Reviews

A Dangerous Place by Jacqueline Winspear

applegnreads's review

3.0

So, what was bad? The beginning. The mystery plot.
What was good? What's always good about Winspear... it's not about the mystery it's about life and coming back from a time of great grief. I'm not sure that totally makes up for the bad but some of what has made me love the Maisie Dobbs series is still here including the time period (which is not a commonly chosen one for mystery fiction), the clash of cultures and social classes and values, the introspection.

Maybe I should have given it 4 stars.

gracehickman's review

adventurous mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

mouseczko's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

danileighta's review

4.0

After terrible, terrible events in Maisie's life, she found herself in Gilbralter, to avoid being in England and to heal. There she finds a good mystery to solve and a purpose.

I won't say much about the tragedy that drew her there, though it broke my heart, but the story itself was less a great read and more a necessary journey for Maisie. I found myself thinking it was a bit more circuitous than it needed to be, but I felt great empathy and wanted the great detective to have all the time she needed to heal her heart.

I'm still enjoying the series and moving onto Maisie's sojourn to Munich as we speak.

reikista's review

5.0

Maisie is a widow and just lost her baby, and on her way to England, after going to India to hide from the world. She stops at Gibraltar because she can’t face life back home. She stumbles upon the recently murdered body of a photographer, and investigates his death as a way to heal, becoming ensnared in international spying and the Spanish Civil war.

Learn about Gibraltar’s history, the Spanish Civil war, the evolution of fascism and British responses to it, as well as about Sephardic Jews.

melissa_who_reads's review

5.0

Again, loved this book. Maisie ends up in Gibraltar in 1937, unable to return home to England for deeply emotional issues. Across the border, civil war in Spain is raging. There is intense pressure on her to go home to England. But she stays, trying to help the family of a murder victim -- a victim she discovered in her hotel's garden.

There's not much to say here that isn't a spoiler, but the weaving of Maisie's personal struggle with her attempt to help others -- and where that attempt leads her -- is a very satisfying story.

saraelizabetha's review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

therealkathryn's review

3.0

Piling more misery on Maisie's life was unnecessary and resulted in a story that is at times tedious. Not all bad but feels like the author is reaching to bring in new elements.

jojo_27's review

2.0

Least favorite so far. The plot was a bit tricky, I wasn't as interested in the setting, and I found multiple errors that should have been caught by a copyeditor.

I also felt a bit cheated re: James; most of the time we're around him, Maisie is uncertain. I'm not sure what makes her say yes, and we don't get any of the comfortable, happy, married time.

andrea_lievertz's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25