An Incomplete Revenge (Maisie Dobbs Book 5)

Another wonderful adventure for Maisie Dobbs. Each book in the series builds on the previous one, yet "stands alone" in and of itself. Lots of twists and turns along the way. Maisie is a totally believable character.

Having read all of the previous Maisie Dobbs books I was really looking forward to this one. I was, however, very disappointed with a certain part which immediately made me think of another story, a similar but not the same plot. It has been interesting to read of Maisie's own life and the references to WW1 which attracted my attention in the first place. She certainly has friends in all the right places. I am not saying I would not buy Maisie Dobbs books in the future. I would be interested to read what happens to her and to Billy Beale etc. It is just that the twist in this book upset me.

The Maisie Dobbs series is exquisitely researched and sensitively written, with the nuances of the British class system - in radical flux between the Great War and the Hitler War - embodied by the characters and their interactions. Winspear is careful to set her plots in a way that allows her to address social issues and politics while solving mysteries, and the reader always learns a great deal while having a grand read.

If there's a flaw in this jewel of a series, it's Winspear's dependence coincidence. More accurately, it's her addiction to it and her almost morbid sensitivity about the same. Not only do the plots bristle with coincidences big and small, but the narrator feels the need to explain/accommodate/apologize for these devices, even as Winspear strews them round her characters' feet. Indeed, the title of the fourth book in the series, Messenger of Truth, is part of a quote attributed to Maisie Dobbs' mentor: "Coincidence is the messenger of truth." In An Incomplete Revenge, Maisie's assistant quotes it back at her.

If coincidence were really the messenger of truth, Maisie would be the Delphic Oracle, not merely a hardworking and insightful detective. Winspear's multiple coincidences diminish the talents of the wonderful character she has created.

All readers of mysteries are prepared to accept some coincidences. They are part of the genre, and only the greatest luminaries in the field can fashion a plot without them. Winspear would do well to acknowledge this, to acknowledge it tacitly, and let us get on with our reading. Between the coincidental events and her need to make them acceptable, it sets a reader's teeth on edge.

One of the things we learn about in An Incomplete Revenge is the life and culture of the gypsies, or Roma people. Winspear has taken the trouble to acquire quite a few words of their language, and she sprinkles them liberally through the text. Sadly, the results are not felicitous. Rather than letting readers acquire meaning from context or from a quick appositive, Winspear uses repetition, writing phrases and clauses twice: "A Roma would trust anyone before a diddakio - before the half-bred people who were born of gypsy and gorja. . . . Beulah brought four tin bowls from underneath the caravan - underneath the vardo in the gypsy tongue." (2)

This becomes MASSIVELY irritating very very quickly, and it goes on and on. Furthermore, the since the repetition functions as translation, it raises the question of why Winspear uses only nouns. If we have to read through translations, it would at least be fair to give us some syntax and grammar in Anglo-Romani.

But keep reading. While the Roma discourse makes the first part of the book irritating, once the plot gets firing on all cylinders, Winspear sticks with the vocab she's already introduced, and the gypsies become an intriguing part of the multifaceted mystery.

This is a story about calling things by their right names. Things and people. The people in Winspear's books are fabulously drawn, unusual without being quaint, all of them the sort of characters who must surely have lives they keep on living once we've turned the final page. We see Pris and her pack of wild sons again in this novel, even as we lose the lost-boy, lost-love Simon. Billy and his family engage in the Londoner's working vacation, hop-picking in Kent just as Maisie has a meaty mystery to investigate there. Lots of solid background details make the countryside's beauty pull the reader into the pages, while the ever-solid Frankie Dobbs is nearby to offer Maisie (and the reader) comfort and support when things get dark.

One of the best things about the series is that things change. Maisie moves from one place to another, from one case to another, out of some relationships and on with some more. It's a sadness to end such a book, but there's comfort in knowing that we will see Billy and Pris again, while the gypsy connection looks ripe for many future tales.

