The Mapping of Love and Death ~ Jacqueline Winspear

Genre: Adult Fiction/ Mystery
Publisher: Harper
352 pages
ISBN: 9780061727665
Source: Publisher via TLC Book Tours

Maisie is headed back in time, Bones style, when an assignment arrives from an elderly American couple regarding their son.

Back in the summer of 1914, dear young Michael Clifton had gone west, as young men are prone to do, his goal, mapping land in California for liquid gold. When war breaks out, abroad, Michael jumps ship in the states and heads home to his parents’ stomping grounds to enlist in the British service, mapping battle grounds instead of oil wells. After three good years, he goes missing, a little ironic for a map maker, really.

Flash forward to 1932 and we’re in deep with Maisie and Billy. It turns out that the wayward way-finder was just found and it looks like bombshells and bayonets weren’t to blame for his death. No, it looks like murder got there first and our dashing duo won’t rest until they put this past behind them.

Man, I don’t know what Winspear has gotten up to since the last installment but this was a much bigger adventure than her previous books. The series has been a continual good time with plot twists and intrigue but there was just something much more solid and full in the story.

Maisie is finally dealing with her own tragic outcome from the war, moving on in some ways, revisiting and relishing in others. Priscilla is, once again, heavy on the scene, which I love, though Billy is a bit sidelined which was the book’s only downfall. The Beale family does get a bit of playing time, though, thankfully, mostly positive, after so much stress from the last few years.

If for no other reason, I’d say that the rest of the series is worth climbing through to get to this latest installment.

And, yes, I skipped ahead, a bit on the reviews but the middle two books will be up, later this week. Never fear, mom; I haven’t been reading out of order!

About Jacqueline Winspear

Jacqueline Winspear was born and raised in the county of Kent, England. Following higher education at the University of London’s Institute of Education, Jacqueline worked in academic publishing, in higher education, and in marketing communications in the UK.

She emigrated to the United States in 1990, and while working in business and as a personal / professional coach, Jacqueline embarked upon a life-long dream to be a writer.

A regular contributor to journals covering international education, Jacqueline has published articles in women’s magazines and has also recorded her essays for KQED radio in San Francisco. She lives in California and is a regular visitor to the United Kingdom and Europe.

Jacqueline’s novels thus far—Maisie Dobbs, Birds of a Feather, Pardonable Lies, Messenger of Truth, An Incomplete Revenge, and Among the Mad are set in the late 1920s and early 1930s, with the roots of each story set in the Great War, 1914–1918. Her work has been nominated for numerous awards.

The next Maisie Dobbs novel, A Lesson in Secrets, will be released in hardcover from Harper on March 22, 2011.

Find out more about Jacqueline at her website, www.jacquelinewinspear.com.

And, as always, check out the rest of the tour:

Jacqueline’s Tour Stops

Tuesday, February 22nd: Bookstack

Wednesday, March 2nd: A Few More Pages

Tuesday, March 8th: Teresa’s Reading Corner

Wednesday, March 9th: Debbie’s Book Bag

Thursday, March 10th: Amusing Reviews

Friday, March 18th: The Lost Entwife

Monday, March 21st: A Bookworm’s World

Tuesday, March 22nd: Nonsuch Book

Wednesday, March 23rd: Iwriteinbooks’s blog

Thursday, March 24th: Rundpinne

Monday, March 28th: Wordsmithonia