An Incomplete Revenge

by Jacqueline Winspear

An Incomplete Revenge

book data

374 ratings, 4.04 average rating, 114 reviews (more data...)

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published

June 5th 2008

binding

Hardcover, 328 pages

setting

Unknown

isbn

0719569516 (isbn13: 9780719569517)

description

Publishers Weekly:
Maisie Dobbs travels to Kent to investigate, among other things, a series of fires, a family of Dutch bakers who were killed durin...more

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All ratings | 5 stars (103) | 4 stars (181) | 3 stars (81) | 2 stars (9) | 1 star (2) | avg 4.04

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Barbara

Barbara rated it:

(review of isbn 1427203016)

05/04/08

bookshelves: audiobook

Read in April, 2008

This is the 5th of the Maise Dobbs books and I think it may be the best of the series since the first one. Winspear manages to weave multiple themes, but with so much grace that they never feel forced or crowded. I was particularly impressed with the material about gypsies and the subplot about the effect of war on our humanity. The narrator, Orlagh Cassidy, does a wonderful job. In an interview on one of these audiobooks, Winspear says that she was a nonfiction writer prior to doing the fir...more

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Kate

Kate rated it:

01/01/09

bookshelves: mystery

Read in December, 2008

recommends it for: People who think Dorothy Sayers is too rough.

Maisie Dobbs is a reliable gal for a turn around the park. I know she won't run off into some obscure literary lane to act coy; topics of conversation/investigation are always delightful and not too grisly; and she's deep: The War, man, The Great War. Her experience as a nurse in France colors every choice she has made since, including her choice to pursue her studies under the tutelage of her mentor, French psychiatrist and detective, Maurice. He plucked her from her life "below stairs&quo...more

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Ron

Ron rated it:

08/21/08

Read in May, 2008

The fifth in the series of mystery novels involving the psychological investigator Maisie Dobbs (for more background detail, see my review of the first book in the series, Maisie Dobbs).

I was worried that overfamiarity with the quirks and tics of a continuing set of characters might begin to wear thin by the fifth installment, but so far Ms. Winspear has been able to deliver the goods consistently, including this tale of a whole village - Heronsdene - that seems to be suffering from some ki...more

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Michelle

Michelle rated it:

07/29/08

bookshelves: highly-recommended---must-reads, library, mystery, reviews, want-this-book-

Read in June, 2008

recommends it for: female sleuths, mystery,

This is definitely my favorite so far of the series. Especially considering I found the last one to be most depressing. Hope seems to be returning to Maisie's world, despite her suffering one more loss in this book. And the portent of WWII looms in the not so distant future.

Winspear's books are very much a recommended read, and as I have now caught up with the books so far published, I shall sit here and sulk until another comes out...

For those who know a little as I do about the Depres...more

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Miranda

Miranda rated it:

07/20/08

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

I am a big fan of the Maisie Dobbs series, by Jacqueline Winspear. I like the setting: England, in the aftermath of WW1, when cars are not uncommon but horses are still more usual and people think nothing of walking a few miles to get somewhere. The atmosphere of that time is intriguing and sad, with rural life going on much as it has for centuries, and yet with reminders of the devastation of the War everywhere. And I like Maisie very much: a single, independent young woman who is very bright a...more I am a big fan of the Maisie Dobbs series, by Jacqueline Winspear. I like the setting: England, in the aftermath of WW1, when cars are not uncommon but horses are still more usual and people think nothing of walking a few miles to get somewhere. The atmosphere of that time is intriguing and sad, with rural life going on much as it has for centuries, and yet with reminders of the devastation of the War everywhere. And I like Maisie very much: a single, independent young woman who is very bright and who has lived quite an unusual life, starting out as a maid but going on to university, then acting as a nurse during the War, and eventually setting up her own business as a psychologist/investigator.

Throughout the series, Maisie has developed as a character, changing and growing and becoming both more capable and independent, and more vulnerable and willing to open her heart, as she leaves the pain of the War further behind her. An Incomplete Revenge, the fifth book in the series, is set in September 1931 during hop-picking season. Maisie has been hired by her former employer’s son, James Compton, to try to find out why a small village in Kent has such a high incidence of vandalism and arson, since James is considering buying a business there.

I was noticing, while reading this book, how interesting and successful a really good mystery series can be at gradually revealing more and more about the main characters. Winspear is up there with Peter Robinson, Charles Todd, and Reginald Hill, in the skillful way in which she allows readers to gradually get to know Maisie. There are always surprises, always new aspects of Maisie’s personality being revealed.

