Four years after she set sail from England, leaving everything she most loved behind, Maisie Dobbs at last returns, only to find herself in a dangerous place . . . In Jacqueline Winspear‘s powerful story of political intrigue and personal tragedy, a brutal murder in the British garrison town of Gibraltar leads Maisie into a web of lies, deceit, and peril.Spring 1937. In the four years since she … four years since she left England, Maisie Dobbs has experienced love, contentment, stability—and the deepest tragedy a woman can endure. Now, all she wants is the peace she believes she might find by returning to India. But her sojourn in the hills of Darjeeling is cut short when her stepmother summons her home to England; her aging father Frankie Dobbs is not getting any younger.
But on a ship bound for England, Maisie realizes she isn’t ready to return. Against the wishes of the captain who warns her, “You will be alone in a most dangerous place,” she disembarks in Gibraltar. Though she is on her own, Maisie is far from alone: the British garrison town is teeming with refugees fleeing a brutal civil war across the border in Spain.
Yet the danger is very real. Days after Maisie’s arrival, a photographer and member of Gibraltar’s Sephardic Jewish community, Sebastian Babayoff, is murdered, and Maisie becomes entangled in the case, drawing the attention of the British Secret Service. Under the suspicious eye of a British agent, Maisie is pulled deeper into political intrigue on “the Rock”—arguably Britain’s most important strategic territory—and renews an uneasy acquaintance in the process. At a crossroads between her past and her future, Maisie must choose a direction, knowing that England is, for her, an equally dangerous place, but in quite a different way.
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As always Jacqueline Winspear does a fantastic job of spotlighting a little section of Maisie’s life. Tender, sad and as always showing yet another facet of her character.
Well. That resulted in some seriously ugly crying. WHICH one should not do when one is eating supper. That is your public service announcement for this book.
This is a tougher book to read – this is a deeply personal book and if you have had any of the things happen to you that happen in this book, it will wreck you and you will ugly cry. And …
The Maisie Dobbs series is not to miss. Winspear ranks alongside Phillip Kerr and Alan Furst for nerve-wracking international intrigue. Read these authors in order to get the full benefit of the wartime world they have invaded.
I love to see how Miss Dobbs’ mind unravels the mystery finding the unexpected solution. Hold your breath as she struggles with grief which is relieved only when she reaches out to help others. She has an undeniable spirit which is a great role model for young women everywhere.
I’m running out of things to say about this quality series. They’re simply outstanding! . . . Side Note: After binge-listening to these audiobooks, I’m beginning to hear my own thoughts in narrator Orlagh Cassidy’s voice! . . . (So glad my library app has all the books.)
In general, Jacqueline Winspear writes my favorite historical fiction. Her main character, Maisey Dobbs is constantly evolving from a servant to a professional psychologist and mystery solver. This is one of a wonderful series.
This is just one of an incredibly interesting mystery series set between WWI and WWII. The main character, Maisie Dobbs, is a psychologist/private investigator, who solves mysteries using her talents for reading people and their motives. Her supporting characters are also fairly well developed and most follow her from book to book. You find …
I enjoyed the series. The characters are believable. Viewing a part of history with a good story is always enjoyable. I recommend starting with the first book in the series although I started in the middle of the series. I enjoyed the book so much that I couldn’t wait to read the entire series. I have recommended
the series to friends.
I love the Maisy Dobbs series
I just love Maisie as a character as she progresses thru her life, such an interesting look at that era in Great Britain.
Maisie Dobbs is inspirational from the beginning. Plucky young woman who returns home to England after serving in France during WWI and carves out her own profession of female detective. Clever and gutsy with lots of twists and turns within Jaqueline Winspeare’s well researched and recreated turn of the century London, gleaned from her parents …
All of these books are great
Love Maisie Dobbs.
Don’t miss any of the Maisie Dobbs books! They are all fantastic. What a great female lead character. Thank you Jacqueline Winspear for your words and thank you to Orlagh Cassidy, audiobook narrator, for the incredible narration that allows me to be immersed in the story.
Winspear is an author I recommend to fellow historical fiction buffs .She paints a picture of a social problem or issue that captures the times. I always look forward to her next novel.
Have read all the Maisie Dobbs. So different. Have learned so much about the early 20th century. Maisie reminds me of Miss Marple in her approach to solving the mysteries.
This offering isn’t as annoying as some in the series. Maybe because the normal cast is missing and Maisie can’t be superior to them as she tends to be.
The story is pretty good, but to me Maisie isn’t all that likable. To be a former below stairs maid and the daughter of a costermonger, Maisie is amazingly frail. It’s a really good thing she …
All books in the maisie Dobbs series are wonderful reads!the characters almost become people you know….
Historical fiction from between the two world wars on Europe with a touch of the Spanish civil war for good measure.
Loved all her books!