Call number
Collection
Genres
Series
Publication
Description
Fiction. Mystery. Historical Fiction. HTML: INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER As Europe buckles under Nazi occupation, Maisie Dobbs investigates a possible murder that threatens devastating repercussions for Britain's war efforts in this latest installment in the New York Times bestselling mystery series. October 1941. While on a delivery, young Freddie Hackett, a message runner for a government office, witnesses an argument that ends in murder. Crouching in the doorway of a bombed-out house, Freddie waits until the coast is clear. But when he arrives at the delivery address, he's shocked to come face to face with the killer. Dismissed by the police when he attempts to report the crime, Freddie goes in search of a woman he once met when delivering a message: Maisie Dobbs. While Maisie believes the boy and wants to help, she must maintain extreme caution: she's working secretly for the Special Operations Executive, assessing candidates for crucial work with the French resistance. Her two worlds collide when she spots the killer in a place she least expects. She soon realizes she's been pulled into the orbit of a man who has his own reasons to killā??reasons that go back to the last war. As Maisie becomes entangled in a power struggle between Britain's intelligence efforts in France and the work of Free French agents operating across Europe, she must also contend with the lingering question of Freddie Hackett's state of mind. What she uncovers could hold disastrous consequences for all involved in this compelling chapter of the "series that seems to get better with every entry" (Wall Street Journal).… (more)
User reviews
Freddie Hackett is twelve-years-old and is proud that he has been chosen as a message runner for the government. He is, of course, afraid of the bombs dropping, but those arenāt any scarier than his home life. If he keeps his father in enough coins to stay at the bar, maybe he and his mother wonāt be beaten tonight. Freddie is a gifted runner who might be in the Olympics someday and as his feet are flying and he turns a corner toward his destination, he sees something unthinkable. Two men are in a fight, so he backs into a small doorway of a bombed-out home so the men cannot see him. When one takes a knife out and murders the other, Freddie loses his stomach contents. He remains quiet and still long after it is over ā and then, shaking, he goes on his way to the delivery. He gets a really good look at the murderer ā and guess who answers the door.
The police arenāt particularly interested in the murder Freddie reports, but Freddie is frightened, so he looks elsewhere for someone to help. That person is Maisie Dobbs. Maisie immediately believes the story Freddie is telling and begins an investigation despite her government office boss telling her to leave it be. As Maisie digs deeper and deeper into the case, she comes to learn that there are political implications to solving the crime. That, of course, doesnāt deter Maisie and she keeps going. She not only has to find the murderer, but she also has to keep Freddie, his mom, and his sister safe.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and Iām so sorry I took so long to decide to give the series a try. Now, I just have to make time in my schedule to go back and read the first fifteen books. I canāt think of a single thing Iād change about the book ā except I think it might be fun to have Mark more involved in Maisieās case. Iām very happy to recommend this book!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
In 2019's The American Agent, London was dealing with the Blitz, the nightly bombing of London. Maisie and her best friend
In the new novel, The Consequences of Fear, private investigator and psychologist Maisie Dobbs has been pressed into service in the SOE (Special Operatives Executive) by her old comrade Robert McFarlane. She is tasked with psychologically evaluating people who will be sent into France as spies.
At the same time, her private investigation office has a new case- a young boy who has been acting as a messenger witnesses a murder but the police seem to be reluctant to admit that there was a murder. Maisie and her able assistant Billy Beale work to discover why and what connection it may have to the French resistance working in London.
Maisie's personal life has taken center stage in this novel. Her young adopted daughter Anna is growing very attached to Maisie and Maisie's father and stepmother, and Mark Scott, who works at the American embassy in London, has become an important part of Maisie's life. Is Maisie ready to let love back into her life after the tragic loss of her husband years ago?
The Consequences of Fear is vintage Maisie Dobbs. The juggling of her private investigation work and confidential government work is becoming increasingly more difficult, and with the war ramping up in Europe, the next novels in the series are sure to examine that.
This is the 16th novel in the series, and not one that you can jump into without having background on Maisie Dobbs. Start at the beginning and you'll find Maisie's story as fascinating as I do. It's one of the only series that I have read every book, and it's a terrific series for high school age young women to read, as Maisie is a terrific role model. It's also a great Women's History Month read. Maise Dobbs fans will be pleased with this one.
