It's 1931 in London when an emerging artist, Nicholas Bassington-Hope, dies in a fall from the scaffolding from which he is hanging paintings for his latest and most talked about show. Is it an accident or murder? Nicholas' twin sister, Georgina, believes that it is murder and hires Maisie Dobbs to investigate and find out.

In the process Maisie discovers much about herself. Her determination to be a self-supporting and independent woman in a time of change leads her to evaluate her romantic life, her career, and her choice of dwelling. I found myself empathizing with Maisie, her emotions, her fears and her decisions. She forges ahead on all fronts and discovers a mystery that has nothing to do with the death of the artist. As she walks through the mud my feet were as wet and cold as hers and the fingers on my hands experienced the same cold dampness. My fears mirrored her own as I was afraid that she would be caught by smugglers or criminals.

For me, the characterization was so strong that I found the mystery was pushed to the background. This is a fine read and I highly recommend it. May others find the same pleasure I found in this novel.

I haven't even finished and I'm already rating this book. I feel like I may not ever finish. The book is slow. So slow and I don't even feel like I'm reading a mystery novel. All I am reading is transcripts of Maisie's interviews. I also feel like there is zero character growth in Maisie. I thought after her little experience in France, we'd see a character that has grown, learned, and has overcome an obstacle. But no, it's the same stoic, albeit if not prideful woman. And the whole woo-woo stuff just annoys me. It feels like a cop out than actually adding any worth to the story. I will finish this review if I finish the book.

Update: I finished the book and in finishing I took this review from 2-stars to 1-star. The ending was awful to me. I felt like there was no mystery. Maisie would interview people, then "have just the information she needed," and the reader was left in the dust. Also this book had, at least what felt like to me, many small detours. I didn't feel like Billy's side story moved the plot much. I also felt like Nick's death and the artist friend's story just didn't add up and didn't grow the plot in a way I was hoping for. In the end, I skimmed the last two chapters because it was of no worth. I'm bummed because I so enjoyed the first book and am finding frustration in this series. It seems to me these books don't have an end goal (and if they do it is slow going to meet it).

Well, the good things about this series have kept me coming back, despite its flaws, but they've finally been overwhelmed. Maisie's become a whiny, self-righteous know-it-all who is happy to lecture other people for the faults she herself shares. Plus the new age shit and multiple, ridiculous coincidences have increased with each entry, piling annoyance upon annoyance. Maybe I've just read too many in the series too quickly, but I'm done. I'm getting old though, and perhaps I'll return when I've forgotten exactly why I left.

I have been reading along all of the books in this series fairly quickly until I got to this one. It is so sad I had to put it aside for awhile before finishing it. The problem for me in this book is that I am starting to not like Maisie very much. Would it have killed her to go check on Billy's daughter when she found out she was sick. She was after all a nurse and she knew that he didn't have the money to take her to the doctor. She could have at least given him the money. He has put himself out for her many times. Also thought the way she treated Andrew was very shabby. He rushed to help her father when he was injured and he gets the brush off in this book. Her treatment of Maurice is also pretty deplorable. She is downright rude to him and he gave her his business. The mystery that lies at the heart of this novel is just as interesting as ever. It centers around an artist who may not have died accidentally and his missing artwork. The conclusion of this mystery is also very sad making this a down right depressing read. I will probably go on to read the other novels in this series after a break. I hope in the future Maisie will not be so wrapped up in herself.

For months now I've been reading other bloggers' reviews of Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs mysteries. Everyone likes them. So, I looked in the box of books given to me a while ago and found Messenger of Truth. This isn't the first in the series, but I don't usually have the opportunity to read a series in order so I plunged right in.

This story is set in London in 1931. The setting is of a changed city after World War I where some women have taken on new types of jobs but the poor are still almost Dickensian in their lives and the rich are oblivious to their plight. Maisie has, after a breakdown, set herself up as a psychologist and inquiry agent (Private Eye) with an assistant, Billy Beale, who is a poor man with a large family to support. He feels fortunate to have a job and is immensely loyal to Maisie. She has also rented her own apartment, though the heat is iffy in this very cold winter.

Her client in the story is Georgina Bassington-Hope (love the name) whose brother, Nick, an artist, has died in an apparent accident. He fell from large scaffolding erected to mount his latest work, what everyone suspects is a triptych. There is a younger brother, Harry, who plays the trumpet and is eternally in debt to dubious people, and an older sister, Noelle, who is the practical member of an artistic, creative family. She is also a war widow. The parents, both artists, are still alive, living in the old family home.

