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Maisie Dobbs #11
A Dangerous Place
Maisie Dobbs returns in a powerful story of political intrigue and personal tragedy: a brutal murder in the British garrison town of Gilbraltar leads the investigator into a web of lies, deceit and danger
Spring 1937. In the four years since she left England, Maisie Dobbs has experienced love, contentment, stability—and the deepest tragedy a woman can endure. Now, all she wants is the peace she believes she might find by returning to India. But her sojourn in the hills of Darjeeling is cut short when her stepmother summons her home to England; her aging father Frankie Dobbs is not getting any younger.
But on a ship bound for England, Maisie realizes she isn’t ready to return. Against the wishes of the captain who warns her, “You will be alone in a most dangerous place,” she disembarks in Gibraltar. Though she is on her own, Maisie is far from alone: the British garrison town is teeming with refugees fleeing a brutal civil war across the border in Spain.
Yet the danger is very real. Days after Maisie’s arrival, a photographer and member of Gibraltar’s Sephardic Jewish community, Sebastian Babayoff, is murdered, and Maisie becomes entangled in the case, drawing the attention of the British Secret Service. Under the suspicious eye of a British agent, Maisie is pulled deeper into political intrigue on “the Rock”—arguably Britain’s most important strategic territory—and renews an uneasy acquaintance in the process. At a crossroads between her past and her future, Maisie must choose a direction, knowing that England is, for her, an equally dangerous place, but in quite a different way.
Spring 1937. In the four years since she left England, Maisie Dobbs has experienced love, contentment, stability—and the deepest tragedy a woman can endure. Now, all she wants is the peace she believes she might find by returning to India. But her sojourn in the hills of Darjeeling is cut short when her stepmother summons her home to England; her aging father Frankie Dobbs is not getting any younger.
But on a ship bound for England, Maisie realizes she isn’t ready to return. Against the wishes of the captain who warns her, “You will be alone in a most dangerous place,” she disembarks in Gibraltar. Though she is on her own, Maisie is far from alone: the British garrison town is teeming with refugees fleeing a brutal civil war across the border in Spain.
Yet the danger is very real. Days after Maisie’s arrival, a photographer and member of Gibraltar’s Sephardic Jewish community, Sebastian Babayoff, is murdered, and Maisie becomes entangled in the case, drawing the attention of the British Secret Service. Under the suspicious eye of a British agent, Maisie is pulled deeper into political intrigue on “the Rock”—arguably Britain’s most important strategic territory—and renews an uneasy acquaintance in the process. At a crossroads between her past and her future, Maisie must choose a direction, knowing that England is, for her, an equally dangerous place, but in quite a different way.
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First published March 15, 2015
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About the author
Jacqueline Winspear
61 books8,331 followersJacqueline Winspear was born and raised in the county of Kent, England. Following higher education at the University of London’s Institute of Education, Jacqueline worked in academic publishing, in higher education and in marketing communications in the UK.
She emigrated to the United States in 1990, and while working in business and as a personal / professional coach, Jacqueline embarked upon a life-long dream to be a writer.
A regular contributor to journals covering international education, Jacqueline has published articles in women's magazines and has also recorded her essays for KQED radio in San Francisco. She currently divides her time between Ojai and the San Francisco Bay Area and is a regular visitor to the United Kingdom and Europe.
Jacqueline is the author of the New York Times bestsellers A Lesson in Secrets, The Mapping of Love and Death, Among the Mad, and An Incomplete Revenge, and other nationally bestselling Maisie Dobbs novels. She has won numerous awards for her work, including the Agatha, Alex,
and Macavity awards for the first book in the series, Maisie Dobbs, which was also nominated for the Edgar Award for best novel and was a New York Times
Notable Book.
Series:
* Maisie Dobbs
http://us.macmillan.com/author/jacque...
She emigrated to the United States in 1990, and while working in business and as a personal / professional coach, Jacqueline embarked upon a life-long dream to be a writer.
A regular contributor to journals covering international education, Jacqueline has published articles in women's magazines and has also recorded her essays for KQED radio in San Francisco. She currently divides her time between Ojai and the San Francisco Bay Area and is a regular visitor to the United Kingdom and Europe.
Jacqueline is the author of the New York Times bestsellers A Lesson in Secrets, The Mapping of Love and Death, Among the Mad, and An Incomplete Revenge, and other nationally bestselling Maisie Dobbs novels. She has won numerous awards for her work, including the Agatha, Alex,
and Macavity awards for the first book in the series, Maisie Dobbs, which was also nominated for the Edgar Award for best novel and was a New York Times
Notable Book.
Series:
* Maisie Dobbs
http://us.macmillan.com/author/jacque...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,338 reviews
February 16, 2015
Maisie isn't the only person at a crossroads. As concerns this series, I am, too. Longtime fans will probably be as stunned as I over the first few pages of A Dangerous Place. In a series of letters, Winspear deals with four momentous years in Maisie's life with what can only be described as brisk efficiency. I can understand her desire not to bog down the narrative, but since Maisie is already constantly harking back to time spent with her mentor or her service in World War I or her college days or what her best friend would say to her, what's a little more time spent on telling readers about those four years?
Winspear does her usual marvelous job in giving readers a real feel for the setting. With the Spanish Civil War raging just over the border, with the build-up to World War II, Gibraltar's strategic position makes it extremely valuable to many countries, and it seems that they all have representatives in place, lurking around the corners of buildings and following Maisie wherever she goes.
The author has also created a strong secondary cast-- Salazar the café owner, Mrs. Bishop the owner of the guesthouse, and the dead man's sister among them. The more the story unfolds, the more it seems that no one is whom they first appear to be, and with the number of people spying on others it's a miracle they don't start tripping over each other. This is a presentiment of another problem I'm beginning to have with a series I've loved since its inception.
The closer to World War II the series becomes, the more the storylines are delving into the shadowy world of spies and double-dealing. I've never cared for spy novels, so I'm definitely not enjoying this foray into that world. But as a character told Maisie in a previous book, once those spy organizations get their hooks into you, they don't let you go. I really don't want to see Maisie go down that road.
Although the mystery is rather slow to unfold, it does pick up speed and becomes quite intriguing. I enjoyed watching Maisie solve a complex case, just as I enjoyed the author's depiction of Gibraltar at this very tumultuous time. I'm deeply invested in Winspear's character. Maisie's story has grown from being a rags-to-riches tale to something deeper and much more meaningful. But for the past few books, Maisie has seemed to take two steps back to every three steps forward. Her experiences during World War I have left an indelible mark upon her of which she seems unwilling or unable to let go. With her constant musing on the past, I just can't quite see her as a successful spy in the next calamitous war to come. I am at a crossroads, and I am actually wondering if I'll be continuing with this series-- something that would have been completely unthinkable in the past.
Winspear does her usual marvelous job in giving readers a real feel for the setting. With the Spanish Civil War raging just over the border, with the build-up to World War II, Gibraltar's strategic position makes it extremely valuable to many countries, and it seems that they all have representatives in place, lurking around the corners of buildings and following Maisie wherever she goes.
The author has also created a strong secondary cast-- Salazar the café owner, Mrs. Bishop the owner of the guesthouse, and the dead man's sister among them. The more the story unfolds, the more it seems that no one is whom they first appear to be, and with the number of people spying on others it's a miracle they don't start tripping over each other. This is a presentiment of another problem I'm beginning to have with a series I've loved since its inception.
The closer to World War II the series becomes, the more the storylines are delving into the shadowy world of spies and double-dealing. I've never cared for spy novels, so I'm definitely not enjoying this foray into that world. But as a character told Maisie in a previous book, once those spy organizations get their hooks into you, they don't let you go. I really don't want to see Maisie go down that road.
Although the mystery is rather slow to unfold, it does pick up speed and becomes quite intriguing. I enjoyed watching Maisie solve a complex case, just as I enjoyed the author's depiction of Gibraltar at this very tumultuous time. I'm deeply invested in Winspear's character. Maisie's story has grown from being a rags-to-riches tale to something deeper and much more meaningful. But for the past few books, Maisie has seemed to take two steps back to every three steps forward. Her experiences during World War I have left an indelible mark upon her of which she seems unwilling or unable to let go. With her constant musing on the past, I just can't quite see her as a successful spy in the next calamitous war to come. I am at a crossroads, and I am actually wondering if I'll be continuing with this series-- something that would have been completely unthinkable in the past.