But meanwhile,one of the boys who is used to run messages for the government witnesses
Winspear perfectly draws a picture of the terror and the conflicting values in wartime, but itās also good to see Maisie being happy in her personal life - and oh that Yank!
Great book for thinking about being ruled by fear or fear getting in the way or of not being at all ruled by fear. The subject felt very close to home for me so
This book #16 had an excellent mystery and particularly wonderful additional characters. As usual, I enjoyed all the returning/regular characters.
As with all of these books there is much that is amusing even though the books arenāt comedic.
Ever since the Return to Munich book there has been at least one American character. I hate the way the narrator of the audiobooks does an American accent. I never read just an audiobook but I sometimes listen at the same time as reading an e-book or a paper book. Since book 6 Iāve read most of these with e-books with audio books accompanying.
As usual the authorās note/extras at the end are wonderful.
Some quotes I liked:
āChildren should always be believed until proven otherwise.ā
āFear was the scariest of emotions and it nestled there, growing ever stronger and sprouting shoots, a seed in the fertile soil of doubt.ā
āNever let fears get in the way of happiness, because fear can lead to such irrational reasoning, and we can make dreadful mistakes, saying things we canāt take back.ā
āAnd as she grieved, she realized that she had never trusted the world to keep herself or those she loved safe. From the moment of her motherās death, she had known that terror could be around the next corner at any moment. Had there ever been a time when she felt the clutch of fear in her gut loosen its grip, so that she could have faith in the future?ā
āAnd fear is really the most omnipresent of emotions, isnāt it? Fear and panic can be crippling for all concerned.ā
āHatred, revengeātheyāre just as bad as trying to protect yourself from more hurtāthey can make you brittle inside. And if youāre brittle, you break. One way or another, you break.ā
āI believe itās called āirrational reasoning.ā Itās what happens to people when theyāre scaredā
āItās funny how things work out, isnāt it? I mean, itās like dominoesāyou touch one and then the others start to go, and sometimes they fall in the right direction and one person knows another and it all opens up like a flower.ā
Is this the last Maisie Dobbs book? If so Iāll miss this series but feel I will feel satisfied having gotten to read all of the books. If itās not the end Iāll look forward to future books and hope that Iāll be able to read them. A friend who read it recently thought this would be the last book because of the way it ended, and Iāve seen others make the same conjecture, but I can easily imagine this series continuing. I do see a book scheduled to be published in 2022, [book:A Sunlit Weapon|57355070], that doesnāt necessarily look like another Maisie Dobbs book. Iām curious about it and have shelved it on my to read shelf.
A murder witnessed by a teenage runner for several government services puts him in danger. Her subsequent attempts to protect him enmesh her in the murky morass that encompasses the SOE, French Resistance, and Vichy France. London's stiff upper lip during the Bomber Blitz provides the background as Maisie doggedly pursues her enquiries to a somewhat bitter end.
It is Book #16 in the Maisie Dobbs series.
āAs Europe buckles under Nazi occupation, Maisie Dobbs investigates a possible murder that threatens devastating repercussions for Britain's war efforts in this latest installment in the New York
āOctober 1941. While on a delivery, young Freddie Hackett, a message runner for a government office, witnesses an argument that ends in murder. Crouching in the doorway of a bombed-out house, Freddie waits until the coast is clear. But when he arrives at the delivery address, heās shocked to come face to face with the killer.
Dismissed by the police when he attempts to report the crime, Freddie goes in search of a woman he once met when delivering a message: Maisie Dobbs. While Maisie believes the boy and wants to help, she must maintain extreme caution: sheās working secretly for the Special Operations Executive, assessing candidates for crucial work with the French resistance. Her two worlds collide when she spots the killer in a place she least expects. She soon realizes sheās been pulled into the orbit of a man who has his own reasons to killāreasons that go back to the last war.
As Maisie becomes entangled in a power struggle between Britainās intelligence efforts in France and the work of Free French agents operating across Europe, she must also contend with the lingering question of Freddie Hackettās state of mind. What she uncovers could hold disastrous consequences for all involved in this compelling chapter of the āseries that seems to get better with every entryā (Wall Street Journal).ā
Absolutely brilliant title and overall series. *****