Synopses & Reviews
In her fifth outing, Maisie Dobbs, the extraordinary Psychologist and Investigator, delves into a strange series of crimes in a small rural community
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 certain matters concerning 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 wartime 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.
Rich with Jacqueline Winspear's trademark period detail, this latest installment of the bestselling series is gripping, atmospheric, and utterly enthralling.
Review
"Maisie is absolutely compelling not only as an investigator but also as a psychologist while she probes the hearts and minds of those she meets. Highly recommended." Library Journal
Review
"Like the previous four books in the series, all set in the post-World War I era, this mystery is less about plot than about the psychological makeup of the story's war-scarred, sometimes twisted characters." Booklist
Review
"An Incomplete Revenge...will not disappoint readers, with its skillful intersection of character development, historical detail and intricate plotting." Bookreporter.com
Review
"Psychologist and sleuth Maisie Dobbs returns for her fifth adventure in An Incomplete Revenge, a mystery novel by Jacqueline Winspear. Set in England in the autumn of 1931, 13 years after the end of the Great War, Revenge probes the darkness which lies beneath the surface of picturesque Heronsdene, a small village located in rural Kent." Carrie Uffindell, Powells.com (read the entire Powells.com review)
Synopsis
In her fifth outing, Maisie Dobbs, the extraordinary Psychologist and Investigator, delves into a strange series of crimes in a small rural community.
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 certain matters concerning 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 wartime 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.
Rich with Jacqueline Winspear's trademark period detail, this latest installment of the bestselling series is gripping, atmospheric, and utterly enthralling.
Synopsis
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
With the country in the grip of economic malaise, Maisie Dobbs is relieved to accept an apparently straightforward assignment 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 suggest a darker criminal element at work. A peculiar secrecy shrouds the village, and ultimately Maisie must draw on her finely-honed skills of detection to solve one of her most intriguing cases yet.
Synopsis
Extraordinary Psychologist and Investigator, Maisie Dobbs, investigates a strange series of crimes in a small rural community.
Synopsis
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 certain matters concerning 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. Rich with Jacqueline Winspears trademark period detail, this latest installment of the bestselling series is gripping, atmospheric, and utterly enthralling.
About the Author
Jacqueline Winspear is the author of four previous Maisie Dobbs novels,
Maisie Dobbs, Birds of a Feather, Pardonable Lies, and Messenger of Truth.
Maisie Dobbs won the Agatha, Alex and Macavity Awards;
Birds of a Feather won the Agatha Award; and
Pardonable Lies won the Sue-Feder/Macavity Award for Best Historical Mystery. Originally from the UK, Winspear now lives in California.
Orlagh Cassidy is the winner of the 2009 Best Voice in Children & Family Listening and the 2008 and 2011 Best Voice in Mystery & Suspense. Shes narrated for Jacqueline Winspear, James Patterson, Erica Spindler, Beth Harbison, and Frank Herbert, among others.
Reading Group Guide
Discussion Questions
1. Divided between past and present, between her female gender and her male-dominated profession, and between her British identity and part-gypsy ancestry, Maisie Dobbs is a character of intense inward divisions. How do these divisions both complicate and strengthen Maisie as a character?
2. A variety of pivotal scenes in An Incomplete Revenge involve dramatic uses of fire. What range of moods, feelings, or symbolic meanings does fire represent in the novel?
3. Although several of the residents of Heronsdene are developed individually as characters, the townspeople are also dominated by an ominous group psychology. What might Winspear be suggesting through her portrayal of this town about the limits of peoples abilities to think or choose for themselves?
4. Maisie is freer from class prejudice than most of the other characters in Winspears novel. Nevertheless, does an awareness of class difference influence her relationships with people like Billy Beale and Priscilla Evernden? How?
5. Animals, especially dogs and horses, appear prominently in An Incomplete Revenge. How do their presence and the way they are treated help us to better understand Winspears human characters?
6. Followers of the Maisie Dobbs series have shared the heroines dread anticipation of the death of her long-incapacitated friend Simon Lynch. Does his death in An Incomplete Revenge affect Maisie (or you) in the ways that you anticipated? What choices does Winspear make in describing Maisies emotional response, and do you agree with them?
7. A character from a previous Maisie Dobbs mystery observed that war is despicable because it is "not over when it ends." How might this seeming paradox be applied to An Incomplete Revenge? Through the death of Simon Lynch and the group confession that marks a climax in the novel, do you think Maisie and the townspeople of Heronsdene are moving toward a long-awaited closure, or do you think they will continue to be trapped and haunted by the memories of the Great War? On what do you base your judgment?