Here, we learn more about Maisie’s background as she interacts with a group of gypsies while investigating. This fits in with one of the themes that is present throughout the book: how much people choose to hide their individuality and ethnicity in order to blend in, and how much they choose to retain a distinctive personality and culture and remain outsiders. This is becoming an especially pressing issue as it becomes ominously clear that there is trouble brewing in Germany, and Maisie’s mentor, Maurice Blanche, even mentions the possibility of another war.

Fire is another theme in the book, seen as frightening and powerful, sometimes nihilistic and destructive, but sometimes cleansing and freeing. Maisie begins to let a lot of things go that she has been holding onto for many years, and begins to let some colourful, passionate interests in.

Billy Beale, Maisie’s working-class assistant, is another character in the series that I really like, and he plays a large part in this book as well, as he and his family pick hops and struggle to come to terms with a recent loss. Billy has been talking for some time about emigrating to Canada, and I am so interested to see whether he eventually will or not. Like Maisie, Billy is admirable but flawed in his own ways, very human, and is burdened with a lot to struggle with.

Maisie’s dynamic, glamorous, cocktail-loving friend Priscilla is also involved in a number of scenes in the book, trying to figure out how she wants to raise her three wild boys. Priscilla is the one who lets Maisie know that there are changes coming for Simon, the man Maisie loved during the War, and who was irreparably brain-damaged during shelling that also scarred Maisie forever.

I admire and enjoy Winspear’s smooth, clear writing style, which is unusual and distinctive. Apparently, Winspear used to work as a life coach, and I think it shows in her novels, both in the themes of self-development and self-empowerment, and in the direct but deeply caring tone she uses. One of the most fascinating parts of this book is when Maisie uses a divining rod in an attempt to find silver that would be evidence in a crime. As she envisions what she’s looking for, her process is remarkably similar to the visualization talked about today, in relation to the law of attraction and manifesting what you want in your life. I liked seeing this type of idea set in the past, even though it’s something that’s currently very popular. It’s a good reminder that so often what we think are fresh ideas are really ideas that have been around forever, just presented in a new way.

Although I didn’t completely believe the explanation for part of the mystery in the book, overall I thought it was very satisfying. This series is so full of great characters and relationships – besides Billy and Priscilla, Maurice and James, there are Maisie’s horse-loving father Frankie, Billy’s wife Doreen, Beattie Drummond, an ambitious female newspaper reporter, Simon’s gentle mother, Margaret Lynch – there seem to be endless ways for Winspear to continue to develop the series and to continue to tell more stories about all these people and what they will do with their lives. How will Maisie cope with the deepening economic depression? Will she ever marry, or will she remain independent, as so many women of that generation did, due to the many men killed in the War. I look forward to the series continuing, so I can find out.

Miranda...less

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Annabelle

Annabelle rated it:

04/16/08

Read in April, 2008

This is the fifth entry in Winspear's Maisie Dobbs series, and I think it's the best installment since the first book. Maisie is a psychologist/detective in post-World War I England. Her cases offer glimpses into daily life during that era, as well as insights into the devastating scars--both physical and psychological--that the Great War left in Britain.

The bulk of this book takes place in rural Kent in 1931, where a series of crimes leads to tension between the locals, a gypsy clan, and a...more

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Beth666ann

Beth666ann rated it:

05/14/08

Read in May, 2008

Winspear's Maisie Dobbs books are a melancholy and reflective look at interwar England. The sadness and shock that followed World War I is always present in the series--the grief as well as the survivor's guilt, and also the sadness and shock still faced by veterans after the war--and it's sad as hell to think that soon, another war will occur in this universe (and did in ours). The weaknesses of the series are that sometimes the main character, Maisie Dobbs, is a bit too perfect and precious ...more

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Linda

Linda rated it:

10/02/08

Read in September, 2008

The most recent mystery novel featuring Maisie Dobbs, a servant turned scholar turned sleuth. None of these have been as good as the initial volume or "Birds of a Feather." Though we're now up to 1931 the books all revolve around WWI and it's lingering effects.

This particular story focused on some gypsies and had so much info on them and their language that it was disruptive and made it hard to get into the story initially. Whether it was really necessary or useful is questionable ...more

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Jennifer

Jennifer rated it:

10/25/08

bookshelves: mystery-thriller

Read in October, 2008

recommended to Jennifer by: long-time Dobbs follower
recommends it for: mystery readers, amateur historians

Dark. Really, really, "Lord of the Flies", dark, wrapped in a mystery package. The newest in the Maisie Dobbs' mysteries touches on some of the back corners that many shy away from. Set in 1931 England, private investigator Maisie Dobbs is hired by her employer's son to investigate some fires and vandalism happening in a small village where he is purchasing some property. Dobbs finds things in the small village eerily awry...throw in some gypsies, a little shell-shocking drama from ...more

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Shabana

Shabana rated it:

08/13/08

Read in August, 2008

recommends it for: Professional women who are single and working

I love the Maisie Dobbs series. This book was a continuation and in some ways, a completion of what began in the first book. Simon, Maisie's love passed away and we finally see her coming to a closure on that chapter of her life.

