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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
I read this book on my Kindle as an uncorrected proof. Usually I love the Maisie Dobbs series. I believe that the book didn't transfer well to my Kindle and spoiled the book for me. I would like to read it again in book form and see if it reads better. I still enjoyed the book - just not as much as I expected.
It's been a while since I sat down to enjoy a visit with Maisie Dobbs in the years between the first and second World Wars. I've had two Jacqueline Winspear's books sitting on my TBR stacks for quite some time, but other books were calling my name more loudly and urgently. I just recently signed up to do a blog tour for the two most recent novels, so I thought I better catch up with Miss Dobbs and see where she is now. First up: A Lesson in Secrets, the eighth book in the series.
It is now the summer of 1932 and Maisie has been asked by the Special Branch to undertake an assignment to monitor activities in a private college in Cambridge. She applies for a post as junior lecturer in philosophy at The College of St. Francis. Special Branch is interested in activities "not in the interests of His Majesty's government," by which they mean those with communist leanings. But Maisie finds what she believes to be even more worrying evidence of an infiltration of Nazi ideals. Of course, at this time, many of the leaders don't see Hitler and his Nazi party as much of a threat.
International intrigue isn't the most pressing subject at hand, though. Just a short time after Maisie's appointment begins, the college's controversial pacifist founder and principal, Greville Liddicote, is found murdered. And murdered by a specialist in martial or combat arts. Special Branch wants Maisie to step back from the investigation which will be handled by Detective Chief Superintendent MacFarland and Detective Chief Inspector Stratton (both of whom Maisie has worked with before), but Maisie's top secret assignment soon proves that Liddicote's death may be linked to the suspicious behavior of some of those she's been sent to watch.
In the midst of Maisie's secret work, she also has another worry. Sandra, a woman who had worked with Maisie before, appeals to her for help. Sandra is now a widow and her husband died in suspicious circumstances. Maisie sees Sandra settled into her apartment and offers her work as a secretary until she can get her feet under her again--and fully intends to start an investigation into the poor woman's husband's death. But before Maisie can marshal her forces--Sandra is arrested for breaking and entering and then disappears after Maisie secures her release from jail. What forces are at work in Sandra's life? Maisie's work is cut out for her and she will have to unravel secrets from the Great War to find her way to the solution of each of these mysteries.
I had forgotten how good Winspear is at taking her readers on a trip through time. She expertly sets the stage to show the reader what life in Britain's colleges was like in the years before World War II. The push for peace after the horrors of the Great War; the hope that further conflict could be avoided; the vulnerability of those who wanted peace so badly. Maisie is, as always, a strong female character--smart, compassionate, and observant, but with enough vulnerabilities of her own to maker her a very real, rather than an idealized character. This was a very enjoyable historical mystery and I look forward to diving into the next two.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
It is now the summer of 1932 and Maisie has been asked by the Special Branch to undertake an assignment to monitor activities in a private college in Cambridge. She applies for a post as junior lecturer in philosophy at The College of St. Francis. Special Branch is interested in activities "not in the interests of His Majesty's government," by which they mean those with communist leanings. But Maisie finds what she believes to be even more worrying evidence of an infiltration of Nazi ideals. Of course, at this time, many of the leaders don't see Hitler and his Nazi party as much of a threat.
International intrigue isn't the most pressing subject at hand, though. Just a short time after Maisie's appointment begins, the college's controversial pacifist founder and principal, Greville Liddicote, is found murdered. And murdered by a specialist in martial or combat arts. Special Branch wants Maisie to step back from the investigation which will be handled by Detective Chief Superintendent MacFarland and Detective Chief Inspector Stratton (both of whom Maisie has worked with before), but Maisie's top secret assignment soon proves that Liddicote's death may be linked to the suspicious behavior of some of those she's been sent to watch.
In the midst of Maisie's secret work, she also has another worry. Sandra, a woman who had worked with Maisie before, appeals to her for help. Sandra is now a widow and her husband died in suspicious circumstances. Maisie sees Sandra settled into her apartment and offers her work as a secretary until she can get her feet under her again--and fully intends to start an investigation into the poor woman's husband's death. But before Maisie can marshal her forces--Sandra is arrested for breaking and entering and then disappears after Maisie secures her release from jail. What forces are at work in Sandra's life? Maisie's work is cut out for her and she will have to unravel secrets from the Great War to find her way to the solution of each of these mysteries.
I had forgotten how good Winspear is at taking her readers on a trip through time. She expertly sets the stage to show the reader what life in Britain's colleges was like in the years before World War II. The push for peace after the horrors of the Great War; the hope that further conflict could be avoided; the vulnerability of those who wanted peace so badly. Maisie is, as always, a strong female character--smart, compassionate, and observant, but with enough vulnerabilities of her own to maker her a very real, rather than an idealized character. This was a very enjoyable historical mystery and I look forward to diving into the next two.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
Another fine entry in the Maisie Dobbs' series. Winspear characters keep growing and changing. The plot brougt Maisie to Cambridge where a founder of college focussed on peace. It was interesting especially when novel included elements about the rise of Nazi party.
