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Maisie Dobbs #12
Journey to Munich
Working with the British Secret Service on an undercover mission, Maisie Dobbs is sent to Hitler’s Germany in this thrilling tale of danger and intrigue—the twelfth novel in Jacqueline Winspear’s New York Times bestselling “series that seems to get better with each entry” (Wall Street Journal).
It’s early 1938, and Maisie Dobbs is back in England. On a fine yet chilly morning, as she walks towards Fitzroy Square—a place of many memories—she is intercepted by Brian Huntley and Robert MacFarlane of the Secret Service. The German government has agreed to release a British subject from prison, but only if he is handed over to a family member. Because the man’s wife is bedridden and his daughter has been killed in an accident, the Secret Service wants Maisie—who bears a striking resemblance to the daughter—to retrieve the man from Dachau, on the outskirts of Munich.
The British government is not alone in its interest in Maisie’s travel plans. Her nemesis—the man she holds responsible for her husband’s death—has learned of her journey, and is also desperate for her help.
Traveling into the heart of Nazi Germany, Maisie encounters unexpected dangers—and finds herself questioning whether it’s time to return to the work she loved. But the Secret Service may have other ideas. . . .
It’s early 1938, and Maisie Dobbs is back in England. On a fine yet chilly morning, as she walks towards Fitzroy Square—a place of many memories—she is intercepted by Brian Huntley and Robert MacFarlane of the Secret Service. The German government has agreed to release a British subject from prison, but only if he is handed over to a family member. Because the man’s wife is bedridden and his daughter has been killed in an accident, the Secret Service wants Maisie—who bears a striking resemblance to the daughter—to retrieve the man from Dachau, on the outskirts of Munich.
The British government is not alone in its interest in Maisie’s travel plans. Her nemesis—the man she holds responsible for her husband’s death—has learned of her journey, and is also desperate for her help.
Traveling into the heart of Nazi Germany, Maisie encounters unexpected dangers—and finds herself questioning whether it’s time to return to the work she loved. But the Secret Service may have other ideas. . . .
352 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 1, 2016
2468 people are currently reading
8307 people want to read
About the author
Jacqueline Winspear
61 books8,327 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 2,282 reviews
January 12, 2018
Our twelfth outing with Maisie Dobbs and I have to admit the author comes up with some amazing story lines! Formerly a Private Detective, Maisie is now working for the Secret Service to extract a prisoner from Dachau. She even learns how to fire a gun and uses it once to great effect. We have come a long way since the Maisie Dobbs of book one.
There is a lot of nonsense in the book, for example the fact that the Secret service appears to be run by jovial father like figures who all fuss over Maisie like mother hens and that she was able to endanger the entire mission by wandering around Munich on her own business. But it's fiction and it was fun and I enjoyed it.
I am pretty sure this is a series which needs to be read in order so that the reader develops an affection for Maisie and her friends. That's why I keep reading anyway and I hope some good things are lined up for her soon.
There is a lot of nonsense in the book, for example the fact that the Secret service appears to be run by jovial father like figures who all fuss over Maisie like mother hens and that she was able to endanger the entire mission by wandering around Munich on her own business. But it's fiction and it was fun and I enjoyed it.
I am pretty sure this is a series which needs to be read in order so that the reader develops an affection for Maisie and her friends. That's why I keep reading anyway and I hope some good things are lined up for her soon.
April 1, 2016
I would prefer to give this book a 3.5; it's not a 4 but not a 3. Why on earth did Maisie write notes and her case map when she was in Munich? Why didn't the nazis search her hotel room? How did she manage to not be tailed by the SS, etc? Why didn't she go to Zurich with the others? A not entirely satisfying book.
September 14, 2021
Hamartia, thy name is Coincidence. One of the reviews I glanced at said that Maisie Dobbs was an amalgam of Mother Theresa, Mata Hari, and Supergirl. I wish. Calling someone Mother Theresa is like laughing at Gandhi being in hell in that South Park movie. If Maisie was like Mother Theresa, she would make for a fascinating and kaleidoscopic character.
Jacqueline Winspear sinned enough times for me not to lose count but still it's many. Like I hinted at, there are astounding coincidences in this book. Also, there was a gun in the book. I understand that it was not of the Chekhov brand, since it hasn't been used, which is the coolest thing the author has done with her book.
I wanted to give up and move on to the next book. What prevented me from doing so was the curiosity regarding how the authoress wrote a book that was a commercial success, has excellent critical response, and has been professionally written. The latter was a dealmaker for me. Ever since I wanted to write books, I've been trying to guess what I could get away with, creatively speaking. I think I have part of the answer at least.
Going back to the book, I think I frowned on the reconstruction of the Nazi salute and Hitler, nebulously depicted as he was in this book. Hitler has stopped getting breaks ever since he offed Rommel, but still, it's tricky to depict him both in reel life and in print. The most successful depiction of the Fuhrer was done admirably by Herman Wouk in The Winds of War. In this book, which I picked up only because of its WW2 plot, Hitler seems having more blood ties with Harry Potter's Dementors than a being of flesh and blood.
In conclusion I must admit not getting the following Winspear has among her faithful. About 6 or 7 years ago, I tried to read the first book in this series, simply titled, Maisie Dobbs. I did not last long then , unlike now. But regardless, the lack in quality in both books is a mystery that has roots in the question, what is the making of a successful author? The first book was forgotten until I knew the existence of Journey to Munich. Journey to Munich is poor fare. It's inferior literature, and it's professional but somehow lazy writing. It's not atrocious though. It's simply a missed opportunity.
Jacqueline Winspear sinned enough times for me not to lose count but still it's many. Like I hinted at, there are astounding coincidences in this book. Also, there was a gun in the book. I understand that it was not of the Chekhov brand, since it hasn't been used, which is the coolest thing the author has done with her book.
I wanted to give up and move on to the next book. What prevented me from doing so was the curiosity regarding how the authoress wrote a book that was a commercial success, has excellent critical response, and has been professionally written. The latter was a dealmaker for me. Ever since I wanted to write books, I've been trying to guess what I could get away with, creatively speaking. I think I have part of the answer at least.
Going back to the book, I think I frowned on the reconstruction of the Nazi salute and Hitler, nebulously depicted as he was in this book. Hitler has stopped getting breaks ever since he offed Rommel, but still, it's tricky to depict him both in reel life and in print. The most successful depiction of the Fuhrer was done admirably by Herman Wouk in The Winds of War. In this book, which I picked up only because of its WW2 plot, Hitler seems having more blood ties with Harry Potter's Dementors than a being of flesh and blood.
