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The backstory:  I started reading the Maisie Dobbs series in 2010 (it began in 2003), and it's one of my favorite mystery series. The last title,  A Dangerous Place , was a bit of a departure for the series, and it my least favorite in the series, so I approached  Journey to Munich  with cautious optimism it would delight me. My reviews of other Jacqueline Winspear novels:  Maisie Dobbs ,  Birds of a Feather ,  Pardonable Lies ,  Messenger of Truth ,  An Incomplete Revenge ,  Among the Mad ,  The Mapping of Love and Death ,  A Lesson in Secrets ,  Elegy for Eddie ,  Leaving Everything Most Loved ,  The Care and Management of Lies ,  and  A Dangerous Place . The basics:  It's 1938, and the German government is willing to release a particularly valuable British prisoner to a family member only. Coincidentally, the prisoner's daughter looks a lot like Maisie, so she's enlisted to travel to Munich ...

The backstory: A Pattern of Lies  is the seventh mystery featuring World War I nurse Bess Crawford. My reviews of the first six: A Duty to the Dead , An Impartial Witness , A Bitter Truth , An Unmarked Grave , A Question of Honor , and  An Unwilling Accomplice . The basics: The action in A Pattern of Lies  centers on the small Kent village of Cranbourne, where a gun powder mill exploded two years ago. More than one hundred men died in the explosion. The truth, never certain, has yielded to the titular patterns of lies and accusations in a town still reeling from tragedy, all are looking for someone to blame, as Bess tries to figure out the truth. My thoughts: A Pattern of Lies  is darker and presents dangerous situations (aside from the war itself) than most books in this series. It's set in 1918, and as readers know, World War I is nearly over. I'm quite curious to see where the series goes beyond the war. But in A Pattern of Lies , the War remains an increa...

The backstory: A Dangerous Place  is the eleventh historical mystery featuring Maisie Dobbs. My reviews of the other eleven (plus Winspear's stand alone historical novel) are in my Book Review Database . The basics: Set four years after the last Maisie Dobbs novel, Leaving Everything Most Loved , in A Dangerous Place , we meet up with Maisie in Gibraltar in 1927 during the Spanish Civil War. She gets off her England-bound ship in Gibraltar because she's not quite ready to return. Note: this review contains spoilers about what happened in those four years of Maisie's life between books, all of which are revealed in this novel's first thirty pages.  My thoughts: Sunday I wrote about the Maisie Mail I received. These postcards appear in the book itself, along with many others. After setting the stage in Gibraltar in the opening pages (Maisie stumbles upon a dead body), Winspear recounts the last four years of Maisie's life in the form of postcards, letters, an...

The backstory: An Unwilling Accomplice  is the sixth historical mystery in Charles Todd's Bess Crawford series. Bess is a World War I nurse. Read my reviews of the first five:  A Duty to the Dead ,  An Impartial Witness ,  A Bitter Truth ,  An Unmarked Grave , and  A Question of Honor . The basics: While home in England on leave from her nursing post in France during World War I, Bess is asked to accompany a wounded soldier to Buckingham Palace, where he receives an award. Overnight after the ceremony, the soldier vanishes, and Bess immediately falls under suspicion as an accomplice. She sets out to find the soldier herself to clear her name, but the mystery soon turns darker and more dangerous. My thoughts: One of my favorite things about this series is how well Charles Todd (the mother and son writing team of Charles and Caroline Todd) capture the atmosphere of World War I. Bess is such a dynamic character, and I always learn so much about mann...

narrated by Katherine Kellgren The backstory: Her Royal Spyness  is the first book in Rhys Bowen's Royal Spyness historical mystery series, which is set in 1930's London. The basics: Lady Georgiana is 34th in line for the throne of England. She's also broke and unmarried. Given her station in life, working is challenging at best. My thoughts: I have a fascination with the 1930's and aristocracy, and I snapped up Her Royal Spyness in an Audible sale awhile ago. I'm glad I finally got around to listening to it. It's a cozy mystery series, and like many cozies, it's emphasis wasn't focused on the mystery, particularly in the first half of the book. The novel is incredibly character driven, and Georgie is a fabulous character. She's funny, and she acknowledges the preposterousness of her situation with wonderful humor. She's a heroine to root for, and when a dead body turns up in her family's home, she finds herself playing sleuth. I...