I’m reading this well out of order, but this was a clever interlude in Maisie’s life - teaching (and secretly investigating).
Maisie is coming to terms with the death of her mentor Maurice Blanche and her inheritance of his properties, papers and wealth. She's come a long way from the maid who used to work there. Her love affair with James is progressing well, although he's currently in Canada wrapping up his business interests. Then Maisie is approached by the Secret Service who want her to go undercover as a philosophy lecturer at a small, relatively new, Cambridge College to report on any activities "not in the interests of His Majesty's Government.". The college is founded on the idea of international peace and cooperation and encourages young people from all over the world to study together. The founder of the college, Greville Liddicote wrote a series of children's books, although three books written during WW1 were withdrawn from publication and all copies destroyed.
When Mr Liddicote is found dead at his desk, his secretary calls Maisie who immediately realises this is not a heart attack, but murrrrderrrrr. While MacFarlane and Stratton are brought in from Special Branch to investigate the murder, Maisie is embroiled in yet more fall-out from WW1, including alleged mutinies, the murder of conscientious objectors, and the use of women in espionage. Add to which the rise of politics and admiration of Germany's National Socialism Party and Cambridge is fast becoming a hotbed of political intrigue.
This feels like a readjustment book. I feel Maisie/Jacqueline Winspear is finally letting go of WW1 and anticipating WW2, similarly Maisie's new wealth and lover have changed her from the young woman suffering from (I suspect) PTSD of the earlier books. Also, Maisie has gone from police procedural to assisting the Secret Service, what is next spying in Germany (I've seen the later covers so I assume yes). Whether this change will get her out of the WW1 rut I don't know.
When Mr Liddicote is found dead at his desk, his secretary calls Maisie who immediately realises this is not a heart attack, but murrrrderrrrr. While MacFarlane and Stratton are brought in from Special Branch to investigate the murder, Maisie is embroiled in yet more fall-out from WW1, including alleged mutinies, the murder of conscientious objectors, and the use of women in espionage. Add to which the rise of politics and admiration of Germany's National Socialism Party and Cambridge is fast becoming a hotbed of political intrigue.
This feels like a readjustment book. I feel Maisie/Jacqueline Winspear is finally letting go of WW1 and anticipating WW2, similarly Maisie's new wealth and lover have changed her from the young woman suffering from (I suspect) PTSD of the earlier books. Also, Maisie has gone from police procedural to assisting the Secret Service, what is next spying in Germany (I've seen the later covers so I assume yes). Whether this change will get her out of the WW1 rut I don't know.
If you like historical fiction, historical mysteries, the period between the wars, England, you know, the usual and you haven’t read this series yet, go back and pick up the first book, Maisie Dobbs, and then read through the rest of the series. I’ve only read the first 8, but I feel pretty confident that the farther this series moves into the 1930’s the better it gets. If you already like Maisie Dobbs and/or Jacqueline Winspear then you already know it’s going to be good.
By the 8th installment, Europe is moving ever closer to war. I think we’re in 1932 now. Tensions are rising and arguments for fascism are being made even in England. The horrors of the Holocaust have not yet begun but the rhetoric is there and its waves are making their way to England. Maisie is sent to investigate the political leanings at a university in Cambridge headed by a controversial “pacifist.” When he winds up dead, things get even more complicated.
By the 8th installment, Europe is moving ever closer to war. I think we’re in 1932 now. Tensions are rising and arguments for fascism are being made even in England. The horrors of the Holocaust have not yet begun but the rhetoric is there and its waves are making their way to England. Maisie is sent to investigate the political leanings at a university in Cambridge headed by a controversial “pacifist.” When he winds up dead, things get even more complicated.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
In this 8th installment of the Maisie Dobbs mytery series, she goes undercover for the Special Branch as a junior lecturer at a small Cambridge college in order to monitor any anti-government things that might be going on there. Soon after her arrival, the college's founder, a noted pacifist and children's book author is murdered. As she tries to solve the murder, she sees what is going on with some British citizens in support of the new German Nazi party. This was extremely enjoyable, and it was interesting to see what types of things were going on as Hitler was just beginning to roll in Germany. I'd highly recommend "A Lesson in Secrets" even if you have not yet read any of the other Maisie Dobbs books (the first is titled Maisie Dobbs)as this one can definitely stand on its own.
In the eighth book in the Maisie Dobbs series, A Lesson in Secrets, Maisie is working for the Secret Service at a pacifist college in Cambridge. The Secret Service is particularly suspicious of what they see as the country’s biggest threat: communism, while basically ignoring the rise of fascism and Nazism.
This is a solid entry in this series, and one with a slightly different perspective for Maisie. 4 stars
This is a solid entry in this series, and one with a slightly different perspective for Maisie. 4 stars