December 10, 2017
This was unexpected!!! The first part of this book was absolutely tragic- I had to blink away a few tears in order to see the book! I seem to have read a few series lately where the author deals with important issues between books. William Kent Krueger does it for one. But Winspear does it here in spades - several years have disappeared and with them some incredibly sad events.
Anyway I held myself together and read on, and of course Maisie found a dead body and all was normal from there on. Apart from her grief of course but that was a driver for the story line as well. There was some very interesting information about Gibraltar during the Spanish War and Maisie took up nursing again for a while. All good.
I enjoyed the whole book and was not upset that the author took us and Maisie down this road. I did not expect the series to continue if Maisie was happily married with children. Presumably the next book will take us back to England and family but who knows while Ms.Winspear is being so unpredictable!
Anyway I held myself together and read on, and of course Maisie found a dead body and all was normal from there on. Apart from her grief of course but that was a driver for the story line as well. There was some very interesting information about Gibraltar during the Spanish War and Maisie took up nursing again for a while. All good.
I enjoyed the whole book and was not upset that the author took us and Maisie down this road. I did not expect the series to continue if Maisie was happily married with children. Presumably the next book will take us back to England and family but who knows while Ms.Winspear is being so unpredictable!
March 22, 2015
I cannot begin to articulate how truly disappointed I am with this book.
I have long been a fan of Maisie and yes she can be stubborn, bullheaded and, at times, childishly selfish, she's always been realistic. That was part of the draw to her - she was relatable. This novel, however, takes all of her negative qualities and magnifies them times 1000 and it's almost too much to handle.
Let's take a look at the first part of the book where we learn of the last few years. Really Ms. Winspear? That is the best you can come up with for Maisie? A dead husband and lost child? That's what you bring your readers after two years? Pathetic cop out. You spent the last two Maisie books dancing around the relationship of Maisie and James without truly diving into it then in a few short pages you share with your readers that "oh, btw, they married, moved to Canada, became pregnant and then lost James in a fiery crash and the baby too." Wow - that is just poor writing and should never have made it past an editors desk. For someone who spends so much time and detail on locations and history, you failed (yes I said "failed") to develop your characters relationship before dealing a devastating blow to them. This is just poor but I still trudged on (especially after you responded to someone on Facebook by saying "but there is more to Maisie's story) hoping for the best.
Again, wrong. The mystery of this story was a convoluted, ill-thought-out mess. Were you just trying to satisfy a contractual obligation because that's the only thing that I could come up with for this sad excuse of a storyline. What happened to the magic of prior novels? What happened to the detail and twists and turns of prior books? It is quite obvious your heart is not in this book at all.
Now let's discuss Maisie. My god, for a woman who always puts family above everything, she was behaving like a spoiled brat in the book. Brooding over going back to England to see her aging father who in prior novels, she would do anything for? What is wrong with this? And passing it all off as grief is incorrect but again who knows since we didn't get any character development from the last few years. I guess it could be plausible but coming at it after the last book (which also was dancing around the annoying "world revolves around Maisie" concept), it's hard to swallow. Her desire to go back to her maiden name bothers me as does her rejection of any love or affection from those who care for her. Priscilla's letter to her was my exact sentiment. Maisie is infuriating.
I think you should've stopped at the last book or written one from Maisie's time in India or Canada before making this incredibly ill-placed leap. I am not sure I will continue this series as I am finding Maisie and the storyline insufferable. Ms. Winspear, I think you've jumped the shark with this book and should, perhaps, consider concluding the Maisie stories.
I have rated this book with two stars rather than one because I have a love and respect for the other Maisie books and not because I find a shred of anything redeeming in this book.
I would urge readers to please read with caution and not expect anything glittering here. It is not your standard Maisie Dobbs book.
I have long been a fan of Maisie and yes she can be stubborn, bullheaded and, at times, childishly selfish, she's always been realistic. That was part of the draw to her - she was relatable. This novel, however, takes all of her negative qualities and magnifies them times 1000 and it's almost too much to handle.
Let's take a look at the first part of the book where we learn of the last few years. Really Ms. Winspear? That is the best you can come up with for Maisie? A dead husband and lost child? That's what you bring your readers after two years? Pathetic cop out. You spent the last two Maisie books dancing around the relationship of Maisie and James without truly diving into it then in a few short pages you share with your readers that "oh, btw, they married, moved to Canada, became pregnant and then lost James in a fiery crash and the baby too." Wow - that is just poor writing and should never have made it past an editors desk. For someone who spends so much time and detail on locations and history, you failed (yes I said "failed") to develop your characters relationship before dealing a devastating blow to them. This is just poor but I still trudged on (especially after you responded to someone on Facebook by saying "but there is more to Maisie's story) hoping for the best.
Again, wrong. The mystery of this story was a convoluted, ill-thought-out mess. Were you just trying to satisfy a contractual obligation because that's the only thing that I could come up with for this sad excuse of a storyline. What happened to the magic of prior novels? What happened to the detail and twists and turns of prior books? It is quite obvious your heart is not in this book at all.
Now let's discuss Maisie. My god, for a woman who always puts family above everything, she was behaving like a spoiled brat in the book. Brooding over going back to England to see her aging father who in prior novels, she would do anything for? What is wrong with this? And passing it all off as grief is incorrect but again who knows since we didn't get any character development from the last few years. I guess it could be plausible but coming at it after the last book (which also was dancing around the annoying "world revolves around Maisie" concept), it's hard to swallow. Her desire to go back to her maiden name bothers me as does her rejection of any love or affection from those who care for her. Priscilla's letter to her was my exact sentiment. Maisie is infuriating.
I think you should've stopped at the last book or written one from Maisie's time in India or Canada before making this incredibly ill-placed leap. I am not sure I will continue this series as I am finding Maisie and the storyline insufferable. Ms. Winspear, I think you've jumped the shark with this book and should, perhaps, consider concluding the Maisie stories.
I have rated this book with two stars rather than one because I have a love and respect for the other Maisie books and not because I find a shred of anything redeeming in this book.
I would urge readers to please read with caution and not expect anything glittering here. It is not your standard Maisie Dobbs book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 22, 2015
This latest installment in the Maisie Dobbs series is as strong as any of them, and was very difficult to put down. Plot summaries are usually unnecessary filler on this site, and it would not be possible in any case here without spoilers. Winspear's handling of personal grief and the complexities of war and politics is masterful, and remind us that there are usually quite a few more than two sides to a conflict, and that the real victims are always the civilians.
March 25, 2015
Wow...This just made me so, so sad. I have hung with Maisie through thick and thin and I really feel incredibly let down. Winspear has dragged her loyal fans through TEN books then skims over four crucial years of Maisie's life in flashback and in two pages. So incredibly disappointing. THEN, we're supposed to feel Maisie's pain and sympathize with her new life when we weren't even given a glimpse of that life. All of a sudden we're supposed to mourn with her and feel connected to her sorrow? It just didn't happen for me. The rest of the story felt almost irrelevant. There should have been two or three books before this one covering all that missing time.
March 15, 2015
Oh, how I don't even want to write this!! I have loved this series since it started, and this book just made me so mad!!! Can Maisie really never be happy? This wasn't a bad book, there just needed to be two or three more before this one happened!! I can't believe we didn't get a mystery in India, and then we didn't get something in Canada! Ugh!! Just not happy!!! Why invest in characters and their relationships just to have it all taken care of in a couple of letters?! Missed her visits with her father and Billy!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 22, 2015
I just don't care anymore. I don't care about Maisie and her tragedy, I don't care about the same history she's gone over again and again and finally got past so we add new tragedy but only ever talk about the old stuff. I don't care about her stupid eyes anymore, or how she is so understanding and wonderful and how could poor people not understand that she Understands Their Pain And Poverty and -- whatever. DNF, quitting the series.
April 9, 2015
A true disappointment. I have read all the Maisie Dobbs books and enjoyed them, both for the mystery they offer and the window they provide into class, war, British culture and history. This book offers almost nothing of a mystery (it is finally "solved" pretty much entirely by an unlikely conversation between Maisie and a spy in which the spy tells her most of what happened), or of Maisie's skill in solving mysteries. And the history--of the Spanish Civil War and its role as a dress rehearsal for WW II--is thin and disorganized as well.