In conclusion I must admit not getting the following Winspear has among her faithful. About 6 or 7 years ago, I tried to read the first book in this series, simply titled, Maisie Dobbs. I did not last long then , unlike now. But regardless, the lack in quality in both books is a mystery that has roots in the question, what is the making of a successful author? The first book was forgotten until I knew the existence of Journey to Munich. Journey to Munich is poor fare. It's inferior literature, and it's professional but somehow lazy writing. It's not atrocious though. It's simply a missed opportunity.
May 1, 2016
I was lucky to be the first to listen to this book on CDs from the library, so no scratches or smudges, no need to clean first. That was a treat, and the book was easy listening, as usual. But the problem plot device introduced into A Dangerous Place, the prior entry in the series, continued to interfere. For me the main point of these cross-over mysteries isn't the detective work so much as the genuineness of the character in her historical times. If the realness or legitimacy of the character is there, then, through the fiction, I can get something like a birds-eye view. If not, it's still enjoyable to read but doesn't come alive as earlier books in the series had done.
What happened in the previous book is that the author married off Maisie to her Prince Charming, then got rid of the husband (and she lost the baby, too). The plot device served to explain a time gap while the author wrote a free-standing novel, and it also disposed of the spouse and baby so the protagonist could return to work. (This isn't a spoiler of the prior book, which filled in the protagonist's history on the book flap.) I thought that the author had gotten over the difficulty by integrating the turn of events into the story, but now the character doesn't seem to be for real. I don't think she would have quit work and turned to domesticity, not without conflict, anyway. The more the author has her remembering her idyllic happiness the falser she seems.
I came across an article about TV shows that have been improving their diversity ratings but then tripping themselves up by killing off the character of an actor of color who left the show. So, killing off his or her character then feeds into the dominant role of the white actor, defeating the whole intent of the diversity. http://digital.olivesoftware.com/Oliv...
If characters are genuine, then they aren't malleable like that.
I think the author would have to have the character of Maisie Dobbs suffer over the possibility that the husband and baby were lost because she, Maisie, wasn't true to her destiny, her calling, so fate had to step in and get them out of the way--something like that, to make it real. Maisie is supposed to be a person whose functioning is based on being transparent and honest with herself, so given the interference from the plot device, her character isn't working for me.
In this series, we've followed Maisie Dobbs from her birth in 1897 or 8 to the eve of WWII. I'd like to see more through her eyes, but maybe it's time to quit. This book had some of the trappings of being the last one but it won't happen.
What happened in the previous book is that the author married off Maisie to her Prince Charming, then got rid of the husband (and she lost the baby, too). The plot device served to explain a time gap while the author wrote a free-standing novel, and it also disposed of the spouse and baby so the protagonist could return to work. (This isn't a spoiler of the prior book, which filled in the protagonist's history on the book flap.) I thought that the author had gotten over the difficulty by integrating the turn of events into the story, but now the character doesn't seem to be for real. I don't think she would have quit work and turned to domesticity, not without conflict, anyway. The more the author has her remembering her idyllic happiness the falser she seems.
I came across an article about TV shows that have been improving their diversity ratings but then tripping themselves up by killing off the character of an actor of color who left the show. So, killing off his or her character then feeds into the dominant role of the white actor, defeating the whole intent of the diversity. http://digital.olivesoftware.com/Oliv...
If characters are genuine, then they aren't malleable like that.
I think the author would have to have the character of Maisie Dobbs suffer over the possibility that the husband and baby were lost because she, Maisie, wasn't true to her destiny, her calling, so fate had to step in and get them out of the way--something like that, to make it real. Maisie is supposed to be a person whose functioning is based on being transparent and honest with herself, so given the interference from the plot device, her character isn't working for me.
In this series, we've followed Maisie Dobbs from her birth in 1897 or 8 to the eve of WWII. I'd like to see more through her eyes, but maybe it's time to quit. This book had some of the trappings of being the last one but it won't happen.
April 24, 2016
The plot here is preposterous. Just too many coincidences to survive credibility. More disappointingly however is the fact that Maisie herself has become so utterly good, so truly perfect in every way that she has ceased to be even remotely believable or likeable, for that matter. Mother Theresa, Mata Hari and SuperGirl all rolled into one. This series has rolled off the tracks.
July 7, 2016
So it looks like a 3, but is a 2.5.
"How?" you might ask your childish voice trembling and your eyes large with perturbation, "can you give this such a low rating when the book has such a high average reader rating." Well, my child, this is the phenomena of long series that slowly filter out the nay-sayers and irritable. And if I were as witty as I would like to be, I would have come up with an amusing bon mot to name this trend.
Basically, as those whom, some might say, have more discerning tastes (though some might argue to the contrary) throw their hands up and refuse to read another word of a series that has proven itself to be uneven, there are others who maintain their appreciation, nay, even increase in their devotion thereby increasing the average reader rating to dizzying heights. This does not mean that the book is a vast improvement upon past efforts, merely that the readers are self selecting to the devotees. Except, of course, for the random few who, newly arrived on the scene, assume there is little of import to backstory within a plethora of prior tomes and then are less than pleased with their lack of engagement with the story.
Do not read on if you maintain a desire to read the latest Maisie book with a sense of bemusement.
On to the story, and I might well have reached the end of the series for my own reading pleasure. Maisie, bless her heart, has returned to England, hair chopped, clothes dishevelled, and relationships dangling - fortunate woman to have such patient friends and family. Approached by the Secret Service to take on a mission to Germany, she takes the case and then, perplexingly, she decides to agree to an additional request with personal implications. In a way it fits with her hair-shirt mentality. But hey, she has a new document case!!
And so the story continues on with an increasing number of gaffes, poor judgement and yet little in the way of consequences. And that is besides the yawning editing gulf of "has he been gone 2 years or 2 months" which I was unable to unravel, page I back and forth ever so earnestly. Maisie is on a highly secret mission, false identity and all, and yet chooses to wander about Munich looking for someone, photo in hand no less, who is in no way connected to her false identity and could cause all kinds of problems should it come to light.
Fortunately for Maisie it does NOT come to light, or not so much it matters. And when she decides NOT to join those she has rescued in their flight from Munich, she 1) makes an even more idiotic last-minute decision, 2) thankfully changes her mind, 3) decides to return to Munich and 4) then decides to WALK back to Munich! Thank goodness for this fairytale that good guys abound and voila! she is rescued, her passport recovered and she returns home to, after dithering for 11 FREAKING BOOKS and 20 YEARS (her marriage to James happened offstage and therefore does not count), decides she should have family and friends around - and lives in her inherited house, buys a new apartment and a car (no mention of clothes or whether all she serves her friends is soup) and starts up business again.
