AMONG THE MAD: A Maisie Dobbs Novel
Jacqueline Winspear
Henry Holt and Company
Historical Mystery
ISBN: 9780805082166
Jacqueline Winspear has created a unique sleuth in Maisie Dobbs. Her combined professions of psychologist and detective surely precede what would now be called a psychological profiler. Maisie uses her hard-wired intelligence and highly developed intuition to aid her in solving cases between World War I and World War II England. AMONG THE MAD, the sixth book in this period mystery series, is set in London during Christmas 1931 through New Year’s 1932.
On Christmas Eve, Maisie and her assistant Billy Beale set off to deliver a final report to a client. They come across a man sitting on the pavement in some distress, and Maisie tells Billy to move away. Her keen sense of people informs her that something is not quite right. Shortly thereafter an explosion occurs. Maisie, who is injured in the blast, becomes a witness to the crime. Billy, a WWI veteran, identifies the weapon as a Mills bomb, or a basic hand grenade. But the identity of the man who died while setting off the explosive is a mystery.
Billy spends Christmas Day with his family, while Maisie goes to visit her father. Scotland Yard’s Detective Chief Superintendent Robert MacFarlane of the Special Branch calls her back to London. A letter has arrived at Westminster demanding that the government alleviate the suffering of the unemployed, especially those who have served their country in wartime. If no action is taken by a specific deadline, the letter implies that harm will come to England, its people and the Prime Minister. Maisie, who is also mentioned in the letter, becomes an advisor on the case for MacFarlane.
As the Special Branch begins their search for the person who wrote the letter and the identity of the suicide victim, Maisie calls on her contacts from her nursing days during WWI. She interviews a doctor with whom she worked alongside in surgery and who is now studying the effects of gas and nerve agents in wartime. She knows well the suffering and loss that men experience in war. With this knowledge, she hopes she can determine the lifestyle, background and behaviors that may lead her to the letter writer and/or the dead man.
As she races against time, another attack occurs. This time a poisonous gas is released at a dog and cat shelter. More threatening letters arrive. Maisie and Scotland Yard realize that their suspect has the power to inflict immense harm. As they continue to investigate, Maisie uncovers evidence that leads her to conclude that the letter writer is mentally unstable, suffering from the post-traumatic effects of war. He is a forgotten man with a vendetta against the system that abused and abandoned him.
This series is set in a time when people were facing the social consequences of war and the resulting economic conditions that deeply affect daily life. Worse yet, another war is looming. Winspear’s usual cast of characters is also undergoing their own individual losses. Billy’s wife requires special care after the demise of their daughter. Priscilla Partridge, Maisie’s friend, continues to recover from the deaths of her brothers in WWI.
Winspear’s writing transcends time and place. Even though the characters and their conflicts are set in another era, the reader gets a sense of the familiar as they struggle to avert crisis. She creates a rich tapestry of characters that are developed against the backdrop of England between two World Wars. However, it is Maisie Dobbs who continues to intrigue. Maisie is a unique protagonist who is not only intelligent, but has the smarts to use her sixth sense to solve complicated mysteries around sensitive and important matters. She also maintains her personal integrity about the truths of the cases she investigates, which makes her an indomitable heroine.
I have enjoyed this series from the first book to the latest story, and can hardly wait for the next Maisie Dobbs mystery.
--- Reviewed by Jennifer McCord
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