The Mapping of Love and Death

In 1932, Maisie Dobbs receives a note from Dr. Hayden of Massachusetts General Hospital who volunteered as a combat physician during the Great War; and of whom Maisie worked with. He asks her to meet with an elderly American couple whose son went missing during the 1916 Battle of the Somme. The Clintons inform her that farmers in France have uncovered a series of rooms that were part of the trenches. Inside are bodies of the British Cartography Section including their son who joined as a teen in 1914. They want to know who killed him as the autopsy revealed he died from a blow to his face. Maisie, with Billy supporting her agrees, to investigate. She looks at the other information like letters and a dairy to help her. As she digs deep into what happened in this trench room in 1916, Maisie also copes with personal issues starting with Billy's wife leaving the psychiatric ward, Dr. Maurice's illness, Stratton's replacement at the Yard and her feelings for Canadian expatriate James Compton. This is a terrific Depression Era whodunit as Maisie knows she has achieved her prime goal and is now entering her middle years so feels a bit adrift as she is undecided what next. The case is superb as the inquiry provides the reader a deep look at trench warfare during WWI. As entertaining as the military mystery are the goings-on in the heroine's personal life. The mapping of Love and death is a great historical investigation thriller. Harriet Klausner

The Mapping of Love and Death is the seventh book featuring investigator and psychologist Maisie Dobbs. Once again Jacqueline Winspear has brought post-World War I England to life, and she continues a series that has been consistently fine. Though I feel that starting at the beginning is the ideal way to read a series, this book can stand alone. The author gives enough background to know about Maisie and perhaps will encourage the reader to go back and learn more. The distinguishing feature of Maisie's service as an investigator is her belief that solving a problem is not the end of her job. The effects on those involved must also be addressed and dealt with, thus the psychologist part of her offering. The current case carries her back to the war. A farmer in France has unearthed the bodies of a group of military cartologers whose map-making was crucial to infantry and artillery. Maisie has been retained by the American parents of one of the soldiers. A packet of letters from a nurse were found with his body, and they hope to find her and learn about their son's time in England. The book is rich with detail about the war, the participants and the aftermath, as well as about the young man, his family and his dreams for the future. I highly recommend it, for its historical value as well as its powerful story telling.

In 1914, Michael Clifton maps the land he just bought in the Santa Ynez Valley in California. Convinced that he will find oil on the land, he looks forward to someday proving himself to his family. When war breaks out, however, Michael feels compelled to answer the call of duty. Although he now lives in America, his family resides in England. Michael never makes it back to the land of his dreams. A few years later, he is listed as missing in action. In 1934, Michael's family called upon Maisie Dobbs to investigate when their son's body is discovered. They want her to find the wartime nurse who wrote love letters to their son but whose cryptic signatures left her identity a mystery. Examination of his remains leave many questions. Could Michael have been murdered in the trenches or was his death just one ore war casualty in a war that left many young men forever gone? As a former WWI nurse, Maisie Dobbs has much to add to the case at hand. Not only does she have have the knowledge of wartime conditions but she also has contacts within the nursing world. Maisie Dobbs, however, is more than the typical private investigator who examines the physical evidence. She brings to her cases a more holistic and caring approach learned from her nursing and mentor, an approach that examines the psychological dimensions as well as the body. In THE MAPPING OF LOVE AND DEATH, Maisie Dobbs brings a sense of healing to her clients with the closure of the case as the family receives the answers they need to understand the past and live their present lives more fully despite the loss of her son. As Michael Clifton mapped the terrain, Maisie Dobbs maps the emotional terrain of the human spirit. THE MAPPING OF LOVE AND DEATH expands on the themes of loss and new turning points in several ways, making this mystery rich in fictional texture. As with past Maisie Dobbs mysteries, long time fans like this reader will appreciate all the psychological and literary dimensions that make Jacqueline Winspear's mysteries so unique. THE MAPPING OF LOVE AND DEATH is much more than a mystery, more than a work of historical fiction. Indeed THE MAPPING OF LOVE AND DEATH is a perfect choice less for the genre purist but rather for the reader who wants a little bit of everything --- the puzzle of a mystery, the insights into the past, psychological or some sense of spiritual depth all bound together with a bit of the richness of literary fiction that makes a novel stand up beyond the plot. THE MAPPING OF LOVE AND DEATH is a wonderful pleasure read for the reader looking for something different and richer than one's typical fare. This was the original reason why I began reading Maisie Dobbs mysteries years ago, and today with this new release, I found the same kind of reading delight multiplied with a little twist. THE MAPPING OF LOVE AND DEATH marks a turning point in Maisie Dobbs life with promises of exciting future directions ahead. Not only is the case a turn