Buh-bye Maisie - bon chance.
"How?" you might ask your childish voice trembling and your eyes large with perturbation, "can you give this such a low rating when the book has such a high average reader rating." Well, my child, this is the phenomena of long series that slowly filter out the nay-sayers and irritable. And if I were as witty as I would like to be, I would have come up with an amusing bon mot to name this trend.
Basically, as those whom, some might say, have more discerning tastes (though some might argue to the contrary) throw their hands up and refuse to read another word of a series that has proven itself to be uneven, there are others who maintain their appreciation, nay, even increase in their devotion thereby increasing the average reader rating to dizzying heights. This does not mean that the book is a vast improvement upon past efforts, merely that the readers are self selecting to the devotees. Except, of course, for the random few who, newly arrived on the scene, assume there is little of import to backstory within a plethora of prior tomes and then are less than pleased with their lack of engagement with the story.
Do not read on if you maintain a desire to read the latest Maisie book with a sense of bemusement.
On to the story, and I might well have reached the end of the series for my own reading pleasure. Maisie, bless her heart, has returned to England, hair chopped, clothes dishevelled, and relationships dangling - fortunate woman to have such patient friends and family. Approached by the Secret Service to take on a mission to Germany, she takes the case and then, perplexingly, she decides to agree to an additional request with personal implications. In a way it fits with her hair-shirt mentality. But hey, she has a new document case!!
And so the story continues on with an increasing number of gaffes, poor judgement and yet little in the way of consequences. And that is besides the yawning editing gulf of "has he been gone 2 years or 2 months" which I was unable to unravel, page I back and forth ever so earnestly. Maisie is on a highly secret mission, false identity and all, and yet chooses to wander about Munich looking for someone, photo in hand no less, who is in no way connected to her false identity and could cause all kinds of problems should it come to light.
Fortunately for Maisie it does NOT come to light, or not so much it matters. And when she decides NOT to join those she has rescued in their flight from Munich, she 1) makes an even more idiotic last-minute decision, 2) thankfully changes her mind, 3) decides to return to Munich and 4) then decides to WALK back to Munich! Thank goodness for this fairytale that good guys abound and voila! she is rescued, her passport recovered and she returns home to, after dithering for 11 FREAKING BOOKS and 20 YEARS (her marriage to James happened offstage and therefore does not count), decides she should have family and friends around - and lives in her inherited house, buys a new apartment and a car (no mention of clothes or whether all she serves her friends is soup) and starts up business again.
Buh-bye Maisie - bon chance.
May 1, 2021
I’d been looking forward to this one and I did enjoy it but I wasn’t expecting to have to suspend disbelief as much as I did. Many times! I really liked it anyway but I struggled to believe a lot of the details of what happened. I appreciated all the suspense though.
I do like Maisie and the series books and I appreciated how this one built on previous happenings. All the books do that but I found it particularly satisfying in this book.
I’ve read many WWII/Holocaust books and this was the first book in the series where the setting was familiar to me. I’m glad that part of this book, unlike the last book but all the other series books, did take place in England. I love the English settings. They’re among the things I like most about this series. It seems we’re never going to totally leave WWI though and except for brief mentions I wish we would.
I love the blurring of class lines. We’d seen it with Maisie and Sandra, and Billy to some extent. Here I especially appreciated Brenda and all the relationships she has including the one with Maisie.
I love everything about the ending and its various resolutions, particularly as with regards to Maisie & Sandra & Billy and about the new tradition of the regular Sunday lunches with everyone involved.
I appreciate the author’s notes at the end about the inspiration for this particular Munich story and about her writing in general.
I simultaneously read a Kindle e-book edition and an Overdrive audio edition, both borrowed from my public library. This has become my favorite way to read in the last year+.
I do like Maisie and the series books and I appreciated how this one built on previous happenings. All the books do that but I found it particularly satisfying in this book.
I’ve read many WWII/Holocaust books and this was the first book in the series where the setting was familiar to me. I’m glad that part of this book, unlike the last book but all the other series books, did take place in England. I love the English settings. They’re among the things I like most about this series. It seems we’re never going to totally leave WWI though and except for brief mentions I wish we would.
I love the blurring of class lines. We’d seen it with Maisie and Sandra, and Billy to some extent. Here I especially appreciated Brenda and all the relationships she has including the one with Maisie.
I love everything about the ending and its various resolutions, particularly as with regards to Maisie & Sandra & Billy and about the new tradition of the regular Sunday lunches with everyone involved.
I appreciate the author’s notes at the end about the inspiration for this particular Munich story and about her writing in general.
I simultaneously read a Kindle e-book edition and an Overdrive audio edition, both borrowed from my public library. This has become my favorite way to read in the last year+.
June 18, 2018
This was my first Maisie Dobbs ... It was better than I expected, with good atmospheric writing and an interesting plot
March 25, 2023
Journey to Munich was the latest installment in the Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear. It is 1938 and the winds of war are increasing as Adolf Hitler is in power with his oppressive and dangerous regime. It is during this time that Maisie Dobbs is approached to join once again with the British Secret Service on an undercover assignment in Munich, Germany to bring home an elderly British citizen who has been detained. Once again working with Brian Huntley and Robert MacFarlane, she is given an intense week of training, including how to handle a weapon proving to be a good shot. In this undercover assignment she is to assume the identity of Leon Donat's daughter as the Germans have agreed to release the prisoner from Dachau but only to a family member. This is a risky mission as Maisie Dobbs travels through the heart of Nazi Germany at a particularly perilous and dangerous time as Adolf Hitler is planning on invading Austria once again, returning it to the homeland. What comes through in this riveting novel is the fear and the oppression of the Nazi regime and the struggles of Maisie Dobbs in this secret mission for the British government. It is in Germany that Maisie must come to terms with her personal losses as she begins to think that she would like to resume her old work once she returns to England. In posing as the daughter of Leon Donat, she realizes how much her own father means to her as she confronts the dangers of this assignment, promising herself that on her return to spend much needed time with her father. This was a period of deep vulnerability and personal reflection for Maisie.
