The Mapping of Love and Death audiobook

I’m getting kind of sick of WWI stories, especially now that this book’s present time is 1932. I’m actually looking forward to what will hopefully be WWII stories and I hope that WWI will be (mostly) left behind in future books, and the sooner the better.I was interested in the storylines from the start though. I enjoyed the brief appearance of California in the U.S. even though it was nowhere near me and included unfamiliar terrain. I’ll definitely keep reading. I love seeing what happens with everyone, not just Maisie. It looks as though things are about to get even more exciting. Fascinating stuff!Right now I’m feeling (view spoiler)[ very envious of Maisie. I suppose that most readers want to witness happy, good, lucky things happening to main characters and I do too but sometimes I wish that some characters don’t have their lot improved. It would be more like real life, I think. (hide spoiler)] I will say though that what does happen in this book makes perfect sense and the series story is moving along in an incredibly satisfying way.I really love Maisie, and I also enjoy most of the other characters, and will greatly miss some characters, though I have a feeling the reader will get to revisit them in brief flashbacks. I do wish that one thing in this book had been wrapped up but maybe it will be in future books in the series. I think the main reason why this series of books aren’t exactly page turners for me is that they have such long chapters. My preference is to end each reading session at the end of a chapter and it’s easier for me to start a chapter if it’s not a big time commitment. This book was one of my favorites so far. 4-1/2 starsI read a Kindle e-edition and an Overdrive audio edition, my favorite e-formats, both borrowed from my public library.

Time calls the Maisie Dobbs Detective series, "A detective series to savor." I have read almost all of them and love Jacqueline Winspear's ability to draw the reader into her world. It is August, 1914 and Michael Clifton is mapping the land he has just purchased in Santa Ynez valley in California. He is almost certain that a great reserve of oil lies beneath. As he is prepared to return home to Boston, war is declared in Europe he puts duty first and sails for Britain to enlist. Three years later, he is listed as missing. Now, the setting shifts to April, 1932 in London, and Maisie Dobbs is retained by Michael's parents who have recently been informed that their son's remains have been unearthed in France. They ask Maisie to try and locate the unnamed nurse whose love letters were found among their son's belongings. She discovers that he was murdered in the trench. Now, Maisie is almost overcome with reactions from Michael's family and the search for the truth. She also must face the loss of her long-time mentor, Maurice Blanche and that she is falling in love. Although the novel was first published in 2010, it is still relevant today with believable characters that outlast the test of time.

Another enjoyable entry in the Maisie Dobbs series. Rather than enumerate the plot details which are available above, let me say that this novel brings Maisie to a new point in her life. It closes out all aspects of her youth and allows her to move fully into adulthood. At last she knows her place in the world. That brings with it more concerns and questions to be answered in later sequels.While some of the plot issues may have been solved a bit easily and obviously, I found I didn't mind at all. I enjoyed seeing the ever-developing relationship between Maisie and her assistant Billie Beale and his family, her maturing relationship with Maurice Blanche and new relationships with the police. And then there are personal relationships. Maisie has not allowed herself the pleasure or risk of personal attachments since the wounding and ultimate loss of the man she loved during the War and this reader wonders what will happen in the future. She is so dedicated to her work....will she allow herself to have personal happiness also.All in all, another fun read. I'm looking forward to the next, A Lesson in Secrets which is already on my shelf. I'm going to wait a bit and savor the idea of it.

It’s 1932, Maisie Dobbs’ third year in business as an “inquiry agent.” (That’s British for private detective.) As usual, Maisie’s life is complicated. Her assistant, Billy Beale, is working shorter hours to care for his wife, who has just been released from a mental asylum. Maisie’s beloved mentor and former employer, Dr. Maurice Blanche, is in declining health. And two attractive, wealthy men are pursuing her despite her reluctance to take time away from her work. Her agency is doing well even in the Depression. Then a friend she’d known from her service as a nurse in the Great War writes from America to ask that she help an American couple freshly arrived in London.The Cliftons, it turns out, are in their late seventies. Edward Clifton had emigrated from England to the U.S. as a young man. There he built a huge property development business, in which their children are now assuming leadership. He and his wife just arrived from France, where the remains of their youngest son were uncovered in an old battlefield. Letters uncovered with his body reveal that the young man had had an affair with a young woman during the war. Maisie’s assignment is to locate her. But Maisie discovers almost immediately that the job isn’t just an old missing-persons case: a close reading of the autopsy report makes clear that Michael Clifton didn’t die in battle. He was murdered.While spending time with the dying Maurice and navigating the attentions of two competing would-be husbands, Maisie sets out to determine who murdered Michael Clifton and identify his long-missing lover. Her investigation immerses her in the dynamics of the large and complicated Clifton family. Then, when the aged Cliftons are attacked in their hotel and left to die, Scotland Yard enters the scene. Maisie is then forced to collaborate with the detective who has caused a great deal of trouble for her in the past.The Mapping of Love and Death is the seventh novel in Jacqueline Winspear’s delightful Maisie Dobbs series. (The reference to mapping in the title refers to Michael Clifton’s chosen profession as a cartographer and his work in a British Army cartography unit on the front lines in France.) As in its predecessors, World War I looms large in the background. Winspear deftly portrays the difficulty the English had to leave behind the terrible consequences of the war even a decade and a half later. However, the shocking conclusion to this novel reveals that future books in the series may take a turn toward the coming, Second World War. Given the skill she demonstrated in the first seven novels in the series, I’m looking forward to more from Jacqueline Winspear.

