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    An Incomplete Revenge: A gripping case for psychologist and sleuth Maisie
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    An Incomplete Revenge: A gripping case for psychologist and sleuth Maisie
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    An Incomplete Revenge: A gripping case for psychologist and sleuth Maisie
    Ebook351 pages6 hours

    An Incomplete Revenge: A gripping case for psychologist and sleuth Maisie

    By Jacqueline Winspear

    4/5

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    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    With the country in the grip of economic malaise, Maisie Dobbs is relieved to accept an apparently straightforward assignment to investigate a potential land purchase. Her inquiries take her to a picturesque village in Kent during the hop-picking season, but beneath its pastoral surface she finds evidence that something is amiss. Mysterious fires erupt in the village with alarming regularity, and a series of petty crimes suggest a darker criminal element at work. A peculiar secrecy shrouds the village, and ultimately Maisie must draw on her finely-honed skills of detection to solve one of her most intriguing cases yet.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAllison & Busby
    Release dateOct 18, 2012
    ISBN9780749013875
    Unavailable
    An Incomplete Revenge: A gripping case for psychologist and sleuth Maisie
    Author

    Jacqueline Winspear

    Jacqueline Winspear is the author of the New York Times bestsellers The Consequences of Fear, The American Agent, and To Die but Once, as well as thirteen other bestselling Maisie Dobbs novels and The Care and Management of Lies, a Dayton Literary Peace Prize finalist. Jacqueline has also published two nonfiction books, What Would Maisie Do? and a memoir, This Time Next Year We’ll Be Laughing. Originally from the United Kingdom, she divides her time between California and the Pacific Northwest.

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    Reviews for An Incomplete Revenge

    4/5

    618 ratings66 reviews

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    • 5/5
      I've enjoyed all the Maisie Dobbs books, but I think this is the best yet. Winspear is a master at character development and at digging below the surface of our received knowledge of World War I and its aftermath to produce amazingly believable stories. Highly recommended.
    • 4/5
      A Kent Village has secrets, secrets that draw Maisie Dobbs in via Billy Beale who is hopping down there. She discovers that there are more things, more strangeness in this town, secrets that people are willing to kill to keep.

      Full of twists that are somewhat predictable but the trip was interesting, I liked Maisie and her progress.
    • 4/5
      This is the fifth in a mystery series by Jacqueline Winspear, a Maisie Dobbs novel. I now want to go back and read the first four because I learned so much about England between the Wars. Maisie finds herself in Kent during the harvesting of the hops, amid Londoners who want to earn some extra money and the Romy people in their caravans. She is hired to find out about arson fires in the village of Heronsdene and petty thefts. Part gypsy herself, she is able to glide between the world of the Romy people, especially the matriarch of a caravan named Aunt Beulah, and the rest of the villagers. The ending uncovers a secret known only to the villagers about an event that occurred in World War I. I learned about gypsy life and customs, the picking of hops and England in general. Maisie was an independent woman living on her own and earning her own living. She drives an MG and it sounded so much fun driving back and forth between Kent and London. British customs and prejudices were portrayed in a non-threatening way. So much of English life was restricted for women, and I came to see how the First World War slowly changed all that....less (edit)