The author notes that the idea for this novel came from a story that her mother told of the tale of a former employer of who was a factory owner. Her mother was told that primarily because of the nature of his inventions with his training as an engineer, the British government had brokered his release from a German concentration camp. And as Jacqueline Winspear stated that a nugget of that story became the spark of inspiration for Journey to Munich. She stated that over time this man shared his experiences with her mother which is why her mother wanted her children to know, from an early age, the deep human cost of war.
The author notes that the idea for this novel came from a story that her mother told of the tale of a former employer of who was a factory owner. Her mother was told that primarily because of the nature of his inventions with his training as an engineer, the British government had brokered his release from a German concentration camp. And as Jacqueline Winspear stated that a nugget of that story became the spark of inspiration for Journey to Munich. She stated that over time this man shared his experiences with her mother which is why her mother wanted her children to know, from an early age, the deep human cost of war.
October 26, 2022
In Journey to Munich, Maisie Dobbs travels to Nazi Germany to retrieve a captured British subject imprisoned in the Dachau concentration camp.
I have been listening to this fantastic series in order. This is the 12th one I have read and I am still positively entertained by Maisie and Winspear's writing.
Maisie is a heroine to cherish. She is selfless, caring and SMART!! Her husband has died tragically in a plane crash. He was test piloting a plane that a family friend, Elaine Otterburn, was supposed to test. Despite blaming Elaine for her husband's death, she finds Elaine in Munich and helps her get out too.
I plan to continue this series for as long as I can. There are 17 books in the series. No 13 is In This Grave Hour
4 stars
I have been listening to this fantastic series in order. This is the 12th one I have read and I am still positively entertained by Maisie and Winspear's writing.
Maisie is a heroine to cherish. She is selfless, caring and SMART!! Her husband has died tragically in a plane crash. He was test piloting a plane that a family friend, Elaine Otterburn, was supposed to test. Despite blaming Elaine for her husband's death, she finds Elaine in Munich and helps her get out too.
I plan to continue this series for as long as I can. There are 17 books in the series. No 13 is In This Grave Hour
4 stars
July 23, 2017
In this 12th episode of the Masie Dobbs series, Masie has returned to England after a period nursing in Spain during the civil war. Still grieving for her pilot husband who died in a plane crash in Canada, Maisie is looking for somewhere to live and wondering what to next. However, she doesn't get too long to ponder on these problems before the secret service seek her out and ask her to go on a journey to Munich. There she must go to Dachau to escort home an English engineer being released by the Germans. The catch is that she must pose as the man's daughter who is too ill to travel. The other unknown catch is that Germany is days away from annexing Austria and Maisie needs to get in and out of Germany quickly. Further complicating her plans, Maisie is asked to find the woman she holds responsible for the death of her husband. She was last known to be in Munich and with tensions building in Europe and war with Germany looking likely, her family very much want her to return home.
Maisie soon realises this is a high risk game she is playing and the German bureaucrats do not always play fair. Her search for the missing woman is also not without risks and Maisie needs all her wits about her to not be exposed as a spy. Overall a tense and gripping story with some unexpected twists, although I was a little disappointed in Maisie's decision towards the end of the book () and felt that part of the plot a bit contrived (). It will be a lot of fun to see what Maisie gets up to next.
Maisie soon realises this is a high risk game she is playing and the German bureaucrats do not always play fair. Her search for the missing woman is also not without risks and Maisie needs all her wits about her to not be exposed as a spy. Overall a tense and gripping story with some unexpected twists, although I was a little disappointed in Maisie's decision towards the end of the book () and felt that part of the plot a bit contrived (). It will be a lot of fun to see what Maisie gets up to next.
February 23, 2016
Maisie Dobbs is one of the most complex characters I've followed in any fictional series, regardless of genre. In this book, the reader follows her as she accepts a request to go to Munich to rescue a British industrialist who has been imprisoned in Dachau for two years. She is still trying to process the tragedies that befell her in the last book, she has no permanent home in London, she has no profession, and she has suffered so many losses that even the lessons she learned from her beloved mentor, Maurice, do not seem to center her. Never the less, she accepts the challenge.
Once in Munich, she learns that Hitler is about to launch his incursion into Austria, Jewish and Christian children have to hide if they wish to play together, and citizens can be tortured if they fail to reply to soldiers' salutes to the Fuhrer. She also begins to apply the meditation and visualization techniques that strengthen her resolve and her soul. She will need all the strength she can muster to find the industrialist, fulfill a promise to a grieving mother, and pull her life back together once this trial is over.
I admire Maisie Dobbs for her courage, honesty, and willingness to be open to reality, regardless of where it leads her. I admire Jacqueline Winspear more, of course, for having the breadth of imagination and skill to bring this character to life.
I received an ARC of this book from Eidelweiss. This is an honest review.
I received
Once in Munich, she learns that Hitler is about to launch his incursion into Austria, Jewish and Christian children have to hide if they wish to play together, and citizens can be tortured if they fail to reply to soldiers' salutes to the Fuhrer. She also begins to apply the meditation and visualization techniques that strengthen her resolve and her soul. She will need all the strength she can muster to find the industrialist, fulfill a promise to a grieving mother, and pull her life back together once this trial is over.
I admire Maisie Dobbs for her courage, honesty, and willingness to be open to reality, regardless of where it leads her. I admire Jacqueline Winspear more, of course, for having the breadth of imagination and skill to bring this character to life.
I received an ARC of this book from Eidelweiss. This is an honest review.
I received
June 2, 2017
Journey To Munich is the twelfth book in the Maisie Dobbs series by British-born American author, Jacqueline Winspear. After some time in Spain, tending casualties of the Civil War in an attempt to come to terms with her grief over the loss of husband James, Maisie Dobbs returns to England. She soon finds herself talked into a journey to Munich by Huntley and MacFarlane, on a mission for the British Secret Service.
Maisie is to impersonate Edwina Donat, daughter of an engineer and international man of commerce, Leon Donat, who has been interned in Dachau for some two years. Donat is a boffin whose knowledge is valued by the British Government, and his release has been negotiated, but the Nazis will only discharge him into the care of a family member, and the real Edwina Donat is far too ill to go and claim him.
One of her least favourite people, wealthy, influential industrialist, John Otterburn has learned of Maisie’s trip and implores her to find his daughter, Elaine, who has abandoned husband and baby son to live the high life in Munich. It’s a task that Maisie has no enthusiasm for as Elaine is the woman whom she blames for the death of her husband and unborn child. She makes no promises.
