Messenger
of Truth
A Maisie Dobbs
Mystery
Jacqueline Winspear
Henry Holt (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 0-8050-7898-3 (0805078983)
ISBN-13: 978-0-8050-7898-5 (9780805078985)
Publication Date: September 2006
List Price: $24.00
Synopsis
(from
the publisher): London, 1931. The night before an exhibition of his
artwork opens at a famed Mayfair gallery, the controversial artist Nick
Bassington-Hope falls to his death. The police rule it an accident, but
Nick's twin sister, Georgina, a wartime journalist and a infamous
figure in her own right, isn't convinced.
When the authorities refuse to consider her theory that Nick was
murdered, Georgina seeks out a fellow graduate from Girton College,
Maisie Dobbs, psychologist and investigator, for help. Nick was a
veteran of World War I, and before long the case leads Maisie to the
desolate beaches of Dungeness in Kent, and into the sinister underbelly
of the city's art world.
Maisie once again uncovers the perilous legacy of the Great War in a
society struggling to recollect itself. But to solve the mystery of
Nick's death, Maisie will have to keep her head as the forces behind
the artist's fall come out of the shadows to silence her.
Review:
Multiple award winning author Jacqueline Winspear will likely garner
more laurels with Messenger
of Truth, the outstanding fourth mystery to feature
psychologist and investigator Maisie Dobbs.
Hired to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of Nick
Bassington-Hope, an artist of some renown, Maisie must determine why,
if his death wasn't accidental, someone would want him dead. Was he
involved in some nefarious art scheme gone awry? Was he killed as a
result of some personal vendetta? Or was it simply, as the police
claim, an unfortunate accident? At one point Maisie muses that her
efforts on the case are like creating a piece of art, "... building a
picture across uneven terrain, telling a story by adding detail to give
life and momentum to the masterwork."
Winspear's eloquent prose is abundant in Messenger of Truth.
When Maisie struggles to tie together the loose threads of her case,
each step of her investigation is described as "... another drop of
water on stone, gradually wearing down the hard shell that time and
circumstance had wrapped around clarity." Magnificent. The author also
has a flair for capturing the unique speech patterns of the social
classes of 1930s England.
The rationale for Nick's death seems somewhat subordinate to the
articulate writing, finely drawn characters, reasoned investigative
process, and atmospheric settings. Notwithstanding this, Messenger of Truth
will almost certainly be remembered as one of the best mysteries of the
year.
Special thanks to FSB Associates for providing an ARC of Messenger of Truth for this review.
Review Copyright © 2006 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved.
Mysteries in this series ...
Maisie Dobbs
Soho Press (Hardcover), July 2003
ISBN-10: 1-56947-330-7 (1569473307)
ISBN-13: 978-1-56947-330-6 (9781569473306)
Birds of a
Feather
Soho Press (Hardcover), May 2004
ISBN-10: 1-56947-368-4 (1569473684)
ISBN-13: 978-1-56947-368-9 (9781569473689)
Pardonable Lies
Henry Holt (Hardcover), August 2005
ISBN-10: 0-8050-7897-5 (0805078975)
ISBN-13: 978-0-8050-7897-8 (9780805078978)
Messenger of
Truth
Henry Holt (Hardcover), September 2006
ISBN-10: 0-8050-7898-3 (0805078983)
ISBN-13: 978-0-8050-7898-5 (9780805078985)
An Incomplete Revenge
Henry Holt (Hardcover), February 2008
ISBN-10: 0-8050-8215-8 (0805082158)
ISBN-13: 978-0-8050-8215-9 (9780805082159)
Omnimystery keywords for Messenger of Truth
...
Location(s) referenced: London.