The Mapping of Love and Death

The whole Maisie Dobbs series is wonderful, and this latest was no exception. A lovely, thoughtful series perfect for summer vacation or winter break, when you have a little extra time to enjoy the savoring. ( )

This series has remained solid but had leveled out in the last few books. Not so with Mapping. And not just because Winspear finally got my two favorite characters together. The mystery was well-paced and the characters as always deep and interesting. Yeh for a good series getting better. ( )

Once again, Maisie deals with the events of the Great War on her country and especially on her generation. I think this one may be the best yet as Maisie becomes more sure of herself and able to let herself feel. Many changes are in store for Maisie by the end of the book. I am wondering how far into the "future" (from 1932) this series will go. After all, one of the effects of World War I was World War II. By 1932, when this book is set, portents of that war were beginning to appear. Dare I hope that Maisie will be involved further down the line? (P.S. Tired of mysteries? Try Paul Fussell's THE GREAT WAR AND MODERN MEMORY to understand more about the world Winspear, Charles Todd, and Carola Dunn write so well about.) ( )

Maisie Dobbs has been given an interesting new case. It is that of a dead cartographer who came from the USA to join in the war that was shaking Europe. Michael Clifton was of British ancestry and as a cartographer he new his skills would be needed. Like many young men he did not survive the war and when his remains are finally found sixteen years after armistice, evidence suggests that he was not killed in combat but that he was murdered. The thing was he died before he could settle his affairs and there was a parcel of land that he bought in California that is presently in legal limbo.

Winspear does a great job of revealing history in such a way that the reader always learns something. In this case the role of the cartographer in wartime was detailed and she explains how important these young men were.

In the background of course there is a clever killer also waiting to be discovered. ( )

My blog post about this book is at this link. ( )