The most disappointing thing about the book, however, is that almost none of the supporting characters we love are in it. Billy is gone, except for one scene during which Maisie reminisces about what he would say. Maisie's family and her friends are all missing too. And, without offering too much of a spoiler, I must say that only so many horrible things can happen to Maisie until we just stop believing the author is narrating someone's real life: the things that happen are thinly veiled plot devices to make it possible for her to keep being a sleuth. It is as if the author could not think of how Maisie could be happy and productive at the same time: what a failure of imagination!
The most disappointing thing about the book, however, is that almost none of the supporting characters we love are in it. Billy is gone, except for one scene during which Maisie reminisces about what he would say. Maisie's family and her friends are all missing too. And, without offering too much of a spoiler, I must say that only so many horrible things can happen to Maisie until we just stop believing the author is narrating someone's real life: the things that happen are thinly veiled plot devices to make it possible for her to keep being a sleuth. It is as if the author could not think of how Maisie could be happy and productive at the same time: what a failure of imagination!
to-read-own-bottom-of-pile
March 9, 20161/12/16 $1.99 for Kindle.
I didn't get very far with this before I quit.
Warning: While this won't really be a spoiler for this book, as it pertains to the very start, it will be for those who haven't read up to this one in the series.
I've completely enjoyed this series, up to now, but this book ticked me off.
The previous book left us with Maise having to make a choice regarding her romance with James Compton. Will she choose to marry her sweetheart?
This book starts off with the marriage already having taken place, and James Compton already tragically dead. All we get of the all too short wedding/marriage/culmination of romance is a short summation of past events.
The last book ends with Maise having to decide if she'll marry James, this book starts with her widowed.
As a reader on book 11 of a favorite series I felt very cheated, particularly as the last book ended with Maisse faced with an ultimatum from James regarding a decision on marriage. And I am not even a Romance reader. But comeon! Kill James off - fine, but at least give readers more than just an "they got married, and now he's dead, moving on..." after all the buildup of their relationship over several books.
I tried to continue, but at that point the story, and Maise, are so understandably sad I just had to put it aside....
But yeah, I felt it was a cheat for readers who wanted and reasonably expected to see how James' ultimatum and Maise's decision played out.
May continue at some point. But I started this book at the beginning of 2015, haven't had any desire to try again since then, and as you can see from the above I am still ticked off about it.
I didn't get very far with this before I quit.
Warning: While this won't really be a spoiler for this book, as it pertains to the very start, it will be for those who haven't read up to this one in the series.
I've completely enjoyed this series, up to now, but this book ticked me off.
The previous book left us with Maise having to make a choice regarding her romance with James Compton. Will she choose to marry her sweetheart?
This book starts off with the marriage already having taken place, and James Compton already tragically dead. All we get of the all too short wedding/marriage/culmination of romance is a short summation of past events.
The last book ends with Maise having to decide if she'll marry James, this book starts with her widowed.
As a reader on book 11 of a favorite series I felt very cheated, particularly as the last book ended with Maisse faced with an ultimatum from James regarding a decision on marriage. And I am not even a Romance reader. But comeon! Kill James off - fine, but at least give readers more than just an "they got married, and now he's dead, moving on..." after all the buildup of their relationship over several books.
I tried to continue, but at that point the story, and Maise, are so understandably sad I just had to put it aside....
But yeah, I felt it was a cheat for readers who wanted and reasonably expected to see how James' ultimatum and Maise's decision played out.
May continue at some point. But I started this book at the beginning of 2015, haven't had any desire to try again since then, and as you can see from the above I am still ticked off about it.
May 3, 2015
I've loved this series from the beginning and was bitterly disappointed with the latest installment.
Maisie is a strong (and strong-willed, as well as stubborn) character, but I have come to appreciate her good qualities (and there are many) as well as her weaknesses--she presents a flawed, but sympathetic heroine and I have always wished her well. I had hoped that at last she might find some real happiness and contentment in her life while continuing to do the work she loves.
In the space of just a few pages--presented in a totally off-handed way ( a series of letters back and forth between family and friends), we learn about the years of Maisie's life since the previous book. We cheer for a happy development and then are slapped in the face with her abrupt sorrow and loss; the author then tossing it aside as quickly as possible to get on with the plot.
I think Maisie and her devoted audience deserved more. Real life isn't "happy ever after" of course, but I think Maisie's story deserved better--and as she is a fictional character, why NOT give her a happy ever after? The plot and storyline seemed rather flat and drawn out also; not anything I could get overly involved with. Seemed repetitious and depressing. Hopefully, the next offering will be better.
Maisie is a strong (and strong-willed, as well as stubborn) character, but I have come to appreciate her good qualities (and there are many) as well as her weaknesses--she presents a flawed, but sympathetic heroine and I have always wished her well. I had hoped that at last she might find some real happiness and contentment in her life while continuing to do the work she loves.
In the space of just a few pages--presented in a totally off-handed way ( a series of letters back and forth between family and friends), we learn about the years of Maisie's life since the previous book. We cheer for a happy development and then are slapped in the face with her abrupt sorrow and loss; the author then tossing it aside as quickly as possible to get on with the plot.
I think Maisie and her devoted audience deserved more. Real life isn't "happy ever after" of course, but I think Maisie's story deserved better--and as she is a fictional character, why NOT give her a happy ever after? The plot and storyline seemed rather flat and drawn out also; not anything I could get overly involved with. Seemed repetitious and depressing. Hopefully, the next offering will be better.
July 24, 2015
I have moderately enjoyed this series. However, I bailed on this book when I realized that the author was intent on torturing the main character in order to preserve some sort of suffering status quo. I don't like the fact that authors, mystery authors in general find marriage and children unacceptable in female protagonists. I know that all women become completely uninteresting and incapable once they embark on those paths...Oh wait, I don't know that!
So much better to kill the 8 month fetus and the husband for good measure so Maisie can keep miserably solving mysteries.
So much better to kill the 8 month fetus and the husband for good measure so Maisie can keep miserably solving mysteries.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 18, 2023
A Dangerous Place was a pivotal book in the Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear as we witness great personal loss and grief as Maisie Dobbs tries to cope with her devastating and personal trauma and loss with frequent flashbacks and images that came to her often and unbidden. Reverting back to her training with her late mentor, Dr. Maurice Blanche, she decided to return to Darjeeling, India, where she had found a measure of calm.
However, summoned back to England to be with her beloved and aging father, Maisie booked a passage on the SS Isabella, but as she became closer to England, Maisie's sense of dread had grown, a fear that she could not bear to step onto home soil. With only two ports remaining on the journey, she decided to disembark the ship and remain in Gibralter. What follows is a powerful story of political intrigue as Maisie witnesses a brutal murder in the British garrison town of Gibralter in the spring of 1937 against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War. Within days of her arrival, there is the brutal murder of a local well-known photographer and a member of Gibralter's Sephardic Jewish community, picquing the investigative skills of Maisie Dobbs as she is drawn deeper into the web of lies and deception.
At the time, this British garrison town was teeming with refugees fleeing Spain and its bloody and violent Civil War. But it is precisely this war that draws Maisie across the border to help out in a small village along the Tajo River with two other British nurses volunteering to help Sister Teresa as they ministered to those gravely wounded brought in from the battle field. It was here that Maisie realizes where she belongs and what she must do.
As an aside, I would just like to add that I have always loved the bookcovers for the Maisie Dobbs' series. In the Acknowlegements, Jacqueline Winspear gave a nod to the iconic cover designs as a result of collaboration between creative wizard Archie Ferguson, and the renowned artist and craftsman, Andrew Davidson. The beautiful covers are always an integral part of the book's appeal for me.
"Maisie had brought every element of her training, every ounce of her character, and every last ache in her soul to the task of restoring peace to the bereaved--but then it had been her turn to find peace. Amid the tea gardens and mountains, in the solitude she craved--a different solitude, away from those she loved--she felt that the war was truly behind her."
However, summoned back to England to be with her beloved and aging father, Maisie booked a passage on the SS Isabella, but as she became closer to England, Maisie's sense of dread had grown, a fear that she could not bear to step onto home soil. With only two ports remaining on the journey, she decided to disembark the ship and remain in Gibralter. What follows is a powerful story of political intrigue as Maisie witnesses a brutal murder in the British garrison town of Gibralter in the spring of 1937 against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War. Within days of her arrival, there is the brutal murder of a local well-known photographer and a member of Gibralter's Sephardic Jewish community, picquing the investigative skills of Maisie Dobbs as she is drawn deeper into the web of lies and deception.