    • 4/5
      In this Maisie Dobbs mystery, it’s autumn of 1931 and Maisie is in Kent during hop-picking season. She’s investigating a series of thefts and fires in a village in which her employer wishes to buy the property of the last remaining member of a gentry’s family. Londoners and gypsies, both there for the hop picking, are the obvious suspects, but Maisie’s investigation leads her back to WWI and a Zeppelin bombing of the village. Continuing in this book is the story of Maisie’s past as a WWI nurse in France and her relationship with the doctor with whom she fell in love, and who was severely wounded. The relationship suffers a profound and permanent change.Gypsies and their lifestyle play an important part in this book, and it is revealed that Maisie’s grandmother had been a gypsy. The annual migration of people to the country to participate in hop picking (which included the author’s grandparents) provides an interesting bit of history. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The plot is good, the characters interesting, the historical information well-woven, and Maisie herself continues to grow as a person.
    • 4/5
      Still going strong -
    • 5/5
      James Compton asks Maisie to investigate some matters in the village of Heronsdene before his company purchases some property. It is set during hop picking season. The villagers are comfortable placing the blame for anything on a band of gypsies that are in the area. A series of fires began in the village some years ago, but the villagers did not report them to authorities as suspicious. They blame themselves for the fires, at least to outsiders. It's an interesting case. The hops picking season makes it an interesting setting as well. This is one of my favorite installments in the series to date. Winspear does not write cookie cutter mysteries. Her characters have depth and deal with issues. There is a theme of forgiveness running through this mystery. The author seems to be demonstrating that revenge is not sweet.
    • 5/5
      This is one of my favorite mystery series and it is holding up very well. It is summer and time for many of London’s poor to go into the country to earn extra money by picking hops. Maisie is also working on a job near one of the major hop picking areas and Billy manages to get his family attached to a farm in that area also. Thy mystery involves a town in which there have been numerous acts of vandalism, mostly involving small fires which the inhabitants insist are merely due to their own carelessness.I enjoy this series especially for depiction of life in England after WWI and for the continuing development of the recurring characters as they adjust to life after the war. These are not “puzzle” mysteries; rather they are novels that contain an element of mystery in their plots. Highly recommended—but start with the first one, Maisie Dobbs, which isn’t a mystery at all, but sets up the series.
    • 4/5
      Maisie and her former mentor, Maurice Blanche, are still estranged after their conflict last year over Maurice's secrets. The Beales are still mourning the loss of their young daughter, Lizzie. The sputtering economy of the early thirties is putting a strain on everything, including Maisie's business. It's a relief when James Compton brings her a seemingly straightforward case that sends Maisie and the Beales to the village of Heronsdene, in Kent, to investigate some odd events around some property he's planning to purchase for the Compton Company.

