The Mapping of Love and Death

by Jacqueline Winspear

Overview

"Jacqueline Winspear chronicles the uncharted, sometimes rocky path chosen by her protagonist and delivers results that are educational, unique and wonderful."
--USA Today

"Maisie Dobbs is a revelation."
-- Alexander McCall Smith, author of The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency

From Jacqueline Winspear, New York Times bestselling author of Among the Mad and An Incomplete Revenge, comes another thrilling installment in the Maisie Dobbs series. In The Mapping of Love and Death, Winspear's popular "psychologist and investigator" Maisie Dobbs is hired to unravel a case of wartime love and death, an investigation that leads her to a doomed affair between a young cartographer and a mysterious nurse.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062163394
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	06/13/2016
Pages:	354
Sales rank:	246,722
Product dimensions:	5.25(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.88(d)

About the Author

Jacqueline Winspear is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Among the Mad and An Incomplete Revenge, as well as four other Maisie Dobbs novels. She has won numerous awards for her work, including the Agatha, Alex, and Macavity awards for the first book in the series, Maisie Dobbs. Originally from the United Kingdom, she now lives in California.

Hometown:

Ojai, California

Date of Birth:

April 30, 1955

Place of Birth:

Weald of Kent, England

Education:

The University of London¿s Institute of Education

Website:

http://www.jacquelinewinspear.com

Editorial Reviews

"Compelling." -- People (3 1/2 out of 4 stars)

"In Maisie Dobbs, Jacqueline Winspear has given us a real gift. Maisie Dobbs has not been created--she has been discovered. Such people are always there amongst us, waiting for somebody like Ms. Winspear to come along and reveal them. And what a revelation it is!" -- Alexander McCall Smith

"An engaging plot coupled with captivating character makes this the best Dobbs novel to date." -- Library Journal

"Endearing. . . . As often in this winning series, the action builds to a somewhat sad if satisfying conclusion." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"When people ask me to recommend an author, one name consistently comes to mind: Jacqueline Winspear." -- Deirdre Donahue, USA Today

"A sleuth to treasure." -- Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review

"A detective series to savor." -- Johanna McGeary, Time

"[Catches] the sorrow of a lost generation in the character of one exceptional woman." -- Dick Adler, Chicago Tribune

"What charms most is Dobbs herself: a woman 'not as adept in her personal life as she was in her professional domain, ' and all the more engaging for that." -- Tom Nolan, Wall Street Journal

From the Publisher

Set in 1932, bestseller Winspear's endearing seventh Maisie Dobbs novel (after 2009's Among the Mad) centers on Michael Clifton, a young American cartographer during the Great War, whose remains turn up in a French field. Evidence suggests to Maisie that Michael, rather than dying in a shell blast, was murdered. Michael's parents arrive in London with letters from an unnamed English nurse that raise disturbing questions about the nurse's relationship with their son. The plucky inquiry agent embarks on a search for this woman, following a trail that leads to Chatham, home of the School of Military Engineering, which Michael attended. There she learns about the vital role that cartography played in the war. At times, subplots involving socialite James Compton, a frustrated suitor, and the family problems of Maisie's assistant, Billy Beale, slow the pace. As often in this winning series, the action builds to a somewhat sad if satisfying conclusion. 10-city author tour. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

Mapping the human heart is more art than science. Winspear's seventh Maisie Dobbs novel (after Among the Mad) finds the detective employed by the parents of a soldier and cartographer, Michael Clifton, who fought during World War I. Missing for 16 years, the bodies of Clifton and his unit are discovered in France. The postmortem reveals that while the unit perished during a shelling attack, Clifton was already dead from a crushed skull. The only clues found with the body are Clifton's deteriorated journal and love letters to an unnamed nurse. There's also the dilemma of the California land purchase, potentially lucrative, that Clifton made just before he enlisted. With no deed of sale or will apparent, the land is mired in legal entanglements. This case has long grown cold, but Maisie is too relentless an investigator to let it prevent her from bringing a murderer to justice. VERDICT An engaging plot coupled with captivating characters makes this the best Dobbs novel to date. Highly recommended for historical mystery aficionados who enjoy intriguing whodunits wrapped in a wartime love story.—Susan O. Moritz, Montgomery Cty. P.Ls., MD

Library Journal