Messenger of Truth: A Maisie Dobbs Novel

Maisie Dobbs was recommended to me. I started with Book 1 and fell in love with the spirit and drive of the main character, Maisie. A product if time and history. Caught between two worlds, she takes advantage of opportunities that create a future for herself in a changing world. From early WW1 through the Depression years we follow Maisie through her efforts to right injustice as a psychologist and investigator.Savor each book. There are 17 and I look forward to reading all of them.

I love listening to these books. The stories and characters are engaging. I also learn a bit more about WWI. I usually read about WWII. So this earlier time period is a nice change.

Jacqueline Winspear's "Messenger of Truth" is not only a fine murder mystery, it's a superb work of literature. Just as with her other mysteries, this one has a wonderful sense of ambiance and character and well worth a read even if you're not interested in the genre.The period is the two decades between the two World Wars. The manic post-war phase of exuberant optimism is long over. Instead of a new world order, the poorer people find that a new group of exploiters has taken over the reins of power and their own lot has not changed; if anything it's worsened because of the economic conditions effecting the world. Maisie Dobb's assistant and his family have taken in relatives who no longer have any means of support because the post war depression has devastated the economy. The combined family lives in almost Dickensian poverty, trying to make do for eight people on Billy's small income. Meanwhile, the wealthy buy up art at incredible prices and spend vast amounts on idle pursuits just as they did in Dickens' own time. The author's rich imagery creates a sense of "being there" that is so often missing in other period set mysteries, despite the occasional material reminder of the setting. Ms Winspear carries the reader along with carefully chosen emotional word pictures that make the period come alive. While she manipulates the reader's feelings, she does not bludgeon one senseless with overly graphic depictions of events. Like a Spielberg film, the emotive power of her words is produced as much by what is not said as by what is.The author's characters are very real. Their pain over some of their experiences and their efforts to recover are like ones neighbors. There is always a sense that every person one meets throughout the book's pages has a past as well as a present and by implication a future. They have plans and hopes as well as present activities that engage the reader. Every one of them is therefore three dimensional and a developing "work in progress," just as we all are. It is primarily for this reason that I come back again and again to the author's series; I feel like the characters should be a permanent part of my life, and I like to know how they are doing.The mystery is well staged. It is also fairly staged; there are no plot manipulations at the end to bring a denouement to a story that simply arrived at a convenient number of pages. Like her other works in this genre, the author is as sensitive of the murderer as of the victim. She notes that murder is an extreme behavior, an emotional one, and one that arises for powerful reasons. The act is not without an effect on its perpetrator, and the author takes this into consideration in her creations as much as Simenon did in many of his Inspector Maigret and other mysteries,  Maigret and the Man on the Boulevard (Inspector Maigret Mysteries)  and  The Bar on the Seine (Penguin Mysteries) . More than anything, the reader comes to the end of the book with a feeling of satisfaction. Anyone who has read a number of murder mysteries knows that feeling of, "It works" or "Not in a million years!" There are no holes, no unanswered questions, no sense that the book lacked a proper beginning, middle and end. It's a carefully tailored work of art, and you come to the final pages fully aware of that.A wonderful work of fiction; I wish I could write like this!

A story that sets a table we all wish we could set at! This search for who we are and the truths found in our search!

Georgina Bassington-Hope, a journalist famous for our coverage of The Great War, has engaged Maisie Dobbs to investigate the death of her brother Nicholas. His death was investigated by the police, and judged to be accidental by a court of inquiry.Georgina, however, has a feeling that her twin’s death was not an accident, and has been urging Inspector Stratton to investigate further into the circumstances. But he believes firmly that the court’s verdict was accurate, and is relieved when she takes her feeling about it to Maisie.Nicholas was a famous artist whose work both delighted and frightened those who viewed it. Many of his works dealt with what he saw when he was a soldier during The Great War. He often used the faces of people whom he actually knew in his works. He also had spent some time in America after the war, painting the natural beauty found there in the West.What will Maisie discover about the artist and his family? Did his brother Harry’s gambling debts affect Nicholas measurably? Did they have anything to do with Nicholas’ death?Read Messenger of Truth and follow Maisie and Billy’s path to the truth!❤️✝️✡️❤️

The plot follows not the twists and turns of an excellent mystery, but also puts us in the historical period allowing us to imagine what it would have been like living in the time of our ancestors. It let me think about how brave and resourceful our ancestors were. We also get to see how Maisie continues her self-growth as an independent woman.