      There have been a rash of petty crimes, burglaries, thefts, and, more seriously, a series of potentially dangerous arson fires, these always on or near the anniversary of a zeppelin raid during the war, which killed the village's baker and his wife and daughter.

      What seems straightforward becomes unexpectedly complicated and painfully personal for Maisie, as Heronsdene's dark secret forces her to confront her own loss, grief, and emotional scars from the war.

      Winspear convincingly captures the experiences of an independent woman between the wars, and allows Maisie to grow and develop in every story. It's a humane look at some very painful issues, and told in elegantly readable form.

      Recommended.

      I borrowed this book from a friend.
    • 5/5
      Maisie is asked by her patron's son to investigate some irregularities surrounding a property he wishes to purchase. Maisie sees this as the perfect assignment to get her out of London for a bit and check in on the Beale family while they are picking hops in the country. Maisie arrives in the idyllic village only to be confronted with theft, arson, bigotry, and a pompous arrogant young landowner. Almost as disturbing are the secrets the villagers are keeping about a tragedy during the war and Maisie's own reactions to the group of gypsies that have come for the hopping. With villagers blaming their woes on the Londoners and the gypsies; and the Londoners blaming gypsies and villagers; and the gypsies mostly keeping their own council, Maisie will have to step lively to reach the truth. Luckily for her there is a gifted musician to provide accompaniment as she weaves her way through secrets and revenge.
    • 5/5
      My favorite of the Maisie Dobbs series so far. I enjoyed the character development and finally felt some real realtionship with Maisie. Several loose ends from other books in the series were tied up quite nicely in this novel. I especially liked the emotional conflicts presented and the serious consideraton given to their resolution. This novel was very engaging and felt like a very real picture of life for a independent woman in the 1930's UK. I eagerly anticipate the next book in the series.
    • 3/5
      Maisie Dobbs was sent to investigate a potential land purchase. She travels to a village called Kent during the hop picking season. She finds a sinister dark force at work thru the town which divides it. Everybody is a suspect and the novel keeps you guessing. There are mysterious fires that erupt thru the town; each reference in the book has a deeper meaning. The novel also focuses on forms of prejudice and added to the small town microcosm. Almost, the townspeople could not think on their own, more like a bunch of followers than leaders. I loved the references about the dog. This was a nice touch and I can appreciate it being an animal lover. I did not like the references to the gypsies, it was kind of weird. I know that it is important to paint a background picture of Maisie. Otherwise, a pretty good book overall that captured my attention.
    • 4/5
      I jumped into the series starting with this book and now I am going back to start at the beginning. I really enjoyed this book, the reading is not heavy so I could pick it up on a work night for pleasure reading, while at the same time feeling I was spending my time on something worthwhile. It was intelligently written and I loved the gypsy references. Can't wait to read more about Maisie Dobbs.
    • 4/5
      This is the 4th Maisie Dobbs mystery in the series, and the 4th that I have read.I was originally drawn to the books by the setting, the time period, and the amazing level of historical detail in the books. This book did not disappoint on any of those accounts.As I have read the series, I have enjoyed the way the characters have developed. In the first book, I felt that Maisie Dobbs was too controlled and too thoughtful and too perfect to be entirely believable. With each book, however, her character has become more complex and much more "real."I'm looking forward to continuing to read books from this series!
    • 5/5
      The fifth book in the Maisie Dobbs series, An Incomplete Revenge, follows Maisie as she investigates a rash of crime in the Kent countryside for her patron's son, who is considering purchasing property there. Like the rest of the series, this book is rich in historical detail and full of well-developed characters. I highly recommend An Incomplete Revenge for followers of the Maisie Dobbs series!
    • 4/5
      Maisie is such an interesting character, especially as, unlike a lot of fictional characters, her character feels very three dimensional. In this book she faces a number of challenges both personal and professional. Winspear is great at bringing in historical colour as she explores the annual London holiday to Kent hop picking as well as reminding us of how the scars from WWI lingered in Europe. My only criticism is that there wasn't enough of Billy in this book.
    • 4/5
      Jacqueline Winspear is a unique voice in the mystery genre. Her novels are much more than mere mysteries. With believable characters that seem so real you almost think they actually existed, her spellbinding stories are filled with details of the era of the Great War and its aftermath. In this tale, Maisie must break a wall of secrecy that envelopes a small village. Using all her powers of observation and intuition that she seems to posses in large quantities, she shows that revenge does not give peace but that discovery of the truth can heal old wounds, at least a little. An engrossing novel.
    • 3/5

      Maisie is on a case for James Compston (her mentor's son) who is about to purchase a large estate & brickworks....

      While investigating the estate & brickworks during Hops picking season; a fire breaks out in the pub Maisie's staying in and thanks to her quick thinking the pub is saved before any major damage is done.... The fire is obviously arson (Maisie sees someone running from the fire) but the publican adamantly insists he accidentally set the fire and insists that Maisie forget that it happened......

      The fire is not the first to have occurred in the village... for years since the war, in fact every year on the same date a fire has been set..... The date of the Zeppelin raid when the smithy was bombed and a local family was killed in a mysterious fire......

      Maisie is drawn to the Hops pickers, one of the families is that of her assistant, Billy Beal. Billy's wife has been spending time w/ the Romas, who are also picking, as they have a baby girl who helps her fulfill the loss of her baby daughter. When Maisie encounters the Romas, whose matriarch has seen her coming and knows that Maisie is the one who can heal the scars of the past, the past begins to unravel and the healing begins.

