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A review by tessyoung
The Consequences of Fear by Jacqueline Winspear
4.0
At 16 books, it's difficult to review these without a degree of repetition because Winspeare is consistently good across a range of measures.
Her characters, both those we know from previous books, or new characters are always well developed, rounded characters that you can identify with and that you get to know, moreover they behave in character and context so you never feel they are there purely to serve the plot. It's also always nice to see a returning character sometimes from many years previous who again serve the plot but also reflect the historical continuities and shifts over the period covered by the series.
The historical context is always nuanced and well researched and works beyond the basics of popular histories of this time period to some of the more uncomfortable truths. As such, in my view, these books are far superior than some historical crime that is all too nostalgic, twee and sometimes bordering on jingoistic for my liking.
The story, as always, is well plotted and engaging but I like that these books are never simple 'whodunits' but offer the reader so much more. The difficult choices, the compromises, the costs of decision made both in the past and the present all come together in a rich novel such that even after 16 books, the series does not feel stale.
Her characters, both those we know from previous books, or new characters are always well developed, rounded characters that you can identify with and that you get to know, moreover they behave in character and context so you never feel they are there purely to serve the plot. It's also always nice to see a returning character sometimes from many years previous who again serve the plot but also reflect the historical continuities and shifts over the period covered by the series.
The historical context is always nuanced and well researched and works beyond the basics of popular histories of this time period to some of the more uncomfortable truths. As such, in my view, these books are far superior than some historical crime that is all too nostalgic, twee and sometimes bordering on jingoistic for my liking.
The story, as always, is well plotted and engaging but I like that these books are never simple 'whodunits' but offer the reader so much more. The difficult choices, the compromises, the costs of decision made both in the past and the present all come together in a rich novel such that even after 16 books, the series does not feel stale.