Maisie is magical, Maisie is retconned to being 1/4 Roma, an entire town of psychopathic murderers gets off the hook (seriously, jail time, folks!). Bleh. Pardonable Lies, the third in the series, is my favorite of the series: likable characters, real stakes, actually "mysterious." This was just an all-around disappointment. A detective who relies on a freaking divining rod is not a detective. Grr.

Would you read a mystery where the detective solves the case by dowsing for lost objects (and on the basis of only one lesson)? It's the sort of thing that makes me not buy the book or swear off the author.

However, it is otherwise a good book and Winspear's preceeding books, while having a touch of the irrational mental schtik, are quite good. But I'll browse the next one thoroughly before I buy.

-In this 5th book of the Maisie Dobbs series, Maisie is approached by James Compton, the son of the woman who is her benefactor. He is investing for his father’s interests in a property in a town called Heronsdene, which is nearby the family country estate. There is a brickworks on the property which he is especially interested in, as he expects the demand to increase greatly from the current output, though even now, it’s running at just about capacity. With the proper investment, it can be expanded and turned into a very lucrative deal.
-James turns to Maisie for her assistance as there have been a series of petty thefts on the property for a while, as well as fires that occur every year. Maisie is to investigate to see if these occurrences would cause them to reconsider investing in the property.
-It’s currently the season for hops, which grows in that area, to be picked. In the hop picking season, the local farms bring down people from London to assist in the picking. Maisie’s assistant, Billy Beale, along with his family, usually go down to participate in the picking for pay and Maisie convinces him to be assigned to a farm nearby the property which she is looking in to. Along with the hop pickers, there is a group of gypsies that passes through that area each year, and there is something about them that causes Maisie to identify with them. We discover that she knows the slang and the customs of the gypsies, but it’s because her mother was a gypsy.
-During the picking, two London boys have discovered some stolen silver which was from the estate owned by Alfred Sandermere, who is the one interested in selling his property to the Comptons. The boys are held in a prison as likely suspects, and, added to Maisie’s other projects, she must exonerate them and discover who really took the silver.
-There are also other things happening in Heronsdene that don’t make sense. Every year, about this time, there are fires, but those fires are never reported to the police. The townspeople form their own fire brigade and deal with them. Also, there is something mysterious about an event that occurred during the Great War. In 1916, a Zepellin passed over the town and dropped bombs on the bakery owned by a family by the name of Martin. There was a husband, wife and daughter who died, while their son was serving overseas, but died in action. The townspeople’s references to that event, and the state that they left the property that was bombed, is very unusual.
-Maisie herself is also experiencing extremely painful recollections of the war, as she finds out that the man that she loved and whose wounds in the war resulted in him being in a coma, is now near death. Simon Lynch has been in a home and was being visited by Maisie for the past two years. Maisie must now be forced to let go.
-Maisie has a knack for continually asking questions and the more she started to probe, the more she realized that there were many secrets that were being purposefully hidden from her in the town. She knew it must be linked to the Zepellin attack, but how those secrets were linked were beyond her. The head of the gypsy group also carried pieces to the puzzle that pertained to the town, and knew that Maisie had special talents which would help her to release the secrets that were weighing down on her.
-The main stories and the several side stories will leave you in surprise, as all of these events combine so that the truth about what actually happened in the town comes out. As all the stories in the series, this is extremely interesting and very well done.

Maisie is hired by James Compton to investigate matters concerning a potential land purchase in a small town in Kent. However, when Maisie arrives, she finds no welcome from the villagers. She learns that there is a dark criminal at work because there have been fires throughout the town. As Maisie tries to find the arson, she learns that there was once a murder that happened during a zeppelin attack.

In this novel, we get to learn more of Maisie’s heritage. We learn that her mother was once a gypsy. Therefore, learning about Maisie’s heritage was intriguing. Maisie was very likable in this novel. She is compassionate and smart. She’s very determined to get to the bottom of the cases. Thus, I really liked seeing more of Maisie’s good side. I also liked that she didn’t have any relationships in this novel because we get to focus on Maisie personally rather than her drama.

