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Fiction. Mystery. Historical Fiction. HTML: In the thrilling new novel by the New York Times bestselling author of An Incomplete Revenge, Maisie Dobbs must catch a madman before he commits murder on an unimaginable scale It's Christmas Eve 1931. On the way to see a client, Maisie Dobbs witnesses a man commit suicide on a busy London street. The following day, the prime minister's office receives a letter threatening a massive loss of life if certain demands are not met�??and the writer mentions Maisie by name. After being questioned and cleared by Detective Chief Superintendent Robert MacFarlane of Scotland Yard's elite Special Branch, she is drawn into MacFarlane's personal fiefdom as a special adviser on the case. Meanwhile, Billy Beale, Maisie's trusted assistant, is once again facing tragedy as his wife, who has never recovered from the death of their young daughter, slips further into melancholia's abyss. Soon Maisie becomes involved in a race against time to find a man who proves he has the knowledge and will to inflict death and destruction on thousands of innocent people. And before this harrowing case is over, Maisie must navigate a darkness not encountered since she was a nurse in wards filled with shell-shocked men. In Among the Mad, Jacqueline Winspear combines a heart-stopping story with a rich evocation of a fascinating period to create her most compelling and satisfying novel yet.… (more)
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Jacqueline Winspear successfully weaves social commentary into a suspenseful novel. As in all the books in this series, Winspear calls attention to the psychological trauma of war, the failure of society to re-assimilate veterans, and the failure of the government to compensate veterans for their sacrifices and to provide adequate treatment and care for the psychologically wounded. By using Maisie's voice to analyze these issues, she provokes something deeper than a fleeting emotional response. Maisie's character is anything but emotional.
Character is as important as plot in the Maisie Dobbs novels. Maisie's character grows and develops throughout the series, as do the personalities of supporting characters. While it's certainly possible to enjoy this book as a standalone, I would strongly encourage reading all of the books in this series in order.
Because of her efforts she is drawn into a rapidly advancing chemical warfare
Maisie while working with Scotland Yard on this investigation, is also endeavoring to aid Billy's wife Doreen and get her the best mental health care possible as well as her friend who is spiraling near to alcoholism.
The book paralleled the different types of mental illness - those resulting from war, depression, and alcohol dependency and yet it flowed so effortedlessly because of Maisie's character's involvement in all the aspects of the story. Seeing the mental health issues described from the 1930 POV in comparison to the 21st century - the reader can see that there has been improvement in the medical handling but that there is still room to go. I've read the first in the series and now this one - definitely need to go find the others.
As the team races against time to find the killer, Maisie uses all her psychological skills that readers have come to enjoy in the previous volumes. The author also makes a powerful statement about the use of chemical weapons, the treatment of war veterans, and the callous attitudes of those who send men into war in the first place.
This book will keep the reader on the edge of his or her seat and at its conclusion will leave us looking forward to the next installment.
Among the Mad focuses on the story of soldiers recovering from the physical and psychological repercussions of war, the government's role and responsibility for their care and protection, and the shortages and economic hardship that face the majority of the population, in stark contrast to the lifestyle of the upper class; all of which draw interesting parallels to today's current events. On top of this intricately woven social commentary Winspear overlays a suspenseful story of madness and terrorism.
A book for lovers of detailed period pieces this is not a traditional mystery, as much of the story is told from the view point of the terrorist, but more of a psychological suspense. Would be appropriate for Young Adults.
I read Winspear's first Maisie Dobbs outing and finished it hoping that the author would exercise more restraint in future books. After all if anyone is likely to be a fan of this series about a World War I nurse turned investigator it's a mystery fan and WW1 buff such as me. And Winspear does get many things right in this series. The period details ring true. The role that the war plays in the lives of survivors seems more realistic than what is depicted in the otherwise enjoyable Ian Rutledge series. Maisie is a strong woman who doesn't need a man to save her, another point in her favor in my eyes.
The trouble is that Maisie is a drag. A humorless, know-it-all apparently without fault unless you count her relentless good works. In the first chapter alone she's bought Christmas presents for her assistant's family, given alms to a beggar and attempted to save a man from suicide. And made me feel like trash for wishing this paragon had been turned to bits by a grenade. I blame her document case. Nearly every chapter features some business with Maisie and her document case. She's tucking pages into it, placing it in her car, drawing wax pencils from it or, my personal favorite, taking two sets of surgical gloves and masks from it. (I'm sorry to report that last one actually made me laugh out loud.) Like the world's oldest Girl Scout, Maisie is always prepared.