"His death deserves our attention, so his family can be at peace. There is a duty here, and it cannot be ignored."
"Knowledge is the light. Information is the light. Come out of the darkness one lamp at a time. Paint your picture of what came to pass question by question--and remember, some are never meant to be answered because the response closes the door to knowledge you most want and need."
"Though her eyes were heavy with fatigue, she felt something rising within her. It was the old energy, that feeling she'd have when working on a case, and it told her she was close, very close to peeling back the layers of lies and deception to reveal the truth."
At the time, this British garrison town was teeming with refugees fleeing Spain and its bloody and violent Civil War. But it is precisely this war that draws Maisie across the border to help out in a small village along the Tajo River with two other British nurses volunteering to help Sister Teresa as they ministered to those gravely wounded brought in from the battle field. It was here that Maisie realizes where she belongs and what she must do.
"I have found a place where I may be of use, where my skills might save a life, so I must follow the voice of my heart."
As an aside, I would just like to add that I have always loved the bookcovers for the Maisie Dobbs' series. In the Acknowlegements, Jacqueline Winspear gave a nod to the iconic cover designs as a result of collaboration between creative wizard Archie Ferguson, and the renowned artist and craftsman, Andrew Davidson. The beautiful covers are always an integral part of the book's appeal for me.
April 27, 2021
I’ve been looking forward to the Munich 1938 book and that’s the next book so I was worried about being able to thoroughly enjoy this one as I read it.
I couldn’t believe how much happened in the first chapter. It felt incredibly rushed and almost like reading an entire (skipped) book. A few years has elapsed since the last book.
Who knew?! Maisie’s name is Margaret Rebecca. I don’t remember knowing this before this book #11.
Gibraltar was interesting and I guess it was a nice change but I still prefer the English settings and I was surprised that there was little mentioned about Maisie’s time in India. It was mentioned that she was there but none of the story took place when she was actually there. And then there was some time in Spain. This is prior to WWII but during the Spanish Civil War. I wasn’t wild to be back in a war zone and back to nursing. I’d been happy to have that left behind for quite a while.
In some ways this book felt different from all the other ten books preceding it. I did enjoy it though. The new supporting characters were interesting. Gibraltar was interesting. I took this book off of my UK shelf though. I’d made the false assumption that all the Maisie Dobbs books would fit on that shelf. Even though the next book takes place in Munich at least some of the time I think and hope some of it will take place back again in England.
3-3/4 stars
I couldn’t believe how much happened in the first chapter. It felt incredibly rushed and almost like reading an entire (skipped) book. A few years has elapsed since the last book.
Who knew?! Maisie’s name is Margaret Rebecca. I don’t remember knowing this before this book #11.
Gibraltar was interesting and I guess it was a nice change but I still prefer the English settings and I was surprised that there was little mentioned about Maisie’s time in India. It was mentioned that she was there but none of the story took place when she was actually there. And then there was some time in Spain. This is prior to WWII but during the Spanish Civil War. I wasn’t wild to be back in a war zone and back to nursing. I’d been happy to have that left behind for quite a while.
In some ways this book felt different from all the other ten books preceding it. I did enjoy it though. The new supporting characters were interesting. Gibraltar was interesting. I took this book off of my UK shelf though. I’d made the false assumption that all the Maisie Dobbs books would fit on that shelf. Even though the next book takes place in Munich at least some of the time I think and hope some of it will take place back again in England.
3-3/4 stars
May 26, 2015
Eleventh in the Maisie Dobbs historical mystery series and revolving around Lady Compton, a.k.a., Maisie Dobbs. There is no couple in this.
My Take
I am so angry with Maisie (and with Winspear)! Yes, it was well-written, but no, Winspear couldn't possibly let Maisie be happy. I was so hopeful for James, and I looked forward to reading of Maisie's exploits with James.
Instead, I cried and cried and cried all the way through this one almost from the very first page. Almost the only thing keeping Maisie alive is thoughts of Dr. Maurice Blanche.
The massacre at Guernica takes place during A Dangerous Place. The Spanish Civil War was a footnote we peeked at in my high school history class. There was no mention of Guernica or what the war was about. Franco was the only real name I remember. Winspear provides an emotional (to me) explanation of why the Republicans are fighting this war. It's a well-done "info dump" that does NOT read that way. Another good example for writers.
It's Maisie's experience, her past, that leads her to give Miriam some good advice.
The Story
It's a familiar world Maisie cannot face, and she gets off the ship in Gibraltar. Maybe a bit more time will make it easier to cope when she returns to England. Instead, her curiosity and compassion pull her into the Spanish Civil War with life-changing results.
The Characters
Maisie, Lady Compton, neé Dobbs, is one of very few core characters in the series we truly encounter. The rest are mentioned, write letters, beg. James, Viscount Compton, was her beloved husband. Frankie Dobbs is her father; Brenda is her stepmother. Billy Beale was Maisie's assistant during her private investigator days. The thought of his insights encourage Maisie. Priscilla Partridge is her best friend and is married to Douglas, a poet and writer. They have three sons who loved their Uncle James. Lady Rowan Compton and her husband, Lord Julian, were James' parents, and they see Maisie as their daughter.
Robbie MacFarlane is with Special Branch now. He suggests she contact David Shaw if she can't get hold of him.
Gibraltar
Mrs. Bishop runs the guest house where Maisie stays in Gibraltar. Arturo Kenyon is spying on Maisie. Mr. Salazar runs the café and looks out for Maisie. Michael Marsh is an inspector with the Gibraltar Police. Jacob Solomon owns the shop which sells Babayoff's photographs. Mr. Santos is a clerk at the Ridge Hotel.
The too-curious, selfish Sebastian Babayoff is the Jewish man who is murdered and provides Maisie the excuse she needs. Miriam and the handicapped Chana Babayoff are his surviving sisters. Carlos Grillo was a fisherman and a good friend of Sebastian's. Rosanna was Carlos' niece and loved Sebastian.
Professor Antonio Vallejo is angry with Britain's complicity in allowing German warplanes to cross the airspace in Gibraltar and refuel there. He knows Professor Francesca Thomas ( A Lesson in Secrets , 8); he also studied with Dr. Maurice Blanche, Maisie's mentor. Raoul is the driver who will sneak them into Spain.
Spain
"Red Ellen" Wilkinson is a fighter for workers' rights in Britain. Felipe runs a restaurant in Madrid. Maria is a maid at the hotel. Freda Nicholls and Hattie Benson are nurses who have volunteered to work with hospitals in Spain, caring for the wounded. Sister Teresa is all the people in the small devastated village in Valencia have for medical aid. Brian Smithers is an English fighter for the Republicans.
Thomas Wright is the German who brokers war to anyone. He warns Maisie to stay away from Otterburn.
Dr. Charles Hayden was a friend of Simon Lynch's and lives in Boston with his wife, Pauline. Captain Richard Johnstone tried to keep Maisie on board the ship. Dame Constance is the abbess at Camden Abbey. Mr. Klein is Maisie's solicitor in England, and he receives special instructions regarding a fully equipped ambulance.
John Otterburn is the jerk from Elegy for Eddie , 9, with the experimental aircraft. His daughter, Elaine, is a flake.
The Cover and Title
The cover is the woodcut style I so enjoy and that the series has used in the past. This time it's Maisie in a white hat and short-sleeved blouse over a slim black skirt, her brown shoulder bag clutched to her side, one hand holding onto her hat as she looks up at the German warplanes flying over the Rock of Gibraltar in the background. The colors suit the mood in the gloomy grays and creams.
The title is about Spain during its Civil War, and yes, it is A Dangerous Place.
My Take
I am so angry with Maisie (and with Winspear)! Yes, it was well-written, but no, Winspear couldn't possibly let Maisie be happy. I was so hopeful for James, and I looked forward to reading of Maisie's exploits with James.
Instead, I cried and cried and cried all the way through this one almost from the very first page. Almost the only thing keeping Maisie alive is thoughts of Dr. Maurice Blanche.
