About the Book
London, 1945. The capital is the backdrop for many struggling with demons unleashed by the recent World War. Maisie Dobbs is drawn into the story of a group of squatters, including an ill demobbed soldier, who have set up camp in the Belgravia mansion of her former in-laws Lord and Lady Julian Compton.
Her attempt to help brings to light a decades-old mystery that concerns her first husband, James Compton, who was killed while flying an experimental fighter aircraft. The deeply personal inquiry leads her to the second man, who is fighting the darkness of his own conscience following a secret mission.
It is an investigation that will challenge so much of what Maisie understands about her life and forces her to look at the past and the many mirrors that could have been reflecting something other than she had come to believe was truth.
Format: Hardcover (360 pages) Publisher: Allison & Busby
Publication date: 4th June 2024 Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery
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My Review
The Comfort of Ghosts is the eighteenth – and final – book in the author’s Maisie Dobbs series. As such it’s partly a curtain call for many of the characters readers have encountered over the previous seventeen books. There are references to past events which would make it possible to read it as a standalone but I’d really recommend devouring the series from the beginning.
The ‘ghosts’ of the title are also very much present: people lost in the war, those who survived but are changed forever and those who must live with the consequences of their actions. And the evidence of the war is all around in damaged buildings, damaged people and a country deep in debt. ‘We’ll all be happy to leave the war and get on with the peace, such as it is, but it’ll be a good long time before it lets go of us, won’t it?’
If there’s a theme to the book, it’s change. For some it’s enforced change because of what they have gone through, for others it’s new opportunities at home or abroad. And the country is changing too, such as the establishment of the National Health Service and the building of new homes with modern amenities.
What hasn’t changed is that Maisie can’t resist getting involved in a mystery nor can she ignore the plight of people in peril. Bringing together the analytical skills learned from her deceased mentor, her trusted team of helpers and her admirable powers of persuasion, she seeks to get to the bottom of a mysterious death that no-one seems to want investigated. In the process she is forced to confront memories of her own personal tragedies but also to recognise the good fortune that has come her way: a loving husband and daughter, and a close-knit circle of family and friends.
I thought The Comfort of Ghosts was a beautifully balanced blend of heartbreak and hope for the future, and the perfect end to a wonderfully entertaining series.
I received an advance reader copy courtesy of Allison & Busby via NetGalley.
In three words: Moving, intriguing, satisfying
Try something similar: V For Victory by Lissa Evans
About the Author
Jacqueline Winspear is the author of the New York Times bestselling Maisie Dobbs series. Her stand-alone books include The Care and Management of Lies, The White Lady and her memoir, This Time Next Year We’ll be Laughing. Originally from the United Kingdom, Winspear now divides her time between California and the Pacific Northwest. (Photo: Goodreads author page)
Connect with Jacqueline
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Welcome to my wrap-up of the books I read in May. I read nine books last month, two of which I awarded five stars.
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