Maisie Dobbs gets engaged by an American couple to find the sweet heart of their son, that died in World War I. It soon becomes apparent that someone does not want her delving into this and that the son may not have been a victim of war after all. I love the series, it captures the atmosphere of the time incredible well. Maisie is amazing.

Seventh in the Maisie Dobbs historical mystery series and revolving around Maisie, a young woman who rose from the servant class to be a psychologist and investigator. This story is set in April 1932 in London.My TakeOh. My. God. This story is such a mess of emotion, from the loss of such a promising life, the death of someone important to so many, and the promise of the most amazing future with possibilities in romance, Maisie's work, and her future.I am most grateful to Winspear for how she ended it as it tempered the loss. Oh, I still cried…and am still crying as I write this review. And yet, the hope that lives on…*laughing a little*…and the question of what the future will bring (!) has me chomping at the bit to get on to A Lesson in Secrets to find out what happens next. Damn you, Winspear for leaving me in such doubt!Winspear has also done a brilliant job in setting up a natural change in the series, and it's building off the change possibilities she introduced in Among the Mad , 6.I must confess the developing romance is one I've been hoping for as I like the man, and it's an interesting "experiment" in social changes as well as a reflection in changes within English society as a whole.My only negative is Winspear's repeating the bit about Michael's observations of his new British friends. I do wish she had re-worded it so it didn't sound like a cut-and-paste.It's an interesting series. A bit cold — as in a British reserve sense — and yet I do adore these characters. Maisie could be considered unrealistic in her patience and acceptance, except that she's been trained by Maurice and Basil Khan. And her upbringing certainly was unusual, enough so that she's completely believable. Winspear contributes to this with Maisie's own doubts and fears. Ones that Maisie acknowledges as she comes to understand them. It's a lovely combination of a regular human being who needs weaknesses pointed out to them with a strong woman who is willing to examine those weaknesses, to recognize them. Billy is a good man, concerned for his family, and willing to work for a woman. Yes, a strong Maisie is one of my favorite parts of this as she confounds Scotland Yard and Special Branch with her insight. I also adore how well Winspear conveys the feel of the time period. I feel as though I'm there in the 1930s, and Winspear appears to get the details right from manners to mores to clothing — and the lack of plumbing!The StoryWhen their son's body is discovered in a farmer's field, his parents contact Maisie to learn more. They want his killer found, but their greatest hopes are of a lover, perhaps even a wife who may have had a child. With their son dead, a child is their only hope of their beloved son living on. The trauma of learning what happened in Michael's life, however, is overshadowed by emotional events in Maisie's own life as Maurice falls ill, and Maisie falls in love.The CharactersMaisie Dobbs is a psychologist and investigator by both training and desire. She rose from the servant class when she was caught interested in reading and knowledge. Now she works as a private investigator for herself as well as consulting for Scotland Yard and Special Branch. Frankie Dobbs, her father, is the stablemaster out at Lord and Lady Compton's country estate, Chelstone. Jook is Frankie's dog. Billy Beale is her assistant, and Maisie and Billy are both thrilled that they've been successfully in business for three years, at a time when the Great Depression has deprived so many of work. Doreen is Billy's wife and home now, working to get past her depression. Dr. Masters has been successfully treating Doreen.Dr. Maurice Blanche has continued working for the government in both an investigative, legal, and forensic capacity. He took Maisie under his wing years ago and encouraged her, along with Lady Rowan, to achieve higher education. Mrs. Bromley is Dr. Blanche's housekeeper at the Dower House which he purchased from the Comptons. Basil Khan is still teaching and providing solace. Dr. Andrew Dene, a renowned orthopedic surgeon, had dated Maisie and married another when Maisie dumped him. He was one of Maurice's prodigies. Bernard Klein is Maurice's solicitor.Priscilla Partridge has been Maisie's best friend since Girton and struggling with depression and alcohol; she introduced Maisie to Simon. Douglas is her pacifist husband who was disabled in the war. Their children are mad for all things aviation. Benedict Sutton is a friend of theirs whom Pris sets up with Maisie.Lady Rowan and Lord Julian Compton have been supportive and a good resource for Maisie. James Compton, Viscount Compton and heir to his father's title, has been working for his father's interests in Canada but seems to have returned to England for good this time. Emily is an older sister who died. Carter is the family's butler at Chelstone.SourcesColonel John Bartley refers Maisie on to Lieutenant Colonel Archibald Davidson who refers her to Major Peter Whitting who refers her to Major Ian Temple. Dawson is the friendly butler who does for Whitting. Lady Petronella Casterman is very active in charitable work; Elizabeth Peterson was one of her nurses. Lady Ella has three children: two daughters and a son, Christopher Casterman, heir to the title. Henry Gilbert is a cinematographer; Roland Marshall is Gilbert's assistant.Scotland YardDetective Inspector Caldwell has gotten a promotion with Stratton's move into Special Branch. Detective Chief Inspector Stratton is now Special Branch but only appears at the funeral along with Robert MacFarlane. John Langley is an embassy bloke.Michael Clifton is a cartographer who has discovered oil in an untapped field in California, but he enlists in the British Army when World War I breaks out. Tennie, the English Nurse, is Michael's love. Edward and Martha Clifton are his wealthy and supportive parents. Their eldest daughter, Meg, is married to Bradley Marchant who knows Hayden. Teddy is their oldest son; his son, Chris, loves exploring and looks just like Michael. Anna is married to Thomas Libbert, and Michael is their youngest. Veronica Clifton was Edward's sister, part of the Clifton Shoe family forbidden to speak to Edward. Dr. Charles Hayden had been a volunteer with a medical contingent from Massachusetts General Hospital which came to help the English Army at the start of the war. He was introduced to Maisie through Simon Lynch. Hayden is now married to Pauline.Captain Jeremy Lockwood was Michael's immediate superior. Sydney Mullen was a member of the cartography crew and one of Michael's friends.Alfie Mantle is an Artful Dodger moving up in the ranks, so to speak.The CoverThe cover is the woodcut style Winspear has used throughout the series so far with metaphors galore as Maisie leans back against her red MG. She's at the top of a hill out looking across the English countryside, itself a metaphor for Michael's dream for his future and of his career choice. I like to think that the sign at the crossroads is also a metaphor for Maisie while that view across the countryside also makes me think of the battlefields of World War I from a cartographer's viewpoint with its hills and valleys, fences, buildings, and trees. That bit of barbed wire near the car's fender and Maisie's map simply reinforces the feeling.The title is a play on the murder victim as well as Maisie, for it's The Mapping of Love and Death for Michael and Maisie both.