The massacre at Guernica takes place during A Dangerous Place. The Spanish Civil War was a footnote we peeked at in my high school history class. There was no mention of Guernica or what the war was about. Franco was the only real name I remember. Winspear provides an emotional (to me) explanation of why the Republicans are fighting this war. It's a well-done "info dump" that does NOT read that way. Another good example for writers.
It's Maisie's experience, her past, that leads her to give Miriam some good advice.
The Story
It's a familiar world Maisie cannot face, and she gets off the ship in Gibraltar. Maybe a bit more time will make it easier to cope when she returns to England. Instead, her curiosity and compassion pull her into the Spanish Civil War with life-changing results.
The Characters
Maisie, Lady Compton, neé Dobbs, is one of very few core characters in the series we truly encounter. The rest are mentioned, write letters, beg. James, Viscount Compton, was her beloved husband. Frankie Dobbs is her father; Brenda is her stepmother. Billy Beale was Maisie's assistant during her private investigator days. The thought of his insights encourage Maisie. Priscilla Partridge is her best friend and is married to Douglas, a poet and writer. They have three sons who loved their Uncle James. Lady Rowan Compton and her husband, Lord Julian, were James' parents, and they see Maisie as their daughter.
Robbie MacFarlane is with Special Branch now. He suggests she contact David Shaw if she can't get hold of him.
Gibraltar
Mrs. Bishop runs the guest house where Maisie stays in Gibraltar. Arturo Kenyon is spying on Maisie. Mr. Salazar runs the café and looks out for Maisie. Michael Marsh is an inspector with the Gibraltar Police. Jacob Solomon owns the shop which sells Babayoff's photographs. Mr. Santos is a clerk at the Ridge Hotel.
The too-curious, selfish Sebastian Babayoff is the Jewish man who is murdered and provides Maisie the excuse she needs. Miriam and the handicapped Chana Babayoff are his surviving sisters. Carlos Grillo was a fisherman and a good friend of Sebastian's. Rosanna was Carlos' niece and loved Sebastian.
Professor Antonio Vallejo is angry with Britain's complicity in allowing German warplanes to cross the airspace in Gibraltar and refuel there. He knows Professor Francesca Thomas ( A Lesson in Secrets , 8); he also studied with Dr. Maurice Blanche, Maisie's mentor. Raoul is the driver who will sneak them into Spain.
Spain
"Red Ellen" Wilkinson is a fighter for workers' rights in Britain. Felipe runs a restaurant in Madrid. Maria is a maid at the hotel. Freda Nicholls and Hattie Benson are nurses who have volunteered to work with hospitals in Spain, caring for the wounded. Sister Teresa is all the people in the small devastated village in Valencia have for medical aid. Brian Smithers is an English fighter for the Republicans.
Thomas Wright is the German who brokers war to anyone. He warns Maisie to stay away from Otterburn.
Dr. Charles Hayden was a friend of Simon Lynch's and lives in Boston with his wife, Pauline. Captain Richard Johnstone tried to keep Maisie on board the ship. Dame Constance is the abbess at Camden Abbey. Mr. Klein is Maisie's solicitor in England, and he receives special instructions regarding a fully equipped ambulance.
John Otterburn is the jerk from Elegy for Eddie , 9, with the experimental aircraft. His daughter, Elaine, is a flake.
The Cover and Title
The cover is the woodcut style I so enjoy and that the series has used in the past. This time it's Maisie in a white hat and short-sleeved blouse over a slim black skirt, her brown shoulder bag clutched to her side, one hand holding onto her hat as she looks up at the German warplanes flying over the Rock of Gibraltar in the background. The colors suit the mood in the gloomy grays and creams.
The title is about Spain during its Civil War, and yes, it is A Dangerous Place.
July 12, 2015
“Memories come out of nowhere, sometimes, don’t they? Like a splinter long in the finger finally rises to the surface. Pluck it out, and the pain goes – and you realise there has been discomfort all along, but you have lived with it”.
A Dangerous Place is the eleventh book in the Maisie Dobbs series by British-born American author, Jacqueline Winspear. Maisie Dobbs, psychologist and private investigator, is on the island of Gibraltar. It is 1937, and across the water, the Spanish Civil War is being fought. Maisie has stopped over in Gibraltar on her way home from India, feeling unprepared to face family and friends in England after the recent tragic events of her life. But soon after she arrives, she stumbles across a body on a dark path during an evening walk: Sebastian Babayoff, a Sephardic Jew, a photographer, has just been beaten to death. The Police dismiss the case as an opportunistic robbery by one of the many refugees on the island, but Maisie is not convinced. She decides to investigate.
“She’d been feeling as if all meaning in her life had perished when she discovered Babayoff’s body. Perhaps she would find the person she used to be, before tragedy struck her a second time, cutting deeper into her soul, a still-open wound more livid than anything left by the war. Now she was in business – and that responsibility to another would give her a reason to live”. Maisie’s investigations, without Billy Beale’s capable assistance, see her meeting quite an array of people: a professor of philosophy and politics; a café owner; a shopkeeper; a bereaved sister; a fisherman’s niece; a carpenter; and none of these is quite what they first seem to be. She finds herself the subject of covert observation, and encounters a certain ex-Special Branchman she would rather avoid.
Winspear’s plot has plenty of twists and turns and Maisie interviews quite a few witnesses who are practiced at evasion and determined to keep their secrets. This episode of Maisie’s life is set against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War and its effect on nearby countries. Winspear rather quickly disposes of the events of years since Maisie’s decision to go to India, her decision to marry, her marriage, impending motherhood and widowhood, not unsympathetically, but somewhat cursorily, perhaps because Maisie’s forte is private investigation. It will be interesting to see where Winspear takes her heroine next. Captivating crime fiction. 4.5★s
A Dangerous Place is the eleventh book in the Maisie Dobbs series by British-born American author, Jacqueline Winspear. Maisie Dobbs, psychologist and private investigator, is on the island of Gibraltar. It is 1937, and across the water, the Spanish Civil War is being fought. Maisie has stopped over in Gibraltar on her way home from India, feeling unprepared to face family and friends in England after the recent tragic events of her life. But soon after she arrives, she stumbles across a body on a dark path during an evening walk: Sebastian Babayoff, a Sephardic Jew, a photographer, has just been beaten to death. The Police dismiss the case as an opportunistic robbery by one of the many refugees on the island, but Maisie is not convinced. She decides to investigate.
“She’d been feeling as if all meaning in her life had perished when she discovered Babayoff’s body. Perhaps she would find the person she used to be, before tragedy struck her a second time, cutting deeper into her soul, a still-open wound more livid than anything left by the war. Now she was in business – and that responsibility to another would give her a reason to live”. Maisie’s investigations, without Billy Beale’s capable assistance, see her meeting quite an array of people: a professor of philosophy and politics; a café owner; a shopkeeper; a bereaved sister; a fisherman’s niece; a carpenter; and none of these is quite what they first seem to be. She finds herself the subject of covert observation, and encounters a certain ex-Special Branchman she would rather avoid.
Winspear’s plot has plenty of twists and turns and Maisie interviews quite a few witnesses who are practiced at evasion and determined to keep their secrets. This episode of Maisie’s life is set against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War and its effect on nearby countries. Winspear rather quickly disposes of the events of years since Maisie’s decision to go to India, her decision to marry, her marriage, impending motherhood and widowhood, not unsympathetically, but somewhat cursorily, perhaps because Maisie’s forte is private investigation. It will be interesting to see where Winspear takes her heroine next. Captivating crime fiction. 4.5★s
December 24, 2015
I liked A Dangerous Place a lot (unlike quite a few reviewers on GoodReads). I think that Jacqueline Winspear found a way of continuing Maisie Dobbs series, while writing a great sequel that takes us to pre WWII years and the Spanish Civil War.
Looking forward to the next novel in the series, which is apparently being printed.
Looking forward to the next novel in the series, which is apparently being printed.
Read
August 17, 2019This will go unrated. I think I am just tired of Maisie Dobbs! This is book eleven in the series. I did not finish this book.
Starting with this book there is no longer the characters that kept me going - Billy, Maisie's assistant, Sandra, Maisie's receptionist, the close association with the detectives from Scotland Yard, Maisie's father, Frankie and new stepmother, Maurice, Maisie's mentor. Without them, I was just not enjoying Maisie Dobbs.