This is my forth read of Maisie Dobbs and she becomes a less credible and annoying character with each novel. Two stars for creating a believable 1930’s England, with the aftermath of WWI a cloud over a hedonistic upperclass and a desperate lower class However, while the author describes Maises tears, they do not seem in keeping with the total self absorption she exhibits, As an example, for a couple of books now she blows off the good doctor who is counting her every chance she gets. She doesn’t focus on him when they are together and she always makes it clear she has more important things to do. When he finally shows up on her doorstep uninvited to end their relationship in person, she rambles on about her feelings without ever coming to the point and then after he leaves she cries herself to sleep. Cries herself to sleep seems ludicrous. She never acted like her heart was involved. Her continuous introspection just seems to fill the pages where a plot ought to be unfolding. The plot, has a bunch of likely subjects, that she chats with over and over again. They all seem to be stock character types and don’t feel authentic in the least.

Finding and sharing the intersection of humanity of the haves and have nots, the humanity found and spectacularly lost in the war, bringing the ends of the spectrum a bit closer together.

Maisie Dobbs is approached by Georgina Bassington-Hope to investigate the apparently accidental death of her brother Nicholas. The police have already investigated but Georgina is not convinced that it was an accident. Against a background of a worsening economic situation and problems for her assistant, Billy Beale, Maisie must try and get to the bottom of the mysteries which apparently surround the dead man as well as resolving some problems in her own private life.This is an exciting story with some poignant moments which certainly brought tears to my eyes. The way Maisie and Billy interact is very cleverly done and I love reading about the way they work on their cases. Maisie herself is an enigmatic characters and something if a fish out of water as she started off life as a servant but had made her way in the world thanks to the support both emotional and financial of the Compton family. She has her own successful business in an era when women were expected to stay at home and bring up their families.If you like mysteries with an historical background and with more psychological depth than the average then try the Maisie Dobbs mysteries. Each book can be read as a standalone novel but it is interesting to watch the development of the series characters if you read the books in the order in which they were published.

I loved the three previous books. Not just because they are mystery books and unusual "crimes" to solve. But also because they are a piece of social history, female history and because there is a little bit of budding romance in the three first ones. When I picked this one up I thought that romance would go on and it was one of the reasons why I hurried to finish number 3 so I could find out how Maisie's romance with Doctor Andrew Dene would progress. Hopeless romantic as I am. Because of this fact I became deeply disappointed when from the start of the book it stood clear that Maisie planned on breaking off the relationship for the simple fact that she does not want to make any sacrifices. She is married to her work and does not want a compromise. I felt disappointed in Maisie and especially in the author from then on, in the book. Not only did I feel cheated but it became a very cold read.Maisie is so terribly alone. She has in this book moved to her flat that has nothing in it to make it a home or cozy. She has no friends, no social life what so ever, eats, breathes and sleeps her work. Her loneliness seeps through the pages and made me depressed. When her co-worker Billy Beale tells her about how he suddenly has to feed 6 extra people on his salary and share his home of two rooms with theses extras, the book gets even more depressing. The final straw is when his baby daughter dies thanks to the crowdedness in his flat and the lack of money for a doctor. I started wondering whether I should finish the book or not. And what to do with the next two I have already purchased.The mystery to solve in this book sort of almost get a second place in the book. An artist that painted uncomfortable truths died falling from a scaffold and his sister wants to know if it was an accident or murder. Maisie does solve the crime slowly but I had a difficult time getting in to the puzzle solving and she left some threads hanging at the end that one wonders about. It's a good read if one thinks that a woman should be single and have no life but if one wants to read about a warm character with a balanced life, this book in the series of Maisie Dobbs is somewhat of a disappointment. I usually read a Maisie Dobbs book in 2 days, them being page turners, but this one took weeks to finish.

Another good story from the pen of Jacqueline Winspear. I do enjoy the Maisie Dobbs books. This one gives fresh insight into Maisie and her friends - particularly Billy Beale and his family. There are moments of tragedy - the main one moved me almost to tears - and lighter moments. All combined with an intriguing mystery. The characters are well-written and the plot moves at a steady pace. All-in-all, a book I would recommend.

Just finished this book, it is number 4 in the series and I have already got number 5 lined up. I can't read them fast enough.....and then regret it as I near the end, as it is like saying goodbye to acquaintances that are going away. The characters come alive and you can hear them speak, such is the detail that the authors puts into every part of the book. The research must be so in depth to make these stories so real. I cannot recommend these books enough!

Messenger of Truth is another great instalment in this excellent series. This book and the other detective stories about Masie Dobbs provide satisfying mysteries. Jacqueline Winspear has provided an engaging cast of characters. These are not just high class detective stories but the books have much to say about the consequences of the First World War and life in the 1930s. Consequently they are far more than just an interesting mystery. The whole series is most highly recommended.