Maisie receives a letter from a Doctor she knew during The War. She had worked with him and his team from "Mass General Hospital" when they were at the front. He asked her to meet with an older couple from Boston who want Maisie to look into their sons last days during The War. Their son had enlisted in the British Cartography Section of the British Army in 1914. He was accepted (though he was American by birth) because his father had been born in England and they sorely needed cartographers. He went missing in 1916 around the time of the Battle of the Somme. In the spring of that year (1932) some farmers in northern France had opened up a cavern that turned out to be a set of rooms from a Great War trench. In the trench was their son and most of his unit, they had been buried during an artillery bombardment. After meeting the Clintons and reviewing the autopsy done by the British Army Medical Corpe, it was established that he had been killed by a blunt force to the head. In other words he had been murdered. With some letters from an unnamed nurse and his diary (all preserved by the sealed condition of the trench) Maisie sets out to see if she can find his killer. So begins one of the best mysteries in this series since the initial book. In addition to this marvelous mystery, Maisie also has to deal with: 1) Billy's wife returning from the psychiatric hospital, 2) her mentor Dr. Maurice Blanche's illness, 3) her feelings for a friend of Priscilla's husband Douglas, 4) dealing with Inspector Stratton's replacement at Scotland Yard, and 5) the budding relationship between her and Lord and Lady Compton's son James who has returned from Canada to take over the family business. Having always had a purpose in life as well as a goal, Maisie now is looking at her mid-thirties and deciding where she wants her life to go. Her old beau Dr. Andrew Dene has married and is expecting the birth of his first child. Though she doesn't think in terms of a biological clock, she knows the reality of life. Winspear should gain loads of new readers and keep her old readers holding on to the final page. Even better, should be what is to come. In less than a year (January 1933) Hitler will become Chancellor of Germany, and things in Europe will really start to heat-up. Should be a long, fun ride. Zeb Kantrowitz

I have been reading the "Maisie Dobbs" series by Jacqueline Winspear since her first novel, "Maisie Dobbs". I was eagerly looking forward to this book and I was fortunate that it was offered in the Vine program. "The Mapping of Love and Death" is every bit as well-written and well-plotted as her previous ones. Series books, like the "Maisie Dobbs" novels, represent both a challenge and opportunity to the writer. The challenge is to keep the story and characters moving forward in an engaging way and the opportunity is to accept the challenge to do so. Winspear does both. Her lead characters, Maisie Dobbs, Billy Beale, the Compton family, and Maisie's mentor Maurice Blanche continue to age as time passes from England in the 1920's to England in the 1930's. Maisie's detective agency is succeeding in the midst of the Depression and she is given a new case that involves the death of of an American soldier during The Great War and the repercussions on to the soldier's family. As usual with Maisie's cases, the truth at the end contains many deceptions and cover ups. As real life does, I suppose... Winspear's writing is so good that a new "Maisie Dobbs" reader could pick up this, her latest, and feel completely comfortable reading it. She reintroduces old characters and situations in such a nuanced way that doesn't seem repetitious to the veteran series reader. She has written a great addition to the "Maisie Dobbs" series. Enjoy.