All of these characters are splendidly drawn. I must admit I've been catching myself talking like a Londoner in the 1930s. Along with the immediate mystery of whether Nick fell or was murdered, there is a pervasive, lurking suspicion involving the rise of Hitler's Nazi Party in Germany. What does it all mean for Europe and particularly England?

We are introduced to Nick's best friends, also artists, Billy's family, Maisie's father, and her beau. Lots of characters, but reading the book is something like sitting in a comfortable room beside a roaring fire on a cold winter day as a good storyteller weaves a magical tale. I thought it started out slowly but the characters were interesting enough to draw me in until I was deeply involved. I want to read the older books now, but not having done so didn't dampen my enthusiasm about Messenger of Truth at all. No wonder my book blogging friends rave about Winspear's books.

Today was a little cooler and overcast, the perfect weather for this kind of book. Favorite hot beverage, check! Cozy chair and blanket, check! Maisie Dobbs mystery, check check!! This is the fourth book in the series. In this installment, Maisie is hired to investigate the death of a young artist that had been ruled an accident. Maisie conducts her investigation while continuing to question the choices she has made I. Her own life. One of the things that resonates with these stories for me is the recognition of how the impacts of war affect peoples lives for many years, not just for those that return, but for the loved ones of those that don’t.

Didn't like this one. Very monotonous, never really sure what the motive was. Dissappointing

Good series. Like Agatha Christie, the author reveals a few details right at the end, which resolves the entire story.
This one dwelt heavily on both the hateful nature of war (being set just a bit after 'the Great War' (meant to end all future wars) and the resulting poverty that swept across England. What a very difficult time it must have been for the survivors.
My only downside was the jab at Americans--some who fared better than others and had money to purchase whatever they pleased. I suspect that some people don't realize or recall that that war sent America into a great depression, which made us reluctant to join the second world war.
This book was definitely more sober than many.

I read this for the 2024 Read Harder Challenge task: to read a how-dunit or why-dunit mystery. I looked up books that might count for the why-dunit and this seemed to fit. I owned the book already so I was sold! It's still a regular who-dunit, too, but Jacqueline Winspear does definitely get into the why aspect of her murder mysteries. They all take place around the time of WWI- mostly after the war. This one is about artists and the art market as well as the economic situation at the time, the effects of serving in a war, and the effects on loved ones and the community as a whole. It's set in London.

This was a pretty slow read for me. Winspear is good at describing things, but does it quite a bit- and I am better when there is more action and less description. I may have also been slowed down by some of the language that is trickier to understand and follow- due to different vocabulary, the time period, and a couple different dialects. I still enjoyed it, but probably won't continue with this series.

Maisie Dobbs, debe investigar un caso particular. Nick Bassington-Hope es un artista emergente con muchísimo talento, cuyas obras ya ascendían cifras astronómicas. Ha sido hallado muerto en la galería de arte donde el día siguiente inauguraba una nueva muestra. La policía dictaminó que se trató de un simple accidente fortuito, pero su hermana Georgina no está nada convencida, hay demasiados intereses de por medio, por ello contrata los servicios de Maisie.

Esta cuarta entrega sigue la misma dinámica que las anteriores, capítulos cortos, con extensas descripciones y una ambientación perfecta que nos permite conocer el contexto social y bélico del momento. El caso de la muerte de Nick se entremezcla con la vida privada de Maisie, quien está a punto de contraer matrimonio con Andrew, el médico. También mantiene el protagonismo Billy, su fiel ayudante, a quien las enfermedades de entonces y la falta de trabajo golpean sin parar. Se abre la posibilidad de que Billy abandone a Maisie, espero que no sea así.

El caso me ha parecido especialmente atractivo con todo el tema del arte, las obras de Nick están tan valoradas que no se sabe que hay representado en ellas ni dónde las esconde. Por lo que Maisie deberá integrarse de lleno en su círculo más cercano para descubrir como era en vida y donde pudo dejar todas las pistas de su asesinato. Una lectura amena, cargada de historia y emociones. Una saga que siempre recomiendo a aquellos quienes disfrutáis de una buena dosis de novela histórica y una investigación clásica

This is an interesting series. Maisie's method of investigating is thoughtful and deliberate, and Winspear uses that same slow-paced delivery to reinforce Maisie's investigative technique. In this installment, Maisie is not given several mysteries to solve but instead just one mystery with a number of red herrings, along with several smaller personal stories.

My only real criticism is with Maisie's paranormal abilities. I get the sense that Winspear isn't fully committed to them - they're sort of half-hearted. And so that part of Maisie and the storyline ends up coming across as a bit silly and not really fitting with her no-nonsense character.

i absolutely loved the mystery inside the mystery for this one. i was so curious what the final painting might unveil. another lovely maisie dobbs.