What readers think of An Incomplete Revenge, plus links to write your own review.

Loyal readers will discover a more mature, confident and independent Maisie Dobbs in Jacqueline Winspeare's newest Maisie novel. Like Maisie herself, Winspeare's plotting and fully developed character comes of age. Using psychology, the author weaves the threads of the mystery together as Maisie resolves truths about herself. I enjoyed the book for its setting in the early 1930's and the location in Kent. Maisie Dobbs fans will be eager to read this new title in the series.

I have been a fan of Jacqueline Winspear since she wrote her first "Maisie Dobbs" novel. I especially like British mysteries and have read no others with a female investigator that take place in the pre-and post-WWI years. The author gives enough background in this book for the reader to be familiar with the recurring characters in the previous four books, but I would recommend reading them in order. I am envious of those who are new to this series and have the opportunity to relish five well-written historical mysteries!

An enjoyable read! This is the best Maisie Dobbs novel to date. Winspear has fine tuned entwining mystery, history and setting. Maisie is a warm, caring, young woman who is talented at interpreting people's body language and what they are not saying in order to solve mysteries. She ties up all the loose ends, and I can't wait for Jacqueline Winspear's next Maisie book!

I found this book to be mildly interesting, just a bit odd and full of quirky characters. I am quite certain that you have to love an old fashioned English mystery to thoroughly enjoy this book. The pastimes, habits, and conversations were sometimes a bit confusing and made the reading of this book quite slow. Hop picking, gypsies and living in tents and caravans all sort of added to the "other worldliness" of this novel. I think this is the first and last Maisie Dobbs book that I will attempt...not enough excitement for this mystery lover.

In September, 1931, thirty-three years old Maisie Dobbs accepts an assignment to investigate a potential estate purchase. Over the years there have been a series of mysterious fires which the villagers refuse to discuss. Overshadowing all is the Zeppelin raid during World War I that killed a local family. Maisie solves one of her most challenging cases by traveling through the lazy countryside of Kent in post World War I and interviewing villagers, a band of local gypsies, and some of the Londoners who go down to Kent every summer to pick hops. Good period details.

Although this was the fifth in a series about a WW1 era private investigator named Maisie Dobbs, it was the first I had read by this author. Set in London and the nearby towns, it was rich in details about this period in English history.

Jacqueline Winspear does a wonderful job of creating believable characters dealing with the broken pieces of their lives after WW1. I thoroughly enjoyed "living" in this era while watching Maisie unearth clues to discover who is setting small fires in a village. She reminds me a bit of a young Miss Marple in the way she gains the confidence of the residents of the village.

I just finished reading An Incomplete Revenge by Jacqueline Winspear and found it to be a very pleasurable experience. Although the book is the fourth installment of a series it can be read as a stand alone novel without too much distraction from previous events. Ms Winspear has created an extremely likable, sympathetic protagonist and in general the development of all characters is excellent. The research into the history of the time and other cultures is superb. The only fault in an otherwise marvelous novel is that the plot is not compelling and is even predictable although it is beautifully told. I believe that readers who enjoy strong character development and "people" novels will be as pleased with this book as I was.

The lush descriptive detailing of the English countryside provides an atmospheric backdrop for Maisie Dobbs’ investigation into the mysterious incidents taking place in the rural village of Heronsdene in the 1930’s.

A vivid portrayal of the tensions between the cultures of the hop-pickers, the gypsies and the townspeople is richly displayed through the use of dialect, history and landscapes.

Through her relationships with Maurice Blanche, her father and Simon, among others, Maisie Dobbs has developed into a fully dimensional main character whose sixth sense along with a highly methodical thought process help prepare her for the most difficult of situations.

The myriad of secondary characters tended to bog down the plot and I found myself losing interest well into the second half of the book. Certain developments towards the end somewhat re-engaged me in the story, unrealistic as they seemed.

Symbols such as the Michaelmas daisies and the importance of identity are interwoven throughout the story. But, it almost becomes more of a somber statement of culture clashes and lessons in death than a mystery.