There is something about Maisie Dobbs mysteries. By now you probably know I am very fond of mysteries. My favorites are those with a historical setting (and quite often a female sleuth). There are a few authors I follow fairly dedicatedly and will buy the book when it is published (in hardcover--something I try and avoid usually), and Jacqueline Winspear is one of those authors. Messenger of Truth is due to be released in just a few weeks, and when the opportunity came along for me to read an "advanced readers edition" I jumped at it of course. Even though the books involve murder, and the setting is post-WWI England (where we are now entering the depression era) there is something cozy about them as well. Does that make any sense?
This is the fourth instalment, and it is set in London and Kent in 1931. She is hired by a fellow Girton graduate, Georgina Bassington-Hope, to look into the death of her twin brother, Nick. The police have ruled his death an accident. Nick, a controversial artist, fell from scaffolding as he was preparing to mount a large exhibition. Missing is a large work believed to be a triptych that is possibly his most ambitious painting--his masterpiece. He kept it in an unknown lock-up, and more than one person is interested in it. I don't want to give away too much more of the plot (to me that takes the fun out of reading a mystery), but there are the usual twists and turns and not everything is as it seems.
Billy Beale returns to help Maisie, but he has his own family problems to deal with. Andrew Dene and Maisie are working on their relationship, and Inspector Stratten makes an appearance as well. I like the interplay between the characters and their families. Happily, however, Winspear moves the series along and takes the story off in new directions. It is good to see that things are not stagnating, and I look forward to her next mystery to see how the story proceeds. I think this period of time is really interesting, and Winspear gives you a feeling of what must have been like in England at this time. I wonder if class differences were more pronounced in England than here in America. There were so many changes taking place, but at the same time people were struggling to get back on their footing after the war. Economically it was not a prosperous time for many and the poor seem only to be getting poorer. Hitler is there in the background as well as Oswald Mosely, which gives you a sense already of what is on the horizon.
Interestingly I am also in the midst of watching the final season of The House of Eliott. It is set at about the same time--perhaps a tad bit earlier. It makes it easier to get a visual in my mind of how people dressed and lived, despite completely different stories. Anyway, for me, this was another thoroughly enjoyable Maisie Dobbs mystery!