling."
“Compelling.
Compelling.
| BN ID: | 2940173463258 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | HarperCollins Publishers |
| Publication date: | 03/23/2010 |
| Series: | Maisie Dobbs Series |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
| Sales rank: | 685,013 |