This instalment sees Maisie wearing a wig, learning to shoot a revolver and trained in withstanding interrogation techniques. The Nazis play the expected games but there are twists that keep the story very interesting indeed. And before very long, Maisie decides she has no taste for Secret Service work and vows to be her own boss again henceforth. As always, Maisie’s intuition is unerring even if not all her decisions are sound. There is plenty of action leading to an exciting climax and a satisfying resolution. Excellent historical fiction!
Maisie is to impersonate Edwina Donat, daughter of an engineer and international man of commerce, Leon Donat, who has been interned in Dachau for some two years. Donat is a boffin whose knowledge is valued by the British Government, and his release has been negotiated, but the Nazis will only discharge him into the care of a family member, and the real Edwina Donat is far too ill to go and claim him.
One of her least favourite people, wealthy, influential industrialist, John Otterburn has learned of Maisie’s trip and implores her to find his daughter, Elaine, who has abandoned husband and baby son to live the high life in Munich. It’s a task that Maisie has no enthusiasm for as Elaine is the woman whom she blames for the death of her husband and unborn child. She makes no promises.
This instalment sees Maisie wearing a wig, learning to shoot a revolver and trained in withstanding interrogation techniques. The Nazis play the expected games but there are twists that keep the story very interesting indeed. And before very long, Maisie decides she has no taste for Secret Service work and vows to be her own boss again henceforth. As always, Maisie’s intuition is unerring even if not all her decisions are sound. There is plenty of action leading to an exciting climax and a satisfying resolution. Excellent historical fiction!
April 7, 2016
Maisie's back!! This was so much better than the last book. Not that A Dangerous Place was terrible but I just didn't like the direction that Maisie was going. In this book, she's back in England, & then, of course, Munich doing a little spy work. I can't wait to see what happens further in this series, seeing as now we're on the cusp of WWII.
January 25, 2016
http://wordnerdy.blogspot.com/2016/01...
I've been thinking a lot about the last book in the Maisie Dobbs series, and I almost wish Winspear hadn't burdened Maisie with so much personal tragedy--it would have been interesting to see her try to balance her crime-solving abilities with a more traditional/happy life. Instead, this book finds her traveling to Munich in 1938 to try and get a British industrialist out of Dachau (on behalf of the British secret service, no less), which of course gets complicated. I found a lot of this to be implausible, wish Maisie would give fewer monologues, and was surprised by where Maisie is when the book ends--but I'll probably keep reading. B.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in March.
I've been thinking a lot about the last book in the Maisie Dobbs series, and I almost wish Winspear hadn't burdened Maisie with so much personal tragedy--it would have been interesting to see her try to balance her crime-solving abilities with a more traditional/happy life. Instead, this book finds her traveling to Munich in 1938 to try and get a British industrialist out of Dachau (on behalf of the British secret service, no less), which of course gets complicated. I found a lot of this to be implausible, wish Maisie would give fewer monologues, and was surprised by where Maisie is when the book ends--but I'll probably keep reading. B.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in March.
April 10, 2016
This is the twelfth book in the Maisie Dobbs series. Unfortunately it was my first. This book really does not stand alone. There were so many references to prior characters and events it was difficult to keep it all straight. The current story did not appear highly realistic and dragged at times. Perhaps my impression would have been different has I read the entire series.
June 2, 2016
Meh.
How can you make a Hitler cameo boring?
How can you make a Hitler cameo boring?
April 4, 2016
The story line, again, is laughable. Maisie the spy being trained as a sharp shooter and ninja, top secret assignment where she needs to sign the official secrets act again. Then goes to visit a friend and spills the "secret" to her. Then travels to Munich and decides to try to locate a missing socialite in her spare time. She keeps case notes in he hotel room as apparently those dangerous nazis won't look. Every time she comes across another "spy" they spill the beans to her on everything they are involved in. I could go on but won't. How can a good author pen this nonsense? I think I'm done with this series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 24, 2019
Look, we Brits do like our tea. We really like our tea. But we also like fish ‘n’ chips and discussing the weather. Please, please don’t abuse our sacred beverage by using it as your only means of characterisation. Come on, Maisie! Mission first, cuppa later.
I don’t know who exactly sanctioned this marketing quip. Labelling Journey to Munich as a historical thriller/mystery is fanciful - it certainly isn’t generous in its historical detail, and it is most definitely not in the least thrilling or mysterious. Perhaps ‘a genteel game of espionage’ might be a more apt categorisation. The backdrop of supposed violence and political tension never felt much more than a fantasy - the characters, and Winspear, were just playing at it. The plot is sedate and lacks credibility, whilst Maisie Dobbs is about as an effective agent as Clara Vine. She frequently shares classified information, forgets to reassume her disguise and leaves the passport in her real name casually unattended in her hotel room. Convincing, huh?
Munich is one of my favourite places on Earth. Its rich cultural history, its complex cocktail of Gothic, baroque and Mannerism, it never fails to compel me. This novel, however, could have been set in any old German city for all the insight the geographical detail gives. Has Winspear ever even visited the city? It doesn’t feel like it. The passing references to the Residenz or Hofgarten may well have been plucked from a fly-by-night guidebook. But… it’s the nearest city to Dachau, is it not? And, for such a tumultuous period in history, Winspear’s lack of political engagement is startling. Her exposition and unsubtle foreshadowing lack delicacy or skill, failing to provide any sort of illumination.
On an elemental level, the execution is poor. Winspear’s plot is slow and unengaging whilst she employs an achingly bland cast of indistinguishable characters. ‘All talk and no action’ perhaps sums up the premise of the novel. Any sort of conflict centers around Maisie’s ‘tumultuous’ past. Seriously, she has more baggage than Heathrow - and it all reads more like a bad soap opera than gritty espionage. The prose is uninspired. Winspear failed to make even a Hitler cameo interesting. His casual guest appearance had me pissing with laughter. He just strolls in and Maisie doesn’t bat an eyelid:
‘Only when she turned did she realise that Adolf Hitler had entered the room and was walking towards the desk.’
It was just so unexpected, and so absurd. Out of context, it’s probably not that funny, but the book is worth reading just for this blasé line.
Not too impressed. So long, Maisie Dobbs. Go wallow in self-pity somewhere far away from me.
I don’t know who exactly sanctioned this marketing quip. Labelling Journey to Munich as a historical thriller/mystery is fanciful - it certainly isn’t generous in its historical detail, and it is most definitely not in the least thrilling or mysterious. Perhaps ‘a genteel game of espionage’ might be a more apt categorisation. The backdrop of supposed violence and political tension never felt much more than a fantasy - the characters, and Winspear, were just playing at it. The plot is sedate and lacks credibility, whilst Maisie Dobbs is about as an effective agent as Clara Vine. She frequently shares classified information, forgets to reassume her disguise and leaves the passport in her real name casually unattended in her hotel room. Convincing, huh?