Maisie left her investigation office and is traveling. Her next book also has her off in no where land. Based in London, working her agency, surrounded by additional likable characters Maisie was tolerable - now, at least for me, she has gone rouge, without a supporting cast and is no longer tolerable. Thus, this ends my Maisie Dobbs series.
Starting with this book there is no longer the characters that kept me going - Billy, Maisie's assistant, Sandra, Maisie's receptionist, the close association with the detectives from Scotland Yard, Maisie's father, Frankie and new stepmother, Maurice, Maisie's mentor. Without them, I was just not enjoying Maisie Dobbs.
Maisie left her investigation office and is traveling. Her next book also has her off in no where land. Based in London, working her agency, surrounded by additional likable characters Maisie was tolerable - now, at least for me, she has gone rouge, without a supporting cast and is no longer tolerable. Thus, this ends my Maisie Dobbs series.
March 15, 2015
Wow. I can't say too much as I feel that I would end up with spoilers. At the beginning of this book, Maisie has been to hell and she is working her way back, and she has ended up in (on?) Gibraltar. She finds herself working on a murder, which she hasn't done in quite some time, but this also helps with her road back from hell.
Terrified of committing spoilers, highly recommended!!!
Terrified of committing spoilers, highly recommended!!!
March 20, 2015
Earlier this week I reviewed Leaving Everything Most Loved, the previous book in the Maisie Dobbs series. In that review, I tried my damnedest to not let the fact I had already read this book, to bleed into it. For the most part, I think I did a pretty good job keeping them separate, and not letting this book color what I had to say on the previous. I'm not going to rehash what I had to say, though I'm still having some of those same problems, only magnified about a bazillion times.
To be perfectly frank with you guys, this almost became a DNF on page nine. When I was about half way through the page, I had to put the book down, and walk away for over an hour. Even then, I had to force myself to pick the book up and continue reading it. Regardless of what happened to upset me so much, the fact I even contemplated not reading a Maisie Dobbs book is upsetting enough.
I've been debating how detailed I wanted to get with this review, and I think I've decided to go in a direction that will include spoilers, so please stop reading if you don't want to know some of the pertinent details. On a personal level, it will be impossible for me to review this book, and explain my reactions to it, without giving away some of the secrets. And be warned, I may ramble for a while before I shut up.
As a long time fan of the series, I've been all for Maisie marrying James Compton, and finding true happiness in her life. Part of the issues I had with the previous two books was in the way she kept going back and forth on what her feelings were for him, and what she wanted out of the relationship. She has some serious hangups when it comes to her personal relationships. Between her childhood and her experiences in the war, I get where they come from, but enough is enough. I've been wanting to shake her, and tell her to not only make a decision, but to make the right one. After everything she's been through, she deserved to be happy, and any idiot could tell that James made her happy. She was just allowing her personal issues, and self doubts, to get in the way. At the end of the Leaving Everything Most Loved, I had the impression that she was going to make the right decision, and finally agree to marry James.
On page seven of A Dangeorus Place, I got my wish. She finally agreed to marry him, and I couldn't have been happier. It was by telegram, but I was expecting that. On page eight, through another letter, we learn that Maisie is pregnant with their first child. Then on pages nine and ten, all hell breaks loose. A little over a year after they were married, James is killed in a plane crash, and Maisie loses the baby. The whole four years between the two books are told within fourteen pages, all within letters or news stories.
It's not even the loss of James and the baby that has me so upset, though I think James was a great character, and I would have liked to see them grow old together, but it's in the way it happens that pisses me off so much. These characters deserved better than this. It's all off page, told as more of a prologue to the book, rather than as part of the story. It's callous in it's execution and it comes across, at least to me, that the author didn't really care for the character or their relationship anymore. And instead of just letting her say no to the engagement, and allowing James to move on with his life, she killed him off is a rather offhanded way. The other way I could read it, was with Maisie being in a happy place, contended with life, the author wasn't sure in which direction to take the character. So instead of ending the series, or moving Maisie into a new chapter of her life, she chose to completely upend her life once again, and start the neuroses and inner conflict all over again. Cause heaven forbid, we have a happy character. After 11 damn books, the drama can end.
The other problem I had with this one, and a few of the others, is that it seems the author is moving Maisie more into the espionage realm, and less on the mystery side of things. I'm not a huge fan of spy thrillers, regardless of who writes them, so I'm not sure how much longer I'll continue with the series if that is the direction they keep moving in. It's repeated a few times in this book that once the Secret Service has you in their sights, they don't let you go. I'm hoping they do let her go, and that Maisie gets back to doing what she does well, solving crimes.
For the most part, I really enjoyed the rest of the book. I think the author did a great job in setting the scene, something she has always been really good at. With the Spanish Civil War in full steam across the water, Gibraltar is sitting on the edge of a precipice, and anything is possible with that much tension swirling around the island. She has populated the island with some intriguing characters, though I did find a few of them to be rather one dimensional, and the storytelling itself is as spot on as it's ever been. Jacqueline Winspear is a great story teller, I just hope she starts taking better care of her characters.
By the end of the book, I wasn't ready to run out in traffic anymore, and I am willing to give the series one more chance. I want the next book to get back to what the series used to be like. Tone down some of the angst, stop making her so insecure and indecisive, and let her be happy for once in her life. Bring Billy and Sandra back into the fold, their absence was notable in this book. For that matter, bring her father and the senior Comptons back into the story, the lack of the regular supporting characters has been another issue for me. Stop sliding Maisie into the spy game, and let her reopen her detective agency. Let Maisie be the Maisie we all fell in love with in the beginning of the series.
I don't want to say goodbye to Maisie, but I didn't want to say goodbye to Buffy Summers either. That show lasted seven seasons, and in reality, it was time for it to be over. The Maisie Dobbs books have now lasted through number eleven, and while I don't want to see her go, it might be her time as well. I'm hoping that book twelve corrects some of the issues I, and a lot of other readers, have been having. If not, maybe I'll just pretend the network pulled the plug.
To be perfectly frank with you guys, this almost became a DNF on page nine. When I was about half way through the page, I had to put the book down, and walk away for over an hour. Even then, I had to force myself to pick the book up and continue reading it. Regardless of what happened to upset me so much, the fact I even contemplated not reading a Maisie Dobbs book is upsetting enough.
I've been debating how detailed I wanted to get with this review, and I think I've decided to go in a direction that will include spoilers, so please stop reading if you don't want to know some of the pertinent details. On a personal level, it will be impossible for me to review this book, and explain my reactions to it, without giving away some of the secrets. And be warned, I may ramble for a while before I shut up.
As a long time fan of the series, I've been all for Maisie marrying James Compton, and finding true happiness in her life. Part of the issues I had with the previous two books was in the way she kept going back and forth on what her feelings were for him, and what she wanted out of the relationship. She has some serious hangups when it comes to her personal relationships. Between her childhood and her experiences in the war, I get where they come from, but enough is enough. I've been wanting to shake her, and tell her to not only make a decision, but to make the right one. After everything she's been through, she deserved to be happy, and any idiot could tell that James made her happy. She was just allowing her personal issues, and self doubts, to get in the way. At the end of the Leaving Everything Most Loved, I had the impression that she was going to make the right decision, and finally agree to marry James.
On page seven of A Dangeorus Place, I got my wish. She finally agreed to marry him, and I couldn't have been happier. It was by telegram, but I was expecting that. On page eight, through another letter, we learn that Maisie is pregnant with their first child. Then on pages nine and ten, all hell breaks loose. A little over a year after they were married, James is killed in a plane crash, and Maisie loses the baby. The whole four years between the two books are told within fourteen pages, all within letters or news stories.
It's not even the loss of James and the baby that has me so upset, though I think James was a great character, and I would have liked to see them grow old together, but it's in the way it happens that pisses me off so much. These characters deserved better than this. It's all off page, told as more of a prologue to the book, rather than as part of the story. It's callous in it's execution and it comes across, at least to me, that the author didn't really care for the character or their relationship anymore. And instead of just letting her say no to the engagement, and allowing James to move on with his life, she killed him off is a rather offhanded way. The other way I could read it, was with Maisie being in a happy place, contended with life, the author wasn't sure in which direction to take the character. So instead of ending the series, or moving Maisie into a new chapter of her life, she chose to completely upend her life once again, and start the neuroses and inner conflict all over again. Cause heaven forbid, we have a happy character. After 11 damn books, the drama can end.