      There was so very much going on, here, there, everywhere that it was difficult to keep the story all together. I did not like the characters, the back story was tragic and ugly..... In fact I found this to be a bit boring and I just wanted to find out what was going on......
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed this one much more than the last--more action and less exposition.
    • 5/5
      I know I've said this about the other Maisie Dobbs books but this really is my favorite so far. The mystery was very complex and interesting. We got to know more about Maisie family history. Maisie was able to release some of the pain of her past and embrace her future. And Pris was back.I always knew there was something in Maisie's past that gave her her gift and sure enough she does. Her gypsy grandmother must have passed on more than just Maisie's jet black hair. It was nice to see Maisie get in touch with that part of her while investigating a land sale for James Compton, the son of her former employers Lady and Lord Compton. I love the way she found a place for herself with Beulah, Webb, and Paishy and was able to grow. I have to say the thing I'm really enjoying with each new novel is watching Maisie loosen up and start to enjoy life. I love that she's finding time to have some fun.This was definitely the darkest of all the mysteries Maisie has dealt with and I was equally heartbroken and horrified by what happened. It was an interesting look at small communities devastated by war. I can't even imagine what it must be like to lose so many young men at one time. Another thing I think these novels do is to show the wide spread and long lasting impact of war. It's not over when it's over-that's for sure.Maisie also closes the door on a huge part of her past. I don't want to give anything away but the novel will definitely set Maisie on her way forward into the future. And in doing so is able to start to mend her relationship with Maurice Blance. Hopefully she will be able to move on and find a little romance. I'm really keeping my fingers crossed Maisie will be getting a boyfriend soon.And, yippee, Priscilla is back. I love Pris. I love that she calls Maisie on her s0litary, work-filled life. I love how honest she is about the past and is able to live her life in full and wants Maisie to do the same. She really forces Maisie forward so well. I love her rough and tumble boys and her obvious love for them. And I love that Maisie has a friend who she is comfortable with.It was great to see Billy, Frankie, and Maurice back again. I'm worried about Billy leaving for Canada and I have no idea what Maisie will do without him but I'll worry about that when it comes. For all the horribleness of the mystery and all the sad turn of events there really was quite a bit of joy as well. Come on, how bad can it all be when it ends with Maisie dancing?Oh, one last thing. I found it utterly fascinating and an interesting perspective that Billy was on "holiday" while working hop-picking. Just getting out of "the smoke" was the vacation. I don't know if I would think that was much of a vacation. Hmmm.If you're reading along with the I'm Mad for Maisie read-along with Book Club Girl head on over and join the discussion. And if you haven't started reading Maisie Dobbs-get off the stick, you don't know what your missing.
    • 4/5
      This author is improving, much fewer dull bits although I still find the clothes descriptions boring. Of all the Maisie Dobbs books so far, I enjoyed this one the most. It was only towards the very end that I started to see the "solution" and 1 twist I didn't see at all. Not bad at all.
    • 5/5
      Winspear's series is captivating. in Maisie Dobbs, she has created a most interesting heroine and has placed her stories in England immediately following World War II. "An Incomplete Revenge" takes place about a decade after the war when Maisie is well-established as a detective. Consulted by the son of her former employer and benefactor to look into some oddities associated with the purchase of a brickwork in rural England, Maisie becomes involved with a band of gypsies, a strangely reticent rural community and local tragedy. She is also able to resolve some purely personal issues that have haunted her. Winspear's novels each seem to have a "theme" that ties the threads of the story together. This one focuses on school bullying and its sometimes tragic results. For potential readers, do be sure to read the first in the series, which sets up the main character and the surrounding circumstances. Winspear is an accomplished enough writer that it's not strictly necessary to do so but certainly would enhance enjoyment of the subsequent books.
    • 4/5
      I love the Maisie Hobbs series. In this one the setting is Kent in the early 1930's. Maisie is finding enough work to keep her and Billie busy during the beginning of the Great Depression. Maisie is asked by an old friend to investigate a small village in Kent during the fall hop picking season. Her friend is considering a considerable business expense and he wants Maisie to take the pulse of the village. There have been an number of break-ins and fires in the village since the war ended about 11 years ago. During the war a large number of young men who were lost in the trenches, and a zeppelin destroyed a thriving business in the village, as well as the Dutch family who ran the bakery which was bombed. Maisie uncovers a lot of long-buried secrets with her dogged investigation. We see life in a small Kent village in the early 1930's, during the busy hop picking season, as well as the people who come to help with the harvest, including gypsy clans. I love Ms. Winspear's knowledge of her historical time, and the character development of all the characters, including the secondary characters. This is what sets such a believable stage for Ms. Winspear's stories.
    • 4/5