Munich is one of my favourite places on Earth. Its rich cultural history, its complex cocktail of Gothic, baroque and Mannerism, it never fails to compel me. This novel, however, could have been set in any old German city for all the insight the geographical detail gives. Has Winspear ever even visited the city? It doesn’t feel like it. The passing references to the Residenz or Hofgarten may well have been plucked from a fly-by-night guidebook. But… it’s the nearest city to Dachau, is it not? And, for such a tumultuous period in history, Winspear’s lack of political engagement is startling. Her exposition and unsubtle foreshadowing lack delicacy or skill, failing to provide any sort of illumination.
On an elemental level, the execution is poor. Winspear’s plot is slow and unengaging whilst she employs an achingly bland cast of indistinguishable characters. ‘All talk and no action’ perhaps sums up the premise of the novel. Any sort of conflict centers around Maisie’s ‘tumultuous’ past. Seriously, she has more baggage than Heathrow - and it all reads more like a bad soap opera than gritty espionage. The prose is uninspired. Winspear failed to make even a Hitler cameo interesting. His casual guest appearance had me pissing with laughter. He just strolls in and Maisie doesn’t bat an eyelid:
‘Only when she turned did she realise that Adolf Hitler had entered the room and was walking towards the desk.’
It was just so unexpected, and so absurd. Out of context, it’s probably not that funny, but the book is worth reading just for this blasé line.
Not too impressed. So long, Maisie Dobbs. Go wallow in self-pity somewhere far away from me.
March 17, 2017
4 1/2 stars
I loved this latest installment in one of my favorite mystery series. Its tight, focused story and Maisie's unusual assignment gave it a much different feel than other Maisie Dobbs novels. After moving to Canada two books ago and spending the last book in Gibraltar and Spain, Maisie is back in London and somewhat at sea as to how to proceed with her life. In step some of her old Scotland Yard acquaintances, now with the Secret Service to ask her to go to Munich to bring back a British businessman who is now imprisoned in Dachau. She hesitates at first as you would expect if you know her, but then accepts thinking it might help her figure out what to do next once she completes this mission. It's 1938 and Maisie sees the sinister atmosphere in the build-up to the invasion of Austria that ultimately leads to WWII. There's much intrigue, and perilous situations abound as she acts the part of the businessman's daughter in order to secure his release and bring him safely back to Britain.
I burned through this in about a day and it's the first time reading a Maisie that I thought "this would make a great movie!". I thought many times during Journey to Munich that I missed some of the old characters from when she had her business in London, but not to worry!! We get a glimpse at the end that Billy Beale and Sandra Tapley will once again join Maisie as she sets up her agency again as "Psychologist & Investigator". I just ordered In This Grave Hour, out just this week!
I loved this latest installment in one of my favorite mystery series. Its tight, focused story and Maisie's unusual assignment gave it a much different feel than other Maisie Dobbs novels. After moving to Canada two books ago and spending the last book in Gibraltar and Spain, Maisie is back in London and somewhat at sea as to how to proceed with her life. In step some of her old Scotland Yard acquaintances, now with the Secret Service to ask her to go to Munich to bring back a British businessman who is now imprisoned in Dachau. She hesitates at first as you would expect if you know her, but then accepts thinking it might help her figure out what to do next once she completes this mission. It's 1938 and Maisie sees the sinister atmosphere in the build-up to the invasion of Austria that ultimately leads to WWII. There's much intrigue, and perilous situations abound as she acts the part of the businessman's daughter in order to secure his release and bring him safely back to Britain.
I burned through this in about a day and it's the first time reading a Maisie that I thought "this would make a great movie!". I thought many times during Journey to Munich that I missed some of the old characters from when she had her business in London, but not to worry!! We get a glimpse at the end that Billy Beale and Sandra Tapley will once again join Maisie as she sets up her agency again as "Psychologist & Investigator". I just ordered In This Grave Hour, out just this week!
May 4, 2016
After the last two books that made me want to give up on the series, this was a refreshing turn around back in the right direction. Maisie is called upon by the British government to extract a man of great worth to them out of pre WWII Germany. This book seemed like a reset hopefully launching Maisie into a better future. Unpleasantness from her past tragedy is reconciled and beloved characters who haven't been seen for ages are finally making a comeback. The last few pages were such a delight that at long last I am actually looking forward to the next book.
May 13, 2019
The threat of war is looming and Maisie must go to Munich - to both save a man and to confront the person who has caused her greatest sorrow. It is, at time, a very tough book to read. There is still grief, but faced with the idea of another war with another idealistic monster, Maisie does what she needs to do to get the job done, even as she shoves her emotions aside and chooses to live and live well, doing her job and helping all she can in the process.
I love these books. I have huge book hangover after each book; it makes wanting to do anything else after I finish one almost impossible. What I read is so similar to what is happening in our current environment, so not only do I have book hangover, I have a frisson of fear that we are heading down that very road that Maisie is. And that, my friend, is so very terrifying.
I love these books. I have huge book hangover after each book; it makes wanting to do anything else after I finish one almost impossible. What I read is so similar to what is happening in our current environment, so not only do I have book hangover, I have a frisson of fear that we are heading down that very road that Maisie is. And that, my friend, is so very terrifying.
April 11, 2016
Originally published at Reading Reality
It seems very fitting that I’m reviewing Journey to Munich right after The Murder of Mary Russell. If you take a look at the “Readers Also Enjoyed” sidebar for each book on Goodreads, they are effectively listed as “read-alikes” for each other.
And they are. Both feature young women as investigators in the post-World War I era. However, there are a couple of key differences. One is that Mary Russell always has her seemingly immortal partner and husband, Sherlock Holmes, at her side.
Maisie Dobbs is singularly alone. She lost her first love to a bomb that exploded in the aid station they were working in. While he physically survived, mentally he was gone. In the interstitial period between Leaving Everything Most Loved and A Dangerous Place, Maisie married her second love, but he was killed while flying an experimental plane, causing Maisie to miscarry their only child.
Now Maisie is seemingly without hostages to fortune, which is one of the reasons why the British Secret Service is more than willing to recruit this indomitable and seemingly undauntable young woman. They have a specific job for her.
One of Britain’s most inventive engineering minds has been imprisoned by the Nazis at Dachau. Her mission is to pose as his daughter and bring him home. The diplomatic arrangements have already been made, or so everyone thinks.