Michael Clifton fought in The Great War (WWI). He died. Recently his body has been found. It seems that he was murdered. Maisie Dobbs is called in by Michael's parents to determine what happened.Michael was a cartographer - a person who draws or produces maps. Aha!! The Mapping of Love and Death!! I listened to the story on audio and it was well read and the story full of twists and turns. I liked it as well as the other 6 Maisie Dobbs novels I have read.I took a two year hiatus from reading the series. Now that I am out and about, I have resumed listening. I love to hear a book as I am driving.From the Authors note I learned that 'to this day,the remains of those listed as missing in the Great War are being unearthed in France and Belgium'. In a letter to the Santa Barbar Independent in 2005, David Bartlett was on a quest to identify the remains of a young soldier who might have been as American with a British regiment. That letter inspired this book.Note that Maisie's life changes dramatically toward the end of #7. Won't say more than that!!On to Book #8 - A LessOon in Secrets5 stars

The seventh outing for Maisie Dobbs, and Winspear has written another stunner. It is 1932 and Maisie is approached by an elderly American couple Edward and Martha Clifford who have just arrived from France, where their son, Michael's remains were found with the rest of his unit in a shelled out shelter. Michael was a cartographer and thus essential to the war effort, however, the pathologist report into his death indicates that the injuries from the shelling occured after his death and that the probable cause of death was a blow to the head. As well as his surveying tools that were found with his body, his journal an a bundle of letters that were wrapped in protective covering were discovered.Michael's parents hire Maisie to find his killer and also the identity of the English Nurse who was his sweetheart during the war. To add to the complication, before he sailed for England to join in the war effort in 1914, Michael had survyed and bought a piece of land in California where he believed oil was to be discovered. Difficulty in proving probate (the deeds to the land are missing) has meant difficulty finding closure for Michael's family and they are hoping Maisie can solve the riddles.As usual, Winspear depicts the 30s and the continuing after effects of the 1st world war on all who were involved, she also deals with the human side of suffering and with relationships. Maisie's mentor Maurice Blanche is fading and she has to come to terms with his impending loss, whilst at the same time acknowledging a change in her personal life that could affect her far into the future.I have loved Winspear's Maisie Dobbs series from the start and can highley recommend them to anyone who enjoys crime, physcological drama, the 30s and mysteries. Can't wait for the next one!!