The backstory: Emma Donoghue is among my favorite authors. Room  remains one of my all-time favorite books , and I've also enjoyed The Sealed Letter  and Astray . The basics: Set in the summer of 1876 in San Francisco in the midst of the smallpox epidemic, Frog Music is the story of the murder of Jenny Bonnet, a cross-dressing young woman who dies in the novel's first pages. Her new friend Blanche Beunon, a French burlesque dancer and prostitute, tells the story. The action shifts between the days after Jenny's murder and a month earlier, when Jenny and Blanche meet. My thoughts: Although Frog Music  is the story of an unsolved murder, I'd classify it more as historical fiction than historical mystery. The mystery itself is compelling, particularly as the novel climaxes, but it's not what I loved most about this novel. As I read, I was immediately immersed in San Francisco in the summer of 1876. Donoghue strikes the perfect balance between vivid historical det...

The backstory: Last year I read and adored The Midwife's Tale , Sam Thomas's debut mystery. The basics: The story opens in August 1645, the year after the events of The Midwife's Tale. York is battling a brutal heatwave and adjusting to life with Puritan control. A new minister, Hezekiah Ward, has arrived in town, preaching about the evils of prostitution, just as much of the city believes the heat is God's punishment for evil. When the bodies of a prostitue and a john are found brutally murdered, Bridget's brother-in-law calls her in to view the bodies. Once again, her skills as a midwife find a crime-solving purpose. My thoughts: Once again I was delighted with the characters of Bridget and Martha, her servant and midwife apprentice. The relationship of the two women is one of my favorite parts of this series. As Bridget teaches Martha more about midwifing, the reader learns with her. There are numerous births throughout this mystery, but I also appreciate h...

The backstory: A Question of Honor  is the fifth historical mystery in mother and son writing team Charles Todd's Bess Crawford, a British World War I nurse, series. My reviews of the first four: A Duty to the Dead , An Impartial Witness , A Bitter Truth , and An Unmarked Grave . The basics: A Question of Honor  begins in India in 1908, when Bess was living there while her father's regiment was stationed there. The regiment faces a challenge when one of their own killed five people. He's assumed dead, but as the novel shifts back to its present tense in the fall of 1918, Bess begins to seek the truth, about his possible presence in France and about what happened ten years ago. My thoughts: I adore Bess as a character, and it was a delight to spend a little time in her childhood at the beginning of this book. I tend to shy away from mysteries in which the sleuth is not actually in law enforcement or a private investigator, but Charles Todd has done quite well giving Be...

The backstory:  David Morrell, best known for his debut thriller First Blood , which the Rambo  franchise was based on, has written more than twenty novels. The basics: Set in 1854 London, Murder as a Fine Art  is the story of a panicked London, as the someone is copying the horrifying Ratliffe Highway murders of 1811. Thomas de Quincey, known as the Opium-Eater, is immediately a suspect, as his recent essay Murder as a Fine Art  details the 1811 crimes and speaks of them with reverence. My thoughts: I was instantly transported to 1854 London as soon as I started this book. The first chapter immediately brings to life the grime and chaos of London; it also brings a savage set of homicides. About two-thirds of the way through, I (correctly) figured out the killer, but this novel is not as much a whodunit as it as a whydunit. Morrell reveals the killer about three-fourths of the way through the novel. Much of the last quarter of the novel felt like a cin...

The backstory:  Leaving Everything Most Loved  is the tenth Maisie Dobbs mystery novel. Here are links to my reviews of the first nine books:  Maisie Dobbs ,  Birds of a Feather ,  Pardonable Lies ,  Messenger of Truth ,  An Incomplete Revenge ,   Among the Mad ,   The Mapping of Love and Death ,   A Lesson in Secrets , and An Elegy for Eddie .  (There may be some minor spoilers from earlier novels in this review.) The basics: When Usha Pramal is found dead in London, the police soon run out of clues. When Usha's brother arrives in London two months later, he is dismayed at the lack of progress in the case and enlists the help of Maisie to help solve his sister's murder. My thoughts: Reading a Maisie Dobbs novel feels like spending time with an old friend. I'm particularly fond of Maisie as a character, and I appreciate how much changes in her life over the course of her books. Leaving Everything Most Loved  rais...