But if things were that simple, the Secret Service wouldn’t need Maisie. And if there weren’t wheels within wheels, Maisie wouldn’t also be tasked with the sidejob of rescuing the woman who should have been piloting Maisie’s husband’s fatal plane from one too many errors of her own selfish making.
As Maisie dodges well-meaning British officials, secretive American agents, and brutal Nazi officers, she finally discovers something that has eluded her since the death of her husband and child. Now that she is in fear for her life, she comes to the dawning realization that she truly does want to live.
If she survives.
Escape Rating A: This is a hard review to write. The book is excellent, but the background of this story is frightening – as it should be.
This case takes Maisie to Nazi Germany in the late 1930s, just before World War II breaks into a hot war. Two of the framing events are the Anschluss, when Nazi Germany annexed Austria, and Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain’s infamous “peace for our time” speech. It seems so obvious in retrospect that the peace he thought he had secured was utterly impossible. What is more, at least in this story that was obvious to many people at the time, people who gave warnings that were not heeded.
In the context of the story, both the British Secret Service and those agents who would form the OSS, the forerunner of the American C.I.A. were not only aware that war was coming, but were actively preparing for it. As were at least the power brokers in the British Army.
As were the industrialists, which in the end provides the motives for many of the events on the British side of this story.
At the same time, the background seems to be a human version of the old story about the frog and the pan of boiling water. It is clear that there is an increasingly fearful and oppressive atmosphere in Germany, but most people have managed to adjust most of the time. The water has risen in temperature so slowly that they are able to pretend they haven’t noticed it. Except for the two little girls that Maisie spies playing together in a back alley. If they want to remain friends and play together, they have to hide. One of those little girls is Jewish, and as we know now, will probably be taken to the camps and killed long before the end of the war.
It is also clear from the story that the British Secret Service at least knew perfectly well exactly what the already infamous Dachau was, and that more concentration camps were being built. It is also clear that they already knew that Jews were being systematically turned into “nonpersons” in preparation for the atrocities yet to come, and that there were many organizations working to get people out before the worst happened. As it did.
Ironically, in the midst of the death and darkness, Maisie’s story finally turns toward the light. She is able to forgive the family that caused so much of her grief and pain, and as she lives under constant threat of death, she finally realizes that she wants to live, and to have the chance to use her skills and talents for the greater good, and because working makes her feel alive. She has much to do and is finally ready to do it.
But seeing Nazi Germany through Maisie’s eyes, watching as a sensitive, intelligent, thinking, feeling person experiences some of the worst of humanity or its utter lack, gave this reader chills.
Reviewer’s Note: Considering publication schedules, this book was probably completed a year or so ago. However, for this reader at least, there is a tremendous resonance between the political climate related in this story and the current U.S. presidential campaigns. Your reading may be different, but for this reader, the parallels are difficult to miss.
It seems very fitting that I’m reviewing Journey to Munich right after The Murder of Mary Russell. If you take a look at the “Readers Also Enjoyed” sidebar for each book on Goodreads, they are effectively listed as “read-alikes” for each other.
And they are. Both feature young women as investigators in the post-World War I era. However, there are a couple of key differences. One is that Mary Russell always has her seemingly immortal partner and husband, Sherlock Holmes, at her side.
Maisie Dobbs is singularly alone. She lost her first love to a bomb that exploded in the aid station they were working in. While he physically survived, mentally he was gone. In the interstitial period between Leaving Everything Most Loved and A Dangerous Place, Maisie married her second love, but he was killed while flying an experimental plane, causing Maisie to miscarry their only child.
Now Maisie is seemingly without hostages to fortune, which is one of the reasons why the British Secret Service is more than willing to recruit this indomitable and seemingly undauntable young woman. They have a specific job for her.
One of Britain’s most inventive engineering minds has been imprisoned by the Nazis at Dachau. Her mission is to pose as his daughter and bring him home. The diplomatic arrangements have already been made, or so everyone thinks.
But if things were that simple, the Secret Service wouldn’t need Maisie. And if there weren’t wheels within wheels, Maisie wouldn’t also be tasked with the sidejob of rescuing the woman who should have been piloting Maisie’s husband’s fatal plane from one too many errors of her own selfish making.
As Maisie dodges well-meaning British officials, secretive American agents, and brutal Nazi officers, she finally discovers something that has eluded her since the death of her husband and child. Now that she is in fear for her life, she comes to the dawning realization that she truly does want to live.
If she survives.
Escape Rating A: This is a hard review to write. The book is excellent, but the background of this story is frightening – as it should be.
This case takes Maisie to Nazi Germany in the late 1930s, just before World War II breaks into a hot war. Two of the framing events are the Anschluss, when Nazi Germany annexed Austria, and Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain’s infamous “peace for our time” speech. It seems so obvious in retrospect that the peace he thought he had secured was utterly impossible. What is more, at least in this story that was obvious to many people at the time, people who gave warnings that were not heeded.
In the context of the story, both the British Secret Service and those agents who would form the OSS, the forerunner of the American C.I.A. were not only aware that war was coming, but were actively preparing for it. As were at least the power brokers in the British Army.
As were the industrialists, which in the end provides the motives for many of the events on the British side of this story.
At the same time, the background seems to be a human version of the old story about the frog and the pan of boiling water. It is clear that there is an increasingly fearful and oppressive atmosphere in Germany, but most people have managed to adjust most of the time. The water has risen in temperature so slowly that they are able to pretend they haven’t noticed it. Except for the two little girls that Maisie spies playing together in a back alley. If they want to remain friends and play together, they have to hide. One of those little girls is Jewish, and as we know now, will probably be taken to the camps and killed long before the end of the war.
It is also clear from the story that the British Secret Service at least knew perfectly well exactly what the already infamous Dachau was, and that more concentration camps were being built. It is also clear that they already knew that Jews were being systematically turned into “nonpersons” in preparation for the atrocities yet to come, and that there were many organizations working to get people out before the worst happened. As it did.
Ironically, in the midst of the death and darkness, Maisie’s story finally turns toward the light. She is able to forgive the family that caused so much of her grief and pain, and as she lives under constant threat of death, she finally realizes that she wants to live, and to have the chance to use her skills and talents for the greater good, and because working makes her feel alive. She has much to do and is finally ready to do it.
But seeing Nazi Germany through Maisie’s eyes, watching as a sensitive, intelligent, thinking, feeling person experiences some of the worst of humanity or its utter lack, gave this reader chills.