A few human frailties and a sense of humor would broaden the appeal of this series. As would dialing down Maisie's superiority in comparison to, say, Scotland Yard.
If I've hard on this book it's because I think the series has promise. Winspear has made Maisie less of a psychic than she was in the first book and the narrator for this audiobook, Orlagh Cassidy is excellent. What might easily have been two stars on the page becomes four stars under Cassidy's nuanced reading. She gives Maisie more depth than the mere words do. The central mystery is decent enough though more of a serial killer hunt for the needle in the haystack than a golden era whodunit. The characters beyond Maisie, however, aren't terribly well-drawn. It's all Maisie which makes her lack of faults become tiring.
Still, if you enjoy period mysteries this series is worth checking out. My advice is to take advantage of Amazon's "Look Inside" feature and read a few pages. Some readers might find Winspear's attention to detail (Maisie doesn't rush into a call box to make a call; she goes to the box, opens the door, picks up the receiver, etc) a bit much. Others might find it just the ticket.
As in other Maisie Dobbs books, Winspear captures the atmosphere of post-World War I England. Poverty is rampant, especially among the neglected and traumatized veterans. Additionally anarchists, communists and labor unions threaten the stability of England. The use of chemical attacks and the presence of veterans suffering from shell shock (now called Post-traumatic stress disorder) give this story a contemporary feel.
The setting takes us to familiar territory for fans of the series. The time period is the holiday season of late December 1931 and January 1932 in and around the city of London, England. In this installment, an expert in chemical weapons threatens to use his knowledge to punish the government for neglecting homeless, ill, disabled and unemployed veterans living as the unseen of the city.
Maisie Dobbs, a former World War I nurse in France, and currently an investigator and psychologist, confronts difficult issues including a legacy of untreated mental health conditions experienced by World War I veterans, the inhuman treatment of women in mental health institutions, the emotional toll of war on a nation and its people as a whole and individually, and the effects of chemical war weapons, including during their research and development.
As always, Maisie confronts her own demons resulting from her wartime experiences as Winspear examines the human need for home, love, companionship, friendship and the healing power found in our human interactions. Winspear takes the genre of historical mystery and raises it to do much more than entertain, but to examine who we are and why we do what we do.
I highly recommend reading this novel if you enjoy well written, interesting mysteries, which take the readers deeply into examining the human condition and for anyone who enjoys the time period of World War I and/or the years between the World Wars. Finally, this book and the series as a whole, is very British….so if that is to your liking as it is to mine, then Maisie Dobbs and Among the Mad might be for you.
Publisher’s Summary:
It's Christmas Eve 1931. On the way to see a client, Maisie Dobbs witnesses a man commit suicide on a busy London street. The following day, the prime minister's office receives a letter threatening a massive loss of life if
Meanwhile, Billy Beale, Maisie's trusted assistant, is once again facing tragedy as his wife, who has never recovered from the death of their young daughter, slips further into melancholia's abyss. Soon Maisie becomes involved in a race against time to find a man who proves he has the knowledge and will to inflict death and destruction on thousands of innocent people.
My Review:
Among the Mad is perhaps the best of the Maisie Dobbs novels I’ve read to date. These just keep getting better! The novel looks in depth at the devastating lifelong effects of war on the psyche as well as the body, and at some of the horrid chemical gases used in combat to obliterate human life. Stephen Oliver is one such brilliant mind, employed in the war for his scientific knowledge, but all but destroyed by what he witnessed. Too, the novel looks at the treatment of the mentally ill through Billy Beale’s wife’s malaise since the death of their young daughter – Doreen’s experiences illustrate some of the inhumane treatments employed to shock those suffering from melancholia back into reality. And it is a pleasure to observe Maisie, working with Scotland Yard as well as the Secret Service, hold her own in a man’s world. Highly recommended!
Maisie is, of course, solving a mystery while also extending a helping hand to an employee and to a friend. Along the way she gains more insight into her own character.
Here’s the thing that keeps me coming back to the books in this series, all the characters are so interesting and real. I love both the central characters and the new characters introduced for each new story. In this story we get to see Maisie start to really embrace life and put her experiences in the war firmly behind her and start looking for both joy and companionship. Realizing her loneliness and need for human connections she reaches out to Priscilla and her family. I can’t even tell you how much I love Priscilla. And I adore she has been given more depth with each new story. Here we see that Pris isn’t as “over” the war as she may have seen earlier. Back in London Priscilla must truly deal with the loss of her family and her fears of the future for her own boys.