The other problem I had with this one, and a few of the others, is that it seems the author is moving Maisie more into the espionage realm, and less on the mystery side of things. I'm not a huge fan of spy thrillers, regardless of who writes them, so I'm not sure how much longer I'll continue with the series if that is the direction they keep moving in. It's repeated a few times in this book that once the Secret Service has you in their sights, they don't let you go. I'm hoping they do let her go, and that Maisie gets back to doing what she does well, solving crimes.
For the most part, I really enjoyed the rest of the book. I think the author did a great job in setting the scene, something she has always been really good at. With the Spanish Civil War in full steam across the water, Gibraltar is sitting on the edge of a precipice, and anything is possible with that much tension swirling around the island. She has populated the island with some intriguing characters, though I did find a few of them to be rather one dimensional, and the storytelling itself is as spot on as it's ever been. Jacqueline Winspear is a great story teller, I just hope she starts taking better care of her characters.
By the end of the book, I wasn't ready to run out in traffic anymore, and I am willing to give the series one more chance. I want the next book to get back to what the series used to be like. Tone down some of the angst, stop making her so insecure and indecisive, and let her be happy for once in her life. Bring Billy and Sandra back into the fold, their absence was notable in this book. For that matter, bring her father and the senior Comptons back into the story, the lack of the regular supporting characters has been another issue for me. Stop sliding Maisie into the spy game, and let her reopen her detective agency. Let Maisie be the Maisie we all fell in love with in the beginning of the series.
I don't want to say goodbye to Maisie, but I didn't want to say goodbye to Buffy Summers either. That show lasted seven seasons, and in reality, it was time for it to be over. The Maisie Dobbs books have now lasted through number eleven, and while I don't want to see her go, it might be her time as well. I'm hoping that book twelve corrects some of the issues I, and a lot of other readers, have been having. If not, maybe I'll just pretend the network pulled the plug.
February 19, 2015
A Dangerous Place by Jacqueline Winspear is the eleventh book in her Maisie Dobbs series, and also, in my opinion, the most different from the others. Yes there is a mystery and plenty of historical fiction, however the reader learns more about Maisie and the inner turmoil she is going through in this book. It has been four years since Maisie has left England and she longs to head back to India for solitude and healing peace when she is summoned back to England by her stepmother. While Maisie is on a ship headed back to England and her aging father, she realizes she is not at all ready to return and ignoring all warnings disembarks early in Gibraltar. Gibraltar in 1937 is filled with refugees escaping the Spanish Civil War and things are not just dangerous in Spain, as Maisie quickly discovers as she becomes apart of a murder investigation of Sebastian Babayoff, an investigation that catches the eye of the British Secret Service, all the while Maisie herself, much like Gibraltar, is at a dangerous crossroads. Having enjoyed previous Maisie Dobbs books, I must say this one is my favorite. I liked the deep political and historical details, the new characters, and the very serious decisions that weigh heavily on Maisie. Winspear, in my opinion, has outdone herself with providing historical and political background, as well as creating an intense atmosphere, adding fabulous supporting cast members and reminding the readers just how far Maisie has come and what is has cost her to do so. For those new to the series or long time fans, I highly recommend A Dangerous Place.
March 25, 2015
I have really mixed feelings about this book. The beginning was difficult -- as one reviewer said, Winspear deals with several momentous and tragic events in Maisie's life in the first few pages "with brisk efficiency."It was a bit overwhelming and felt contrived -- a great deal of drama for just a few short pages. Considering how many books it took for Maisie to lose her first love, this seemed like an amputation of major proportions.
This is followed by a very long, complex plot surrounding a murder that gets all wrapped up in a confusion of history and spying between Gibralter and Spain-- an intrigue between way too many factions to keep everything straight even if, in the end, it provides Maisie's with salvation through volunteering her services to a nun named Sister Teresa no less!
How can Maisie ever recover from a double tragedy and her abandonment of all who loved her and regain her gentle soul? One of the things that draws people back to books is some sense of familiarity in a series. I believe this novel has changed the nature of Maisie as well as all her relationships. On one hand, I look forward to seeing what comes next. On the other hand, I fear the loss of the Maisie that readers knew and loved.
This is followed by a very long, complex plot surrounding a murder that gets all wrapped up in a confusion of history and spying between Gibralter and Spain-- an intrigue between way too many factions to keep everything straight even if, in the end, it provides Maisie's with salvation through volunteering her services to a nun named Sister Teresa no less!
How can Maisie ever recover from a double tragedy and her abandonment of all who loved her and regain her gentle soul? One of the things that draws people back to books is some sense of familiarity in a series. I believe this novel has changed the nature of Maisie as well as all her relationships. On one hand, I look forward to seeing what comes next. On the other hand, I fear the loss of the Maisie that readers knew and loved.
April 3, 2015
Hmmmmm.....well, I'm not sure I like where Maisie's story is heading. I've enjoyed this series very much but the last two books now have left me feeling lukewarm. I was really surprised at the beginning (I can't say anything without revealing too much), but I must say that I didn't like it. I was kinda like--WTF!---I've waited for a new Maisie Dobbs story and this is how it starts?! I also didn't like Maisie's attitude. I understood to a point but I think she's becoming more of a cold person, even if she does try to help others. Just like with her last book, I felt that Maisie just seemed "off" to me. I like her earlier storylines better.
January 25, 2022
Maisie is having trouble going back to England. Buts she’s promised. Although she takes the long way round via Gibraltar. She stumbles over a murdered man, a photographer. That stumbling takes her into Spain, just after Guernica, and into the front areas of the civil war. Of course British Intelligence pokes its heard above the battlements. Another fabulous Maisie story
July 20, 2021
No comment .
March 5, 2015
When I first met Maisie Dobbs so many years ago, I thought of her as an elderly aunt telling me stories. In "A Dangerous Place" (I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads) I feel as though she is a sister going through an awful time and I want to hug her and help her solve the latest mystery she has stumbled upon.
Literally, Maisie stumbles over the body of photographer, Sebastian Babayoff, in pre-WWII Gibraltar and enters into a world of espionage, war and turmoil in Spain and the quiet life of the Sephardic Jewish community in Gibraltar, of which Babayoff was a member.
As usual, Jacqueline Winspear presents characters who are multilayered and may or may not be as they seem.
Who killed Sebastian isn't the only question running through this mystery though. Maisie is at a point in her life that her choices are putting her into imminent danger and her loved ones are very concerned for her (as they should be).
By the way, by page 11 I was crying and wondering where in the world this story was going to go. By the end, I was no longer wondering and I look forward to the next installment of Maisie's amazing adventures.
Literally, Maisie stumbles over the body of photographer, Sebastian Babayoff, in pre-WWII Gibraltar and enters into a world of espionage, war and turmoil in Spain and the quiet life of the Sephardic Jewish community in Gibraltar, of which Babayoff was a member.
As usual, Jacqueline Winspear presents characters who are multilayered and may or may not be as they seem.
Who killed Sebastian isn't the only question running through this mystery though. Maisie is at a point in her life that her choices are putting her into imminent danger and her loved ones are very concerned for her (as they should be).
By the way, by page 11 I was crying and wondering where in the world this story was going to go. By the end, I was no longer wondering and I look forward to the next installment of Maisie's amazing adventures.
March 4, 2016
It is 1937 and Europe is on the inexorable path that will lead to World War II. Maisie Dobbs is in Gibraltar, the strategic position of which makes it valuable as a listening post for many countries. Spies seem to be lurking around every corner and some of them are inordinately interested in what Maisie is doing.
And what is Maisie doing? Well, she is trying to come to terms with a recent double tragedy in her life.
She had married her lover, James Compton, and moved with him to Canada where he was employed testing aircraft that would play an integral part in any war to come. It was a happy time for her. She was eight months pregnant with their first child. Then catastrophe struck.
The plane that James was testing went down in a fiery crash and James was killed. This all happened as Maisie watched. She started running toward the crash site, tripped and fell. Her child was delivered early and was dead. On one momentous day, she lost the two loves of her life.
After she was sufficiently recovered physically, she sailed for England by way of India. She spent some quiet and peaceful time in India and then continued on, but when she got to Gibraltar, she found herself not ready to face her friends' and family's sympathy and the familiar surroundings that she had shared with James, so she disembarked and decided to spend some time there and wait for a later ship to take her home.