The basics: Set in 1644 York, when the city is under siege, The Midwife's Tale  focuses on midwife Bridget Hodgson. When Bridget's friend Esther Cooper is accused of murdering her husband (an act of treason at the time), Bridget sets out to solve the mystery of who really killed Mr. Cooper. My thoughts: I'm oddly fascinated by the history of medicine. I suppose I'm fascinated by medicine today as well, particularly the tension between tradition and change. I tend to favor all natural, homeopathic methods, but I also recognize the limitations of those methods. I want to believe the earth offers us the tools to heal all of the ailments it creates, but ultimately I think modern inventions and natural traditions are both worthy. All of this excursis is to say: midwifery in the 1600's is bizarre, awesome and utterly fascinating. I was immediately struck by how midwifes must treat unmarried pregnant women: "If she doesn't name the father, the city will have t...

The backstory: An Unmarked Grave  is the fourth title in the Bess Crawford historical mystery series by mother and son writing team Charles Todd. I've reviewed the first three titles in this series: A Duty to the Dead , An Impartial Witness , and A Bitter Truth . The basics: The novel opens in France in the spring of 1918 when the Spanish influenza is killing many on the front lines. When a private discovers an extra body in the shed, Bess once again finds herself in the middle of a murder mystery. My thoughts: One of the things I love most about this series is the character of Bess Crawford. She is both innocent and experienced. She's confident and bold, yet her behavior conforms to the societal norms of her times. Despite being mysteries set in the war, there is a gentleness to this series as Bess is a nurse not a constable. In many ways, then, An Unmarked Grave  surprised me. Almost all of the action takes place in France, where both the front lines and Spanish influe...

The backstory:  Elegy for Eddie  is the ninth Maisie Dobbs mystery novel. Here are links to my reviews of the first eight books:  Maisie Dobbs ,  Birds of a Feather ,  Pardonable Lies ,  Messenger of Truth ,  An Incomplete Revenge ,   Among the Mad ,   The Mapping of Love and Death , and A Lesson in Secrets .  (There may be some minor spoilers from earlier novels in this review.) The basics: Elegy for Eddie  opens with several of Maisie's childhood friends seeking her help. Their mutual friend Eddie has been killed in a factory accident, but they believe he may have been murdered. My thoughts: Reading a Maisie Dobbs novel feels like hanging out with an old friend. It's comforting, interesting, and engaging. After reading the first eight books in this series last year, it was so refreshing to once again have Maisie back in my reading life. While I've enjoyed all of the Maisie novels, The Mapping of Love and Death  was m...

The backstory: Having thoroughly enjoyed the first two Bess Crawford novels by mother-son writing duo Charles Todd, A Duty to the Dead  ( my review ) and An Impartial Witnes s ( my review ), I eagerly awaited the release of A Bitter Truth . Because this mystery is set at Christmastime, I waited until December to read it. The basics:  Bess Crawford arrives home to London for a Christmas break from her job as a nurse in World War I. When she arrives at the door of her flat, there is a young woman hiding in the doorway trying to keep warm. Bess, being Bess, invites the young woman up and discovers she has marital problems and somewhat reluctantly agrees to see the young woman back home, where things get quite interesting. My thoughts: Although I loved the first two novels in this series, I was curious how I would feel as it progressed. I don't seek out cozy mysteries, and I wondered how many ways Todd could manage to make Bess a crime solver. Thankfully, it works perfectly i...

The backstory:   A Lesson in Secrets  is the eighth Maisie Dobbs mystery novel. Here are links to my reviews of the first seven books:  Maisie Dobbs ,  Birds of a Feather ,  Pardonable Lies ,  Messenger of Truth ,  An Incomplete Revenge ,   Among the Mad , and The Mapping of Love and Death . (There may be some minor spoilers from earlier novels in this review.) The basics: The British Secret Service recruits Maisie to work semi-undercover as a professor of philosophy at a small college in Cambridge. Maisie is qualified, but she must apply and actually get the job. Her goal: see if anything is amiss at this college, whose founder and president wrote a pacifist children's book during the war that was suppressed. When he soon ends up murdered, Maisie has trouble distinguishing between her duties as a mole and her driving need to solve the crime. My thoughts:  After The Mapping of Love and Death , which was my favorite of the Maisie Do...