In contrast to Priscilla’s fears for the future is Doreen’s inability to let go of her horrible loss in the past. Doreen, Maisie’s assistant Billy’s wife, cannot get past the loss of their daughter. The Beale’s lost their daughter Lizzy in the fourth novel in the series Messenger of Truth. Where that story showed the inequity the lower classes had in treating illness this story showed just how awful some of the treatments towards the mentally ill were. Particularly, if you were poor. The treatment Doreen first received was just frightening.
This story also bring to light the treatment of men and women damaged psychologically by war. Though the setting is 1930s England I’m sure there are some parallels to the lack of attention paid to mental illness as a result of war. Other comparisons can be made to today’s fears of chemical terrorism. It was so interesting to think there is nothing new under the sun. Where we may think worrying about terrorist with chemical weapons is something new, it obviously is something that has been around a very long time. Boy, did tht add to the suspense.
I mentioned there were some wonderful new characters introduced. We met Detective Chief Superintendent Robert MacFarlane. (Boy, is that a mouthful-I tell you they sure know how to drag out the names of their Police officials) Let me tell you, Robert MacFarlane can go toe to toe with our Maisie. He even calls her on her habit of mimicking people in order to make them feel more at ease and easier for her to relate. While I hope there is not a romance between the two (something it seems Robert would like) because I am standing strong for team Stratton, I hope MacFarlance is around for awhile. He has broken down some of Maisie’s barriers. Maisie also has to deal with members of MI-5 and I can only hope we see more of that. I can see story lines coming as WWII looms in the near distance.
This was a jam packed edition to the series with both the mystery (maybe the best so far) and the personal stories grabbing me and holding on to the end. I can’t wait to see what’s next. I have high hopes for the next in the series. I know I have said this over and over and over (and over and over-that’s five times over for each in the series so far) but this is my favorite so far. At first I hesitated saying this because I starts to lose it something to say it for each book. But they do just keep getting better. Winspear adds layers with each new story and Maisie, Billy, Priscilla, Stratton, and all the characters keep getting more endearing. So, yes this is my favorite so far and I won’t be surprised if I end up saying this again in my next Maisie review.
This book takes Maisie deep into the world of mental health care in the early 1930s. A disenfranchised war veteran who is able to make chemical weapons is
Thus Maisie is brought under the umbrella of the Special Branch and MI-5 and even has a tete a tete with the PM, all while racing to save the city.
There wasn't enough mystery, to put it bluntly. Although Winspear has, as always, thoroughly researched the time period and how mental health was administered, it was fairly obvious from the beginning what was going on. There is some good character/plot development with the Beales, however.
Fans of the series will enjoy this book, as I did, but it may not be the most memorable of Maisie's adventures.
The exception to that, however, is a well-researched historical mystery, and Jacqueline Winspear offers this decadent, perfect combination of mystery,
I've only read a few of the Maisie Dobbs stories (and oddly out of order, so don't let not having #1 stop you from reading them!) and they are really, really easy to get into and very hard to put down. I feel like I'm cheating on my homework every time I picked this book up - even though my homework was done! just because I was enjoying myself so thoroughly.
I really enjoyed the plot of Among the Mad. I'm reviewing this for a book tour, and took a chance and let the tour host pick my title for me, and I am thoroughly pleased with how that Russian Roulette turned out.
If you haven't experienced the Maisie Dobbs stories, I recommend you do so as soon as possible - even if you aren't a mystery lover. I think you'll find there's a little bit of everything for everyone in these books.
As the book begins, Maisie observes the horror of a suicide on the sidewalk but then becomes pulled into a larger challenge when asked to work with Scotland Yard and the government on investigating deaths of animals and threats of terrorist acts. This book is a bit depressing as she is working with the issue of mental instability and illness. In addition the main story line, Maisie’s assistant Billy is also dealing with his wife’s mental breakdown following the lost of their baby girl and she wants to offer the family her support and assistance. Exploration into the issue of mental care facilities, asylums and the treatment of the mentally ill during the early 1930’s is a difficult one.
The book is well written and the characters are well developed. From the brilliant scientists to the staunch police officers this book will bring you an even greater understanding of Maisie as the primary character in the series. Her relationship with her best friend Priscilla is also expanded upon and plays a role in humanizing Maisie and her own needs. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to those who enjoy a light mystery or a bit of historical fiction but would also recommend that this series is best read beginning with the earlier books as the stories build upon each other over time.