Publisher's Weekly Review
Set in 1933, bestseller Winspear's excellent ninth novel featuring London investigator and psychologist Maisie Dobbs represents a welcome return to form after 2011's less inspired A Lesson in Secrets. Five men Maisie hasn't seen since girlhood break the sad news that Eddie Pettit, another friend Maisie hasn't seen in years, died when a huge roll of paper fell on him in the paper factory where he ran errands. The gentle Eddie, who was considered slow, had a remarkable talent for relating to horses. The five, who suspect Eddie's death was no accident, retain Maisie to find out what really happened. The case comes at an emotionally turbulent time for Maisie, who's ambivalent about her relationship with wealthy James Compton and has begun to question the reasons for her own many acts of charity. The involved plot is as good as any in the series, and the resolution is intelligently complex. 9-city author tour. Agent: Amy Rennert, Amy Rennert Agency. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
London in the 1930s serves as backdrop for Winspear's engaging, best-selling series featuring psychologist, investigator, and former war nurse Maisie Dobbs. A woman of humble beginnings who received a sizable inheritance from her mentor, Maurice, Dobbs harbors great compassion for the working-class woman and man. When local fruit peddler Eddie Pettit is killed in a violent accident, Dobbs suspects foul play, for Eddie was