Overall, this book was about prejudice, secrets, and lies. The mystery was not as compelling as the other cases. However, it was very sad. I also like Maisie’s interactions with the visitors. I thought that the setting of a small town was very realistic and is one of the novel’s best features. One thing I did not like about the book was that the ending left me with an empty feeling. I also thought that the supporting characters made very few appearances in An Incomplete Revenge. I would have liked more from her father and James. Still, I did like the gypsy aspects in this novel. Thus, this was a fun, light read! I cannot wait to read the next novel, Among the Mad! I recommend the Maisie Dobbs series for fans of Charles Todd, Susan Elia MacNeal, and Laurie R. King! This is definitely a series you don’t want to miss!

In this installment of the Maisie Dobbs series, Maisie is called upon by James Compton, the son of her patron, to investigate a possible property acquisition, for the town seems to be under the thumb of the local wealthy family. Maisie's assistant, Billy, and his family have traveled to the country - the same town - in order to harvest hops. There is a considerable amount of mystery surrounding the town: mysterious fires set every year on the anniversary of a zeppelin attack; the mysterious deaths of the Martin family at the bakery on the same night; and the gypsy community in the town that incites the distrust and racist behavior of the townspeople.
Maisie is also enduring a personal battle. While coming to terms with the fact that her previous love, Simon, is slowly heading towards death, she is also struggling to make amends with her mentor, Maurice, with whom she had an intense split when she had her emotional breakdown due to shell shock.
Maisie becomes embroiled in an investigation, not only of the mysterious fires, but also the mystery behind the Martin family's death.
Ms. Winspear's ability to dive into the horrors endured during and after the Great War is uncanny. She really digs deep to uncover how war and hatred seep into man and influence their actions. Even in the previous book, Messenger of Truth, Ms. Winspear presents the aftereffects of war - emotional, mental and physical injury - and the extremes people do to move on, to hide, and in some cases, to destroy any reminder of their past wrongs. Or, for that matter, the wrongs man inflicts upon themselves.

This is a really great series.
The freaking ending. And the whole town knows. You really sit back and think, "what the hell is the matter with people?"

Recognizing the popularity of this series this is very much a minority report.

Winspear is urgently in need of a good editor: the number of times characters "pause" in their speech is uncountable. Are there no synonyms? The predictable plot winds along at the pace of a cart horse not the steeplechasers that Mr. Dobbs cares for. The more fully drawn characters just about aspire to one-dimensionality. Above all, the ability of so many people to read unspoken thoughts, interpret the slightest hint of body language, and grasp past events by simply walking into a room or wandering a scene, is absurd.

I listened to the audio version of this book. The reader is an American actress who does a remarkable job of speaking with the accent of a member of the aristocracy in the early part of the 20th century. Her mispronunciation of words such as vase (not "vayze"), inquiry (not "inkwiri"), and Maidstone (ends -stun), gives her away but might only trouble a native speaker.

An Incomplete Revenge is the fifth book in the Maisie Dobbs series by British-born American author, Jacqueline Winspear. James Compton, son of Maisie’s long-time patron, Lady Compton, is in the process of purchasing a large estate at Heronsdene, Kent for the family company, but some incidents of petty crime, vandalism and small fires in the area are cause for concern, so Maisie is engaged to conduct enquiries. It is early autumn of 1931, and as these cases all seem to occur during the hop harvest, it is especially convenient that her assistant, Billy Beale usually takes his family for a working holiday hop-picking at this time, and is able to contract to the farm on said estate. The waters are muddied, somewhat, by the influx of large groups of Londoners and gypsies, all taking part in the harvest, and the fact that the villagers of Heronsdene seem reluctant to involve the police or fire-brigade. It appears that the land-owner, Alfred Sandermere, is a poor businessman and not well-liked by his tenant farmers or the villagers. A theft from the Manor house, blamed on two young London boys, sees Maisie visiting the gypsy matriarch in search of information. Maisie notices that the mood in the village is unusual: there is an undercurrent of fear in addition to the resentment and suspicion that the presence of the Londoners and gypsies usually brings. It seems the villagers are still keenly feeling the wartime loss of many of their young men, and are strangely hesitant to discuss the Zeppelin raid that occurred in 1916. In trying to determine if this is a case of sabotage, insurance fraud, opportunistic theft by itinerant workers or something else entirely, Maisie’s investigations lead her to encounters with a determined journalist, a dishonest vicar, a loyal dog, some reticent villagers, a luthier and a very snobbish land-owner. She helps to fight a fire, learns to dowse for silver, attends two funerals, dances with gypsies, reconciles with an old friend and picks some hops. Winspear touches on school bullying, prejudice against gypsies and anyone who is different, mob mentality and, of course, revenge. Her extensive research into gypsy customs and beliefs and into hops and hop picking in the early 20th century is apparent in every page. This gentle-paced mystery has quite a twist in the tail: a shocking crime that only becomes apparent in the last few chapters. Once again, an excellent read that will have Winspear fans looking forward to the next book in the series, Among The Mad.

