My gosh, the writing in this books is brilliant. Heart-wrenching at times, but brilliant.

The mystery this time seemed secondary to Maisie’s personal development and the events in Billy’s family. Maisie’s client is a socialite who also went to Girton. Her twin brother, an up-and-coming artist, fell from scaffolding in a gallery and died. The death was deemed and accident and the twin sister wants confirmation of this. Through the investigation, Maisie learns about early efforts to safeguard art held by wealthy families in Germany and France, who are worried about the rise of Hitler’s party. Throw in some smuggling and Maisie is all over the place for this one.

Personally, Maisie is still dealing with loneliness, the lingering effects of her breakdown (in the last book), her choice to distance herself from her mentor, and her relationship with Andrew Dene. The child she held when Billy’s wife came to talk about his addiction (two books ago?) becomes terribly sick, too. There is also talk about growing independence for women after the war due to a lack of men and Billy’s interest in leaving England for a better life for his family in Canada.

All this in 312 pages! These books are packed with action, but also emotion. A well-placed sentence or two can have me in tears. I’m so enthralled with Maisie Dobbs.

The story was good and the details excellent, as usual for this series. However, the pacing was just too 'the same' all the way through on this book - thoughtful, careful, considered. Needed more action, less reflection. Not quite as good as the earlier books, still a wonderful series and I will continue by reading the next one.

I have read other Maisie Dobbs books and enjoyed them. This much less so. It was hard going for a start. I began to find I was not picking and felt the book was solely directed at a transatlantic readership. Why else should an English writer spell 'neighbor' thus? At one point the protagonist goes through the 'turnstile' at a London Underground station. We don't have such, but they are a feature of the New York subway. Then again, she hasn't checked her facts. She says that the railway carriage cottages at Dungeness were as a result of the closure of the line from Rye. The book is set in 1931 and the railway to Dungeness was not to close to passengers until 1937 - and it ran from New Romney. The carriages arrived in the early 1920s having been brought by workers at the Ashford railway works. Most egregious of all she has a character referring to 'that tyrant in Germany' meaning Hitler. It was not until 1933 that he seized power. Two years earlier it was anyone's guess who would come out top in the street fighting which marked the last years of the Weimar Republic. So far as the story is concerned, the way Maisie arrives at the identity of the killer is never spelled out, even in her epilogue meeting with her client. This really is unforgivable. Throughout I found the descriptions of the art of the deceased Nick Bassington-Hope totally unbelievable. Two * is generous. Oh yes. Addendum. The author constantly refers to men having 'kerchiefs' in their breast pocket. They don't. They have a handkerchief. A kerchief is a bandana worn either on the head or around the neck. As any dictionary will tell you.

This series seems to be going downhill. I want to scream every time she says "Maisie inclined her head". In the beginning of the series, I thought Maisie was this strong character but she has morphed in a self righteous, smug person.

I must admit that its taken a little longer than planned but I have finally finished Messenger or Truth and it not only surprised me but I surprised myself in the process.

Due to a total oversight by myself I jumped from book 1 to book 4 in the series (although I have the whole series so far) no idea what went wrong but I was too far in to the book to stop and catch up - So I guess that is my next few books sorted out.

Anyway I will admit that from a series jumping books usually means holes in the story and confusion over references and events and yes there were a few but it was easy enough to get past them and the story did not suffer for it - although there were a couple of references which have intrigued me so I will be going back to look them up. So I was expecting the worst and found the best.

However what the of the story well no spoilers there although its pretty obvious the historical references have moved on (its now the early 30s) so there are some nice little references to the state of the world which I suspect will turn in to larger stories as the series continues. However what I enjoyed about this book was that rather than a predictable story or one so confusing you have not got a clue (sometimes backed up by the fact the author hides critical clues) you had a series of options and the story kept you guess till the end what really happened. So yes I was impress and pleased how much I enjoyed this book

“Verdades incómodas” es la cuarta entrega de la serie protagonizada por la psicóloga e investigadora privada Maisie Dobbs, presentando un nuevo misterio que, aunque en apariencia podría calificarse como cozy mystery, encierra varias reflexiones interesantes ya que, aunque la historia esté ambientada a principios de los años 30, algunas de las cuestiones que aborda están de actualidad aún hoy día.

La noche antes de inaugurar su nueva exposición, el controvertido artista Nick Barrington-Hope muere al caer de un andamio durante la instalación de su obra. La policía dictamina que se ha tratado de un accidente, pero la hermana del fallecido, Georgina, está convencida que fue un homicidio, por lo que acudirá a Maisie Dobbs en busca de ayuda para tratar de esclarecer las circunstancias en que se produjo la muerte de su hermano.

En esta ocasión Maisie se sumerge de lleno en el mundo del arte y del contrabando, al tiempo que la autora sigue mostrando las secuelas que la Gran Guerra dejó en la sociedad. Las atrocidades cometidas, las dificultades a las que se enfrentaban los veteranos de guerra al volver a casa, el auge del fascismo o las enormes diferencias de clase existentes en la época son algunos de los temas que se tratan.