8. What is Maisies attitude toward the gypsy elements in her ancestry? In a novel that counsels the acceptance and understanding of different ethnicities, is Maisie sufficiently accepting of her own mixed heritage?
9. At the end of the novel, Maisie dances alone in her apartment. Discuss the significance of this gesture.
Discussion Questions
1. Divided between past and present, between her female gender and her male-dominated profession, and between her British identity and part-gypsy ancestry, Maisie Dobbs is a character of intense inward divisions. How do these divisions both complicate and strengthen Maisie as a character?
2. A variety of pivotal scenes in An Incomplete Revenge involve dramatic uses of fire. What range of moods, feelings, or symbolic meanings does fire represent in the novel?
3. Although several of the residents of Heronsdene are developed individually as characters, the townspeople are also dominated by an ominous group psychology. What might Winspear be suggesting through her portrayal of this town about the limits of peoples abilities to think or choose for themselves?
4. Maisie is freer from class prejudice than most of the other characters in Winspears novel. Nevertheless, does an awareness of class difference influence her relationships with people like Billy Beale and Priscilla Evernden? How?
5. Animals, especially dogs and horses, appear prominently in An Incomplete Revenge. How do their presence and the way they are treated help us to better understand Winspears human characters?
6. Followers of the Maisie Dobbs series have shared the heroines dread anticipation of the death of her long-incapacitated friend Simon Lynch. Does his death in An Incomplete Revenge affect Maisie (or you) in the ways that you anticipated? What choices does Winspear make in describing Maisies emotional response, and do you agree with them?
7. A character from a previous Maisie Dobbs mystery observed that war is despicable because it is "not over when it ends." How might this seeming paradox be applied to An Incomplete Revenge? Through the death of Simon Lynch and the group confession that marks a climax in the novel, do you think Maisie and the townspeople of Heronsdene are moving toward a long-awaited closure, or do you think they will continue to be trapped and haunted by the memories of the Great War? On what do you base your judgment?
8. What is Maisies attitude toward the gypsy elements in her ancestry? In a novel that counsels the acceptance and understanding of different ethnicities, is Maisie sufficiently accepting of her own mixed heritage?
9. At the end of the novel, Maisie dances alone in her apartment. Discuss the significance of this gesture.
Discussion Questions
1. Divided between past and present, between her female gender and her male-dominated profession, and between her British identity and part-gypsy ancestry, Maisie Dobbs is a character of intense inward divisions. How do these divisions both complicate and strengthen Maisie as a character?
2. A variety of pivotal scenes in An Incomplete Revenge involve dramatic uses of fire. What range of moods, feelings, or symbolic meanings does fire represent in the novel?
3. Although several of the residents of Heronsdene are developed individually as characters, the townspeople are also dominated by an ominous group psychology. What might Winspear be suggesting through her portrayal of this town about the limits of peoples abilities to think or choose for themselves?
4. Maisie is freer from class prejudice than most of the other characters in Winspears novel. Nevertheless, does an awareness of class difference influence her relationships with people like Billy Beale and Priscilla Evernden? How?
5. Animals, especially dogs and horses, appear prominently in An Incomplete Revenge. How do their presence and the way they are treated help us to better understand Winspears human characters?
6. Followers of the Maisie Dobbs series have shared the heroines dread anticipation of the death of her long-incapacitated friend Simon Lynch. Does his death in An Incomplete Revenge affect Maisie (or you) in the ways that you anticipated? What choices does Winspear make in describing Maisies emotional response, and do you agree with them?
7. A character from a previous Maisie Dobbs mystery observed that war is despicable because it is "not over when it ends." How might this seeming paradox be applied to An Incomplete Revenge? Through the death of Simon Lynch and the group confession that marks a climax in the novel, do you think Maisie and the townspeople of Heronsdene are moving toward a long-awaited closure, or do you think they will continue to be trapped and haunted by the memories of the Great War? On what do you base your judgment?
8. What is Maisies attitude toward the gypsy elements in her ancestry? In a novel that counsels the acceptance and understanding of different ethnicities, is Maisie sufficiently accepting of her own mixed heritage?
9. At the end of the novel, Maisie dances alone in her apartment. Discuss the significance of this gesture.