      I received this book as an early reviewer. I really liked the way the mysteries were drawn out and solved as the story developed. I'm afraid I could not give it my full, undivided attention as I normally like to do when reading, but I had a lot on my mind when I was reading this book.I will try to read more of Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs novels when I am able to concentrate on them better. I actually think I have read some of her earlier books, but I have no recording of having read it. I like her characters very much and I think Winspear does an excellent job of hinting at and then revealing the hidden secrets that make up the great mystery of this novel.
    • 4/5
      Quickly working my way through the series. I'm quite enchanted with Maisie Dobbs, Psychologist and Investigator, and her independent ways. However, I admit that, while enjoyable, Maisie is called to investigate a series of vandalism and thefts in a small village. Along the way, she finds the villagers are a tight-lipped, insular bunch. There is plenty of distrust to go around - between the villagers, the Londoners come to Kent for the hops-picking season and the Gypsy clan set up at the edge of the woods. Add in a despicable younger son having taken up residence at the manor house and Maisie has her work cut out for her. Especially interesting were those portions dealing with the gypsies, their background and Maisie's own unique heritage. One wonders, thugh, how readily they would accept strangers in their midst. Also enjoyed Beattie, up and coming reporter. Hope we haven't seen the last of her.
    • 5/5
      This is a great series. I was not that pulled in by the first book, but I have increasingly come to enjoy the series. Her plots are really unique and the historical background is very well researched. Best of all, the detective is a skilled empath--that's a first in detective fiction.
    • 2/5
      Investigator Maisie Dobbs takes a job investigating a potential land purchase. Her employer is wary because a series of fires have plagued the area. The investigation leads her to a village in Kent during hop-picking season. A band of gypsies come to the area during harvest time. She quickly sees that there is something that isn’t quite right about the group of gypsies. Another aspect that figures prominently in the story is when a zeppelin raid during the war wiped out a family.This was a largely unimpressive novel. I had never read any of the previous books featuring Maisie Dobbs, and after reading this one, I’m not rushing out to read any more of them. The mystery associated with this story was not all that compelling. Neither were the characters. The plot was slow moving and never got that interesting. There was not a whole lot to like about this book. I would suggest skipping it.Carl Alves – author of Blood Street
    • 5/5
      AN INCOMPLETE REVENGE by Jacqueline Winspear is a wonderful novel. It is rich in historical detail of the impact of this ‘Great War’, and all wars on individuals and communities. This story of Maisie develops as she flashbacks to her own past along with confronting the challenges of her life today. She has to confront the slow death of a dear friend and all the mixed emotions that she feels. The telling of the rich and vivid interactions and events with gypsies who have come to live for a time near this small village for the hop-picking season to earn a bit of money to support their own community adds a depth to this book that kept me compelled to continue the reading. I can still almost hear the rhythm and tunes of the violin in the moonlight. In this particular story Maisie is hired to investigate a potential purchase of a large piece of property, but in the area there is also a series of fires and acts of vandalism and theft that complicate the events surrounding the potential purchase. As Maisie conducts her investigative work she becomes more involved in the lives of the community and business that she and her associate Billy are investigating as becomes convinced that there are other dynamics involving the prime characters that tell a sub story that needs to be understood. I was delighted by both the warm feeling that Windspear painted when relating her interactions and involvements in the gypsies community and saddened by the sense of loss she painted as the story of war and loss in the citizens in the village. The descriptions of the individuals prejudices, fears and angers were strong and gave a color to all the stories and incidents of the novel. There were times that I felt as if I were inside Maisie feeling her pain, joy and frustration. She is a strong and extremely complete character. I look forward to reading more of the Maisie Dobbs series. I enjoyed this book immensely and highly recommend it.
    • 4/5
      This is the most approachable Maisie so far... she seems to be getting over herself a bit, which is good for all of us. I appreciate that in this book Maisie's "other" sense is, while not really downplayed, less of a fuss - I think that's why I have been hesitant to dive headfirst into the series.
    • 4/5
      Another great book in the Maisie Dobbs series. I love the character of Maisie Dobbs and the supporting cast that Winspear surrounds her with. The particular mystery in this novel was interesting but not all that difficult to figure out. What makes me love these books is the back story of the repeating characters that I find fascinating and entertaining. The very subtle hint of magical realism adds to the series for me. I have already started the next in the series.
    • 3/5
      I dipped into this popular mystery series set in 1930s England “because it was there,” and found it enjoyable. Maisie Dobbs is a psychologist-detective and a former World War I nurse. This book, smack in the middle of the series, is set during the hops picking season in rural Kent. Maisie is investigating a series of mysterious thefts and fires and senses that the villagers, always happy to blame the incidents on Gypsies, know more than they let on. Maisie is an interesting character, the mystery here is neat and tidy, but the real appeal for me was the rich setting, and especially the chance to learn more about the customs and beliefs of English Gypsies.