The backstory: The Mapping of Love and Death  is the seventh Maisie Dobbs mystery novel. Here are links to my reviews of the first six books:  Maisie Dobbs ,  Birds of a Feather ,  Pardonable Lies ,  Messenger of Truth ,  An Incomplete Revenge , and Among the Mad . The basics: The mystery at the center of this novel is about the death of Michael Clifton, an American cartographer who died in World War I and whose body was only recently recovered. His parents hire Maisie to look into his suspicious death. My thoughts: For the first time, our story opens in the United States. Knowing Ms. Winspear now lives in California made this detail even more fun to read. At times I worry the war-based mysteries will become too much of a stretch, but this one was among my favorites of the series for several reasons. First, I loved the story of Michael Clifton, an American-born cartographer who felt compelled to journey to England to fight for the country his fat...

The backstory: Among the Mad is the sixth Maisie Dobbs mystery. Here are links to my reviews of the first five books: Maisie Dobbs , Birds of a Feather , Pardonable Lies , Messenger of Truth , and An Incomplete Revenge . The basics: Winspear raises the stakes in Among the Mad; it's Maisie Dobbs meets Criminal Minds . The reader sees both the mind of a terrorist intent on killing many people while Maisie works closely with Scotland Yard to stop him. My thoughts: After not loving the last Maisie Dobbs novel, I was thrilled to see Winpsear deliver a true page-turning thriller with a fascinating, timely case. One of the best gifts of historical fiction is to remind the modern reader how similar some problems are through the years. In Among the Mad , Maisie and the detectives of Scotland Yard scramble to discover the identity of the person threatening London with chemical warfare that has the potential to decimate an entire city. It was a sobering reminder that domestic terrorism ...

The backstory: An Incomplete Revenge is the fifth books in the Maisie Dobbs historical mystery series. My reviews of the first four: Maisie Dobbs , Birds of a Feather , Pardonable Lies , and Messenger of Truth . The basics: James Compton, son of Lady Compton, reappears to ask Maisie to do some digging around a property he's considering buying. There have been fires and thefts over the years, and he wants to know if either present cause for concern. My thoughts: For whatever reason, it took me quite some time to care about this mystery Maisie was so keen on. I enjoyed some of the background stories, and I tend to be fascinated by tales of small towns, but the plot of this book lacked much mystery, I thought. I plodded along enjoying Maisie and her insight through the first half of the book. Suddenly, the action picked up quickly, and I (foolishly, I know) realized I wasn't giving Maisie or Ms. Winspear enough credit. The second half of the novel soared and offered a fascina...

The backstory: Messenger of Truth  is the fourth historical mystery in Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs series. I'm reading the entire series as part of Book Club Girl's Maisie Dobbs read-along . (Links to my reviews of Maisie Dobbs , Birds of  Feather , and   Pardonable Lies .) The basics: Georgina Bassington-Hope, who attended Girton at a different time than Maisie, hires Maisie to look into the death of her artist brother, Nick, which was deemed accidental. My thoughts:  After the third Maisie Dobbs mystery being my least favorite, I hoped the series would rebound a bit for me. In the opening pages I discovered a delicious trifecta  of a suspicious death, art and a client with a hyphenated last name (I have a fondness for hyphenated names that has only increased since Mr. Nomadreader and I hyphenated our names.) Yes, these point of intrigue may be rather nomadreader-specific, but you must admit, art and murder are steeped with intrigue. This novel (a...

The backstory: Pardonable Lies  is the third Maisie Dobbs mystery novel. I'm reading the entire series as part of Book Club Girl's Maisie Dobbs read-along . My reviews of the first two novels: Maisie Dobbs  and Birds of a Feather . My thoughts: Of the three Maisie Dobbs novels thus far, Pardonable Lies  falls somewhere in between the first two in terms of Maisie's personal connection with her case. In some ways, this novel felt like a reversal of the progress made in Birds of a Feather , where the mystery took center stage. Initially, this novel took me a bit longer to get interested in, but I still read it voraciously and enjoyed all of Maisie's adventures, even those unrelated to her cases. Maisie has her hands full with three mysteries, and her quest stirs up many painful war memories and gives her cause to visit France again. Although the mysteries all ended up being compelling, the narrative of this novel seemed more about Maisie's personal journey to put ...