Maise Dobbs never fails to fully captivate my interest. She is a smart, capable and wholly likable character. Her entire backstory is one of determination and strength and she is so easy to relate to, flaws and all. Her compassion is what really carries her through and cements the bond with the readers.

I found this book to be the most compelling of all. It truly speaks volumes about regret, revenge and growth. The skillful way this story was woven, details of which I won't reveal, as the back cover gives the basics so no need to rehash and I won't give spoilers, but you'll have to take my word for it. I found myself engrossed in a story that involves the ghosts of war, which is a backbone to many of the stories, as they take place post WWI, love, and gypsies. Maise, as always, is a marvel to behold, along with Billy, another character who constantly evolves with each story. I found this to be one of my favorite Maise Dobbs novels so far. It really makes an impact.

This is the most comfortable series I have ever read. And, "An Incomplete Revenge", so far, tops my list, in this well written collection.
Jacqueline Winspear has created such a wonderful atmosphere within her stories. Each one invites you in and asks you to sit before a cozy fire, with a warm beverage of your choice, while the world revolves slowly outside.
With each new entry into the life of Maisie Dobbs, I fall further and further in love with her and the people she surrounds herself with. She epitomizes a femininity emboldened with well-earned respect and strength. Maisie is not afraid to ask the difficult question or stand up to people above her station or enlist the help of others because she understands her limitations.
England in the early 1930's is still struggling to overcome the horrors and losses of WWI. Everyone still feels the sacrifices and forfeitures. The separation of classes is overwhelming evident, yet so poignantly written. And the suffering is felt from the heights of the aristocracy to bowels of this English gutters. The reader feels the tension, the emotion and the angst with every page turned.
Everything works here. The character development, even with the introduction of new characters, the twisting plots, the descriptive scenery and the inclusion and conclusion of story lines are all beautifully handled.
Highly recommend this series to everyone.

I found this fourth book of the Maisie Dobbs series at my local pharmacy while getting my renewal cancer meds. I love that they have a book section. I had read the first book in the series and have purchased the latest but hadn't acquired the fill-ins.

This novel was set in Kent, U.K. where my Mother grew up in boarding school. She would take the Tunbridge Wells exit as a child. So, this was an added treat to me. Mother didn't speak of those days much. She was unhappy at school. So, I knew nothing about the Hops and harvesting going on there. Being born in 1918, she was 13 when this book occurs and so I felt for Pris' children and understood.

This novel is set in 1931 and feelings of an up-coming war are beginning to rumble about. Not only that England is suffering the world depression economically and Ms. Winspear draws a verbal scene you can feel of how difficult it was to live in those days among the different class distinctions and all.

Maisie Dobbs is hired to investigate the village that houses a brickworks that her client wishes to purchase. The village has a secret and Maisie quickly learns that this mystery has many layers. There are war dead, mysterious annual fires, unexplained nor investigated thefts and more. The annual harvesting brings the Londoners trying to escape the Big Smoke, as well as travelling groups such as Gypsys. Are they all implicated?

Added to the above, Maisie has personal issues from the Great War to resolve and put to finish. The wealth of emotions within this novel is amazing.

A great mystery novel that I quickly read even with a new puppy to tend to. I recommend this series.