With the country in the grip of economic malaise, and worried about her business, Maisie Dobbs is relieved to accept an apparently straightforward assignment from an old friend to investigate a potential land purchase. Her inquiries take her to a picturesque village in Kent during the hop-picking season, but beneath its pastoral surface she finds evidence that something is amiss. Mysterious fires erupt in the village with alarming regularity, and a series of petty crimes suggests a darker criminal element at work. As Maisie discovers, the villagers are bitterly prejudiced against outsiders who flock to Kent at harvest-time--even more troubling, they seem possessed by the legacy of a war-time Zeppelin raid. Maisie grows increasingly suspicious of a peculiar secrecy that shrouds the village, and ultimately she must draw on all her finely honed skills of detection to solve one of her most intriguing cases.
I’ve read the first Maisie Dobbs and several later ones. This is one of the best as Maisie immerses herself in the lives of gypsies and gains their trust. It is fall hop-picking time, and villagers are excessively distrustful of the gypsies and outsiders from London who provide seasonal labor. They also are quite unflustered about fires that plague the area each year at this time. Orlagh Cassidy again provides splendid narration of male and female characters.
I am a Maisie Dobbs fan and can't believe she hasn't appeared on Masterpiece Mystery yet. This book continues the crucial transition/healing that Maisie has been progressing through. And Winspear makes it all very compelling to follow along as she reveal an interesting tidbit about Maisie's heritage and she says a final goodbye to her first love. I could do without the divining rods and references to second sight. I like Maisie smart and insightful, no magic needed. Good book, the author does her regular great job of giving you a strong sense of time and place.
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Add a CommentI’ve read the first Maisie Dobbs and several later ones. This is one of the best as Maisie immerses herself in the lives of gypsies and gains their trust. It is fall hop-picking time, and villagers are excessively distrustful of the gypsies and outsiders from London who provide seasonal labor. They also are quite unflustered about fires that plague the area each year at this time. Orlagh Cassidy again provides splendid narration of male and female characters.
I am a Maisie Dobbs fan and can't believe she hasn't appeared on Masterpiece Mystery yet. This book continues the crucial transition/healing that Maisie has been progressing through. And Winspear makes it all very compelling to follow along as she reveal an interesting tidbit about Maisie's heritage and she says a final goodbye to her first love. I could do without the divining rods and references to second sight. I like Maisie smart and insightful, no magic needed. Good book, the author does her regular great job of giving you a strong sense of time and place.