Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Blog Tour/Review: Among the Mad by Jacqueline Winspear


Note: To celebrate the release of Jacqueline Winspear's 13th novel in the Maisie Dobbs series, In This Grave Hour, TLC Book Tours is hosting a series blog tour during the months of February and March. You can learn more about this series and tour here.

Among the Mad, by Jacqueline Winspear
2009, Historical Fiction/Mystery
My Rating=5 Stars
Source: I received a complimentary copy from the publisher via TLC Book Tours, which did not affect my review in any way



Christmas Eve, 1931. On the way to see a client, Maisie Dobbs witnesses a man commit suicide on a busy London street. The following day, the Prime Minister’s office receives a letter threatening a massive loss of life if certain demands are not met—and the writer mentions Maisie by name. Tapped by Scotland Yard’s elite Special Branch to be a special adviser on the case, Maisie is soon involved in a race against time to find a man who proves he has the knowledge and will to inflict destruction on thousands of innocent people.

In Among the Mad, Jacqueline Winspear combines a heart-stopping story with a rich evocation of a fascinating period to create her most compelling and satisfying novel yet.

The first book I read in this series was the tenth one and I loved it so I jumped at the chance to read more! This is the sixth book in this series. It takes place in London in 1931. On Christmas Eve, Maisie is on the way to see a client when a man commits suicide in front of her. Maisie, a psychologist and private investigator, is pulled into the case when the Prime Minister's office receives a letter threatening the loss of more lives if the author's demands aren't met and he mentions Maisie by name.

I love the time period. It's post WWI and deals with wounded soldiers and how the war affected some of them. There are parts that are disturbing but it paints a complete picture about the person they are dealing with. It's interesting to see how she solves the case without the modern conveniences we have now. There's another storyline which I also found interesting that deals with her assistant, Billy's, home life.

Since I've only read two of these books, I don't know Maisie all that well, but I do like her. She's a proper, no-nonsense kind of woman with a soft heart. I love her interactions with the other characters and how they were developed. I felt like I knew each one by the end and hope some of them will be included in future installments.

This is a series where the books stand alone if you start later in the series. There is background that will make more sense to those that read the books in order, but I feel that the author does a great job of catching the reader up on what's happening without bogging down the story. I love that these books are clean. If you're looking for romance, you will be disappointed. If you're looking for a well-written, fast-paced mystery, this is a book and series you will want to check out! I'm excited to read more!!


About Jacqueline Winspear

Jacqueline Winspear is the author of the New York Times bestselling Maisie Dobbs series, which includes In This Grave Hour, Journey to Munich, A Dangerous Place, Leaving Everything Most Loved, Elegy for Eddie, and eight other novels. Her standalone novel, The Care and Management of Lies, was also a New York Times bestseller and a Dayton Literary Peace Prize finalist. Originally from the United Kingdom, she now lives in California.

Find out more about Jacqueline at her website, www.jacquelinewinspear.com, and find her on Facebook.

Tour Stops:

Monday, February 20th: Life By Kristen – Maisie Dobbs
Tuesday, February 21st: Bookshelf Fantasies – Birds of a Feather
Wednesday, February 22nd: Reading Reality – Pardonable Lies
Thursday, February 23rd: A Bookish Way of Life – Messenger of Truth
Monday, February 27th: Back Porchervations – An Incomplete Revenge
Tuesday, February 28th: Mel’s Shelves – Among the Mad
Wednesday, March 1st: History from a Woman’s PerspectiveThe Mapping of Love and Death
Thursday, March 2nd: Book by Book – A Lesson in Secrets
Monday, March 6th: Bookish Realm Reviews – Elegy for Eddie
Tuesday, March 7th: My Military Savings – Leaving Everything Most Loved
Tuesday, March 7th: Barbara Khan on Goodreads – Leaving Everything Most Loved
Wednesday, March 8th: Lit and Life – A Dangerous Place
Thursday, March 9th: #redhead.with.book – Journey to Munich

1 comments:

Heather J @ TLC Book Tours said...

I like that you're hopping around in the series and still enjoying it even though you don't have everything all in order. Maisie is quite an interesting character for sure!

Thanks for being a part of the tour.

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