Reviewer’s Note: Considering publication schedules, this book was probably completed a year or so ago. However, for this reader at least, there is a tremendous resonance between the political climate related in this story and the current U.S. presidential campaigns. Your reading may be different, but for this reader, the parallels are difficult to miss.
April 25, 2016
The Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear is the only series of books that I have read all the way through. When I was first introduced to the young nurse/psychologist/private investigator and her friends and colleagues in London just before WWI, I was hooked.
I have followed Maisie and company, with all their ups and downs and truly feel like they are friends. Each spring I look forward to catching up with everyone in Maisie's world.
When we left Maisie at the end of book 11, A Dangerous Place, she was returning home to England after a stay in Spain during their civil war. She had suffered two devastating losses and was grieving. It was a very somber and sad story, and we didn't see many of Maisie's friends and family.
Book 12, Journey to Munich brings Maisie back home, trying to rebuild her life. She is living with her best friend Priscilla and Pris' family, who adore Maisie. Soon Maisie is recruited once again to help the British Secret Service.
Maisie agrees to go undercover in Munich to help bring home a British businessman who is being held prisoner by the Germans. The year is 1937 and the Nazi party is growing in power. The man is believed to be in a concentration camp, and Maisie must impersonate his daughter to rescue him.
Times are dangerous in Germany, and another world war is on the horizon. Memories of the horrors of WWI remain in Maisie's mind, and she fears for the future of Europe.
Maisie has also agreed to help find the daughter of another powerful man in England, to convince her to come home. She has a connection to this young lady, one that she would rather forget, yet she agrees to try.
Journey to Munich is a strong entry in the Maisie Dobbs series. Maisie has gone through so much, it's good to see her back on her feet and trying to move her life forward. The storyline is interesting, and as always, Winspear has done her research into what life was like at that time, in that place.
We get to see more of the gang- Pris, Sandra and my favorite Billy- and the end of the book the readers are rewarded with the possibility that Maisie and company will be back together working to solve cases.
As England moves closer to war once again, I expect that the next books in the series will deal with this. England lost so many young men in WWI, an entire generation, that the prospect of going through that again is a frightening one.
Maisie Dobbs is an incredibly strong literary heroine, and these books are great reads for young women and for anyone who enjoys historical mysteries. For a woman in her era to do the things that Maisie does with such strength, compassion and intelligence is a wonderful example for girls. She has her flaws too, and that makes her human.
I give Journey to Munich my highest recommendation and it is one of the best books in the series.
I have followed Maisie and company, with all their ups and downs and truly feel like they are friends. Each spring I look forward to catching up with everyone in Maisie's world.
When we left Maisie at the end of book 11, A Dangerous Place, she was returning home to England after a stay in Spain during their civil war. She had suffered two devastating losses and was grieving. It was a very somber and sad story, and we didn't see many of Maisie's friends and family.
Book 12, Journey to Munich brings Maisie back home, trying to rebuild her life. She is living with her best friend Priscilla and Pris' family, who adore Maisie. Soon Maisie is recruited once again to help the British Secret Service.
Maisie agrees to go undercover in Munich to help bring home a British businessman who is being held prisoner by the Germans. The year is 1937 and the Nazi party is growing in power. The man is believed to be in a concentration camp, and Maisie must impersonate his daughter to rescue him.
Times are dangerous in Germany, and another world war is on the horizon. Memories of the horrors of WWI remain in Maisie's mind, and she fears for the future of Europe.
Maisie has also agreed to help find the daughter of another powerful man in England, to convince her to come home. She has a connection to this young lady, one that she would rather forget, yet she agrees to try.
Journey to Munich is a strong entry in the Maisie Dobbs series. Maisie has gone through so much, it's good to see her back on her feet and trying to move her life forward. The storyline is interesting, and as always, Winspear has done her research into what life was like at that time, in that place.
We get to see more of the gang- Pris, Sandra and my favorite Billy- and the end of the book the readers are rewarded with the possibility that Maisie and company will be back together working to solve cases.
As England moves closer to war once again, I expect that the next books in the series will deal with this. England lost so many young men in WWI, an entire generation, that the prospect of going through that again is a frightening one.
Maisie Dobbs is an incredibly strong literary heroine, and these books are great reads for young women and for anyone who enjoys historical mysteries. For a woman in her era to do the things that Maisie does with such strength, compassion and intelligence is a wonderful example for girls. She has her flaws too, and that makes her human.
I give Journey to Munich my highest recommendation and it is one of the best books in the series.
June 19, 2018
Europe is edging ever closer to another war as Germany moves ever tighter into the hold of Nazism. Maisie is called back to the service of her country traveling into Germany on a secret mission and assuming a new identity in order to carry out the mission. Of course, complications arise as nothing is ever as simple as would seem to be when first planned on paper.
As all of this unfolds Maisie continues to heal from the personal tragedy experienced earlier in Canada. In this, the twelfth in this series, Maisie continues her quest to uncover the full truth which is seemingly hidden initially inside the streets of Munich.
As all of this unfolds Maisie continues to heal from the personal tragedy experienced earlier in Canada. In this, the twelfth in this series, Maisie continues her quest to uncover the full truth which is seemingly hidden initially inside the streets of Munich.
January 25, 2022
Sought after by British Intelligence, Maisie agrees to help bring and English prisoner out of Dachau.
Elaine Otterman is in Munich and refusing to come home. Maisie has instructions, but in a very Maisie way she walks along her own path. Times are moving on and the drums of war are not yet fully roused. Germany under the Fuhrer is arming and still Chamberlain rabbits on about “Peace for our time!”
Elaine Otterman is in Munich and refusing to come home. Maisie has instructions, but in a very Maisie way she walks along her own path. Times are moving on and the drums of war are not yet fully roused. Germany under the Fuhrer is arming and still Chamberlain rabbits on about “Peace for our time!”
July 2, 2017
easy going read thriller based in late 1930's Munich felt the ending was a bit flat though. on the whole the author kept the plot moving and tried to make it as realistic as possible.
November 4, 2016
Listened to audio version. Good story line and Maisie is an intelligent, resourceful sleuth. Will definitely follow. This was interesting story of beginning Nazi take over in addition to the mystery.
Maisie goes to Germany to rescue someone being held in a camp. Nothing is what it seems--don't want to spoil it for you!
Maisie goes to Germany to rescue someone being held in a camp. Nothing is what it seems--don't want to spoil it for you!
November 16, 2016
Maisie Dobbs is sent to Nazi Germany on a secret mission. I think that this series is becoming stronger with each addition to the series.
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