Este último tiene su máxima expresión en la subtrama protagonizada por Billy, el ayudante de Maisie, quien está adquiriendo mayor entidad a medida que avanza la serie. Su situación familiar pone de manifiesto la dificultad para acceder a la sanidad de las clases más desfavorecidas por falta de recursos económicos, al tiempo que otros derrochaban miles de libras en “caprichos”. Duele ver el trance al que debe hacer frente su familia, y es inevitable sentir simpatía por el personaje. El hecho de que, a pesar de todo, esté siempre ahí para Maisie, ha hecho que se convierta en uno de mis personajes favoritos de la serie.

Maisie muestra una clara evolución. Desprovista ya de la frialdad y desapego de las primeras entregas, se muestra ahora mucho más independiente, tanto en lo personal, viviendo sola, como en lo profesional, no recurriendo a la ayuda de su mentor. Está empezando a cuestionarse su vida y sus deseos, y me gusta que se muestre firme en lo que realmente quiere, ya que ha luchado mucho para llegar donde está.

Si por algo destaca la serie es por una prosa descriptiva que evoca con facilidad las sensaciones de la posguerra y de todos aquellos que la vivieron. Además, sus misterios no dan tanta importancia al motivo o la oportunidad del culpable a la hora de cometer el crimen, sino en las emociones y sentimientos de estos, presentando generalmente culpables llenos de matices a los que la autora siempre consigue humanizar, haciendo que el lector se plantee cómo habría actuado él de encontrarse en esa misma situación.

Maisie Dobbs volverá el próximo año y yo ya estoy esperándola con los brazos abiertos.

At first, I wasn't sure if I'd be continuing on with the series once I finished. I was laughing so hard during the first few pages though humor was not Ms. Winspear's intent. Maisie can be so darn sanctimonious at times it's, well, laughable. And I think I've developed eye strain from rolling my eyes so much. Thankfully, the second half of the book was much better than the first when the author concentrated more on the plot than regaling us with Maisie's superior intellect and instincts.

I must say Billy is my favorite character and the decision made concerning his little daughter's fate was gut-wrenching. Yet I applaud Ms. Winspear for taking a realistic approach. The idea, however, that Billy may leave in the future is disappointing. I would miss him a great deal.

I am glad Maisie and Andrew Dene finally split up, mainly because I feel he deserves better. Unfortunately, I think this means she will end up with Stratton and I don't think there is any chemistry between the two. Ms. Winspear will need to step up her game if she wants to make that relationship seem plausible.

The reason behind Nick's death was guessed soon after Maisie visited the Bassington-Hope family, something which took her a little too long to consider in my opinion. I did not deduce which member of the family was guilty until the moment Maisie also made the connection.

I would like to see Sandra play a bigger part in the series, which seems a possibility, as it would be nice for Maisie to have a female friend and confidant. I'm also glad Maurice will play a diminished role in these books (I hope). I never really cared for his character. And his deception in the previous book was the last straw.

By the way, Hitler did not gain complete power until 1933 though there were certainly people in Germany who were leery of him and his band of thugs by 1931. I don't think Ms. Winspear meant to be purposely misleading. Did she ever specifically say that Hitler was in complete control at this juncture or only that people were becoming concerned?

Grown up Nancy Drew meets Agatha Christie and spends time studying Far Eastern mysticism. That's Maisie Dobbs. But it really works.

This is the first one I did as an audiobook. I can enjoy Maisie however I get her.

The Maisie Dobbs series is so much more than a run-of-the-mill mystery. The author has created/is creating a multi-faceted heroine who deals with issues of import. She also uses the character arcs and the story arc to keep the reader wanting the next book.

In this series, Maisie Dobbs' time as a nurse during the first world war features large in her development as well as her understanding of the other characters in the story. Each story reveals a new situation, well-researched, to differentiate it from the others.

Recommended as a series for mystery lovers to become engrossed in.

This is Winspear’s 4th installment in the post-World War I murder mystery series featuring Maisie Dobbs. It is clear that the author has done considerable research in regards to this period of British history resulting in a sense of authenticity that is often lacking in historical fiction literature. Here Maisie Dobbs has been asked to investigate the death of Georgina Bassington-Hope’s twin brother. Nick was an artist that was in the process of installing an important piece of work at a gallery and it appears that he accidentally fell from scaffolding and broke his neck. ‘Right.’ While the reader undoubtedly knows that isn’t true, it will take a while to learn just what did happen.
This is not the only tragedy that Maisie is touched by. Billy’s daughter is struck down by a case of diphtheria. [Billy is Dobbs’ employee/friend.] This was a horrible disease that resulted in the deaths of twenty percent of the children who caught it. In an age before antibiotics and DPT vaccines, the accepted practice to get air to the lungs of these sufferers was to perform tracheotomies. Seriously! And if that was not enough, many poor people were unable to afford health care of any kind.
Winspear has dropped a lot of the paranormal intuition that detracted from Dobbs’ competency as an investigator in previous books—thank goodness. Recommend.

Three stars for a book which contained some things I liked but sadly some that I did not care for. I liked the setting and the details about life in post war England. I quite enjoyed the mystery although the ending was a little weak. I liked Maisie as a main character but she would be so much better if she did not endlessly evaluate her life. And I could wish that the author had never decided to bring in the psychic aspect at all. I am sure Maisie's talent for sleuthing and her intelligence and training are sufficient. The other is a distraction, a bit of silliness in an otherwise sane and sensible book. Overall a readable book and I will read more of the series, though not immediately.

Really enjoyed this and didn't guess the big reveal!