In this book, she seems the most indepedent than she has been in the past four books. Her mentor finally explicitly recognizes that she's a professional in her own right, and her assistant is busy hoppicking and most likely starting to move on with his own famil...more

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Diane

Diane rated it:

07/16/08

Read in July, 2008

I started reading the Maisy Dobbs series late last year and became a fan of them very quickly. The author does a great job at describing the characters so that you really feel that you know them. I find the writing to be better than most contemporary mystery writers, P.D. James excluded, and the attention to detail is very fine. The mysteries take place in the 1930's and a lot of the background focuses on World War I. Each book builds upon the characters and their lives, but that doesn't mean...more

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Mary Beth

Mary Beth rated it:

04/20/08

I have enjoyed this series so much, and the newest book is very good. One thing Winspear does that seems slightly different from other mystery writers is that all of these book seem like parts of one continuing story. A lot of authors attempt that in series books, I think, but not all pull it off. Maisie was a downstairs maid in the early 1900s, was educated because her employer saw promise, became a nurse during WWI, found and lost the love of her life, and is now a "psychologist and in...more

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Jessie

Jessie rated it:

12/24/08

Read in December, 2008

It's been a while since i've been addicted to a mystery series, but I do like this one. It's less about the twists and turns and more about psychology, but I think that the picture it gives of post WWI British society is also an interesting one.

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Jenett

Jenett added it

05/28/08

Read in March, 2008

I've loved this post Great War series (starring dectective and psychologist Maisie Dobbs) since the first book - Incomplete Revenge is the 5th installment.

One of the great things about mystery series is that you can do character development over time. This volume is a lovely move in several directions - if I had to pick a short phrase to describe it, it would be 'healing' (with a certain amount of 'lancing infection' involved.) There are parts that are disturbing, parts very sad - but I love ...more

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Cindy

Cindy rated it:

10/23/08

bookshelves: historical, mysteries

Read in October, 2008

recommends it for: mystery lovers

Maisie's latest case has her visiting Kent during the hop picking season. A friend asks her to investigate a local land owner in view of a big business deal. As she gets down there and starts asking questions, she finds that the situation is much more complicated that she imagined, involving hostilities between the locals and the Londoners, coming hop-picking, between the Londoners and the gypsies, and between the landowner and everyone else. Even worse, the case is echoing some difficult develo...more

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Flynn

Flynn rated it:

04/18/08

Read in April, 2008

The Maisie Dobbs books are really fast and entertaining. Although I recently read "One Good Turn" by Kate Atkinson which managed to pretty much totally skewer the period mystery set in England as pedantic and mindless. I don't think that these mysteries quite qualify, although there is a certain element of guilty pleasure about them, I also think that they manage to say something about human nature while still being an entertaining read. "An Incomplete Revenge" is of lower...more

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Dee

Dee rated it:

12/27/08

Next to the original Maisie Dobbs, this is the best of the series in my opinion. A wonderful tale giving us more history of the English countryside and its gypsy population.

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Sallybc

Sallybc rated it:

07/06/08

I love the Masie Dobbs series of "mysteries". The historical awareness of the settings - taking you from the Edwardian life of pre-WWI London, now up to the 1930's with the shadow of Nazi Germany starting to appear.

This book takes its time winding to the conclusion, but the solution to the mystery is not obvious, and one only begins to suspect the solution when Masie drops a few hints.

I think this series is primed for a movie or television series, although I hate to think about...more

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EJ rated it:

08/08/08

Read in August, 2008

recommended to EJ by: Lydia
recommends it for: everyone

Maise Dobbs, an private investigator/psychologist in post-WWI England, is definately one of my favorite book heroines. She isn't happy-go-lucky because of the horrors of WWI but she is learning to find more joy in her life. This 5th book of the series was very good. It explores bigotry and hatred as well as forgiveness and love. I do think the author puts her own modern day ideas onto Maise but perhaps not. I didn't like the justification of cremation being because the aging mother wouldn't be a...more

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Michelle BF

Michelle BF rated it:

03/15/08

Read in March, 2008

Maisie Dobbs uses her skills to solve a bizarre mystery involving a zeppelin attack during WWI on a small village, mysterious fires in the village, and petty crime.

Really enjoy the growth this character achieves in each book since I usually get bored with series when the main character remains static. I'm hoping for someone special for her but glad she can achieve an independence during this time and the history of this time period explains her spinsterhood adequately.

Poor Simon and tha...more

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