Placing Maisie in Gibraltar gives Jacqueline Winspear an opportunity to explore some of the events leading up to the world war, as well as some of the tangled relationships between various countries and political groups. Nearby, the civil war in Spain is raging and both the communists and the fascists are present and attempting to further their cause in Gibraltar.
Maisie soon becomes embroiled in the efforts of a group of people supporting the Republican cause in Spain. She does this by stumbling over a dead body on a dark path near her hotel one night. Having found the body, she feels a responsibility to find out what happened to the man and how he came to be struck down. This leads her down some dangerous paths as she gets to know his family and associates and tries to learn what he was doing that might have led someone to want him dead.
I felt that Winspear did a very good job of describing the setting and developing a real feel for what must have been the fraught atmosphere of those times. Moreover, since Maisie is adrift without her usual cast of secondary characters, the author introduced several strong and sympathetic new characters. Many of these characters have secrets and are not what they first appear to be. They add complexity and a new element of suspense to the story.
This was quite different from the usual Maisie Dobbs tale that we've come to know. But, again, Winspear does a good job of weaving Maisie's backstory into the plot, so she is able to recount her rags-to-riches narrative, her tragic experience as a nurse in World War I, and her time as an independent businesswoman in London and make it all come together in a coherent account. Even if one had not read the earlier books in this series, this book could easily be read as a standalone.
So, where is Maisie to go from here? She and the series are at a crossroads it seems, even as the world itself reaches a crossroads. Will she follow the world into war once again? Winspear has given us quite a lot to think about here and it will be interesting to see where she takes her character next.
And what is Maisie doing? Well, she is trying to come to terms with a recent double tragedy in her life.
She had married her lover, James Compton, and moved with him to Canada where he was employed testing aircraft that would play an integral part in any war to come. It was a happy time for her. She was eight months pregnant with their first child. Then catastrophe struck.
The plane that James was testing went down in a fiery crash and James was killed. This all happened as Maisie watched. She started running toward the crash site, tripped and fell. Her child was delivered early and was dead. On one momentous day, she lost the two loves of her life.
After she was sufficiently recovered physically, she sailed for England by way of India. She spent some quiet and peaceful time in India and then continued on, but when she got to Gibraltar, she found herself not ready to face her friends' and family's sympathy and the familiar surroundings that she had shared with James, so she disembarked and decided to spend some time there and wait for a later ship to take her home.
Placing Maisie in Gibraltar gives Jacqueline Winspear an opportunity to explore some of the events leading up to the world war, as well as some of the tangled relationships between various countries and political groups. Nearby, the civil war in Spain is raging and both the communists and the fascists are present and attempting to further their cause in Gibraltar.
Maisie soon becomes embroiled in the efforts of a group of people supporting the Republican cause in Spain. She does this by stumbling over a dead body on a dark path near her hotel one night. Having found the body, she feels a responsibility to find out what happened to the man and how he came to be struck down. This leads her down some dangerous paths as she gets to know his family and associates and tries to learn what he was doing that might have led someone to want him dead.
I felt that Winspear did a very good job of describing the setting and developing a real feel for what must have been the fraught atmosphere of those times. Moreover, since Maisie is adrift without her usual cast of secondary characters, the author introduced several strong and sympathetic new characters. Many of these characters have secrets and are not what they first appear to be. They add complexity and a new element of suspense to the story.
This was quite different from the usual Maisie Dobbs tale that we've come to know. But, again, Winspear does a good job of weaving Maisie's backstory into the plot, so she is able to recount her rags-to-riches narrative, her tragic experience as a nurse in World War I, and her time as an independent businesswoman in London and make it all come together in a coherent account. Even if one had not read the earlier books in this series, this book could easily be read as a standalone.
So, where is Maisie to go from here? She and the series are at a crossroads it seems, even as the world itself reaches a crossroads. Will she follow the world into war once again? Winspear has given us quite a lot to think about here and it will be interesting to see where she takes her character next.
June 27, 2015
This is the author’s 12th entry in her Maisie Dobbs mystery series. The story takes place in April 1937 with the winds of war gathering velocity across Europe. At the beginning of the book, Maisie is on her way home to England from India where she had gone to escape the pain and grief after her husband had been killed in a aeroplane accident and her unborn child died as well.
When her ship stops at Gibraltar, Maisie can’t face returning to England and all the good-intentioned people awaiting her arrival. She disembarks from the ship and checks into a hotel only to move to a smaller establishment. She soon comes upon a murder of young Jewish photographer shortly after it occurs. She is determined to find the murderer after the police chalk it up to a refugee from nearby Spain killing for gain even though neither of the photographer’s expensive cameras have gone missing nor has the dead man been robbed.
It doesn’t take Maisie long to spot the man following her nor to determine that he has been sent to keep an eye on her. She is only uncertain who is responsible for his presence.
This isn’t your typical mystery story. The storyline about the photographer’s murder meanders along slowly as Maisie interviews the people who knew the young man. The book is more about Maisie’s returning from the the precipice of suicide following the loss of her much loved husband and their unborn child.
Winspear’s latest book is subdued and has an emotional impact. The author is able to convey Maisie’s struggle to come back from so much pain and grief without being maudlin. Much of this book, at times, seems wrapped in cotton to mute the grief and pain Maisie feels. While Maisie is able to puzzle out what happened to the photographer, at end of the case when she should be returning to England, she decides she’s still not ready. Instead, she puts herself into harm’s way.
When her ship stops at Gibraltar, Maisie can’t face returning to England and all the good-intentioned people awaiting her arrival. She disembarks from the ship and checks into a hotel only to move to a smaller establishment. She soon comes upon a murder of young Jewish photographer shortly after it occurs. She is determined to find the murderer after the police chalk it up to a refugee from nearby Spain killing for gain even though neither of the photographer’s expensive cameras have gone missing nor has the dead man been robbed.
It doesn’t take Maisie long to spot the man following her nor to determine that he has been sent to keep an eye on her. She is only uncertain who is responsible for his presence.
This isn’t your typical mystery story. The storyline about the photographer’s murder meanders along slowly as Maisie interviews the people who knew the young man. The book is more about Maisie’s returning from the the precipice of suicide following the loss of her much loved husband and their unborn child.
Winspear’s latest book is subdued and has an emotional impact. The author is able to convey Maisie’s struggle to come back from so much pain and grief without being maudlin. Much of this book, at times, seems wrapped in cotton to mute the grief and pain Maisie feels. While Maisie is able to puzzle out what happened to the photographer, at end of the case when she should be returning to England, she decides she’s still not ready. Instead, she puts herself into harm’s way.
November 1, 2017
The first Maisie Dobbs book by Winspear was published in 2003. I remember reading it and loving the character, the historical time and the writing. I also (working as a reference librarian) would tell my colleagues and anyone requesting reading suggestions about the book. Since then I've regularly followed Maise's journey through life. For some reason this book has been out for some time before I got to it. A lot has transpired in Maisie's life, which we learn in retrospect. This is another series that I often listen to on audio. When I find someone who wonderfully brings a character to life in audio, I usually prefer to listen to the book. This book finds Maisie in Gibraltar at the time of the Spanish War when Germany is beginning to flex its muscles, militarily. There are new characters and different challenges which Maisie faces. I think Winspear was wise to make a change in local, because it gives a chance for new situations. I loved this book and have one more to look forward to read. But I certainly hope Winspear keeps writing them.
June 9, 2018
This is another adventurous escapade with Maisie Dobbs - this time in Gibraltar as the Spanish Civil War heightens and the proximity to Spain makes Gibraltar a dangerous place. But Maisie takes seriously what she sees as her responsibility to solve a supposedly random murder. And she uses this time to try to heal from a personal tragedy - one that happens between this book and the previous one. By the way I was a bit irritated with Winspear for writing it that way although I get it that Maisie Dobbs could not have continued in the same manner were it not to have happened as written. But still that does not make it any less irritating. And once again as it ends Maisie is off to do her part to somewhat steady the world.
May 28, 2017
Oh how I missed this series! When I discovered Maisie Dobbs, I went through all the books out and then had to wait for this one.
The writing in this series is absolutely fantastic. This particular book has a more somber tone, but I enjoyed it as much as the others.
The writing in this series is absolutely fantastic. This particular book has a more somber tone, but I enjoyed it as much as the others.
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