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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is the first installment in the Maisie Dobbs series that I found really boring.
There seemed to be too many characters introduced that didn’t provide interesting red herrings or do anything for the story. And the central mystery was underwhelming and didn’t make any sense.
Also, the entire “romance” with James Compton is very superficial and really needs to be jettisoned!
There seemed to be too many characters introduced that didn’t provide interesting red herrings or do anything for the story. And the central mystery was underwhelming and didn’t make any sense.
Also, the entire “romance” with James Compton is very superficial and really needs to be jettisoned!
It was a bit slow to get going, but about 1/2 way through I got more interested. Some of the dialogue felt forced, but I remain interested in Maisie and Billy.
I like Winspear, tho none of her later Maisie books seem to have the historical insight or the deep effect that her first three did: in my opinion, those three could be used in a course on WWI because of their fictional recreation of the way that war devastated a generation and a country. Reading them was illuminating and educational in a rare way--and now that the Maisie Dobbs books are driven by more of a character-based motivation (What will Maisie do now?), that impact has been lost. However, the series is still interesting and well-written. I DO find them most compelling as audiobooks, and I read A Lesson in Secrets, and read it in bits and pieces over the course of a week, so my feeling that it was a little disjointed could easily come from ME, not from Winspear's writing! Overall, however, the "I liked it" rating works, but I'd recommend that any newcomer to the series start with the first Maisie Dobbs AND listen to it as an audiobook!
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loved the new challenge for Maise, especially as I have taught at a University. Engaging novel again, that grips you from beginning to end.
As usual a deep melancholy seeps through Winspear's tale of Maisie Dobbs, though it's nice to read of the positive developments in her life and that of Billy's.
Another excellent story of Maisie Dobbs. This book does delve into the time between the wars when so many thought that it couldn’t happen again. The possibility of peace imagined amongst the academic world while the past has its way of impacting on the present.
This book has a lot of life-changing events. Due to the nature of the assignment, Maisie is charged with the British Secret Service, there is not as much of the other beloved characters.
There are two storylines, one about Maisie’s work and one about Billy’s work, although not much time is spent on Billy’s. To me, it felt like things were being set up for future stories, I’ll have to pick up the next one to see if I am correct.
Without the fear of not having enough money and with her personal growth, Maisie is working to take care of those she cares about. With each story, she becomes more “human”. I don’t know if that is good or bad. I like that she has people in her life that love and understand her, even if they don’t understand her work.
This story reminds of the power of words and the naivete of youth. Woven through the weighty subject matter are lighter moments which I appreciated. I would not be surprised if after reading this book, you take a moment of reflection of how things were.
A well-written heady mystery.
Happy Reading!
There are two storylines, one about Maisie’s work and one about Billy’s work, although not much time is spent on Billy’s. To me, it felt like things were being set up for future stories, I’ll have to pick up the next one to see if I am correct.
Without the fear of not having enough money and with her personal growth, Maisie is working to take care of those she cares about. With each story, she becomes more “human”. I don’t know if that is good or bad. I like that she has people in her life that love and understand her, even if they don’t understand her work.
This story reminds of the power of words and the naivete of youth. Woven through the weighty subject matter are lighter moments which I appreciated. I would not be surprised if after reading this book, you take a moment of reflection of how things were.
A well-written heady mystery.
Happy Reading!
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes