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There are currently 17 member reviews
for An Incomplete Revenge
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Linda (Walnut Creek CA)
An Incomplete Revenge
The English countryside is anything but tranquil in Jacqueline Windspear's latest novel. Maisie Dobbs is asked to look into the rash of thefts and suspicious fires plaguing the village of Heronsdene in Kent.
During the war this village was the site of a Zeppelin raid and death of the village baker and his family. Maisie is perplexed when residents are reluctant to discuss this event. They are all to ready to shift the focus to Londoners and Gypsies in the area for the hop harvest.
Rich historical detail and beautifully descriptive language capture the time and paint a vivid picture of the English landscape. As Maisie untangles the web of deception, her own story arc continues to evolve. Maisie Dobbs is a memorable character and the series gets stronger with each new entry.
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Phyllis (East New Market MD)
An Incomplete Revenge
World War I has been over for more than ten years, but its events still cause repercussions for Maisie Dobbs in An Incomplete Revenge, the fifth adventure of the unconventional investigator. Investigating suspicious property crimes, Maisie asks questions in the village of Herondene. Local gentry and villagers' secrets are revealed as she investigates. Readers learn more of Maisie's history and speculate about her future when some ties to her past are severed. A caring person, Maisie becomes involved with those she investigates. Another great adventure set in a time mostly forgotten, it also delves into social and economic ills of the time. Highly readable and well written.
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Shirley (San Mateo CA)
An Incomplete Revenge by Jacqueline Winspear
Maisie Dobbs is the most unusual Private Investigator I have ever met. Her analytical and unusual methods of solving a case make for the best kind of reading. She is kind, polite and very caring. She brings unusual people together with her warm personality. After reading her first book about Maisie, I was hooked. Her sensitive descriptions of her work as a nurse and the effects of war on returned soldiers and their families are so timely. This is the fourth in the series and just as absorbing. This entire series would be excellent for a book group.
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Karen (Great Falls VA)
An Incomplete Revenge by Jacqueline Winspear
I kept humming "Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves" as I read this very fun, light and satisfying mystery from the Maisie Dobbs series--for these are the suspect groups in murder and theft. In fact, I was reading three books at the same time and was always a bit sad that I had to pick up the other two. The author has won many awards for the second book in the Maisie Dobbs' series, "Birds of a Feather" and I enjoyed this one just as much.
A detective and psychologist in a post WW I era, Winspear gives us lots of insight into the sense of loss, confusion and fear after the Great War as she investigates this cozy English town of people. Without angst, the theme of letting go and holding on to a more naive time and its people, runs throughout the book for many of its characters without being the book's focus. The resemblence to our own post-9/11 fears, regrets and losses is part of its dignity. And figuring out "who done it" still felt like a great mini-adventure.
I'm a real bibliofile and reserve a "5" for a select few. I'm sure for many others this book would have been a "5."
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Sally (Oakland CA)
Another page-turner by Jacqueline Winspear
Will Maise Dobbs ever escape the claws of her memories of "The Great War" and find true love? It appears that she's gaining ground in this page turner. Jacqueline Winspear imbues her fiery mystery with tales of the English countryside in the post World War I era and kept me guessing until the end.
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Linda (Centennial CO)
An Incomplete Revenge
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.
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Sharon (Chicago IL)
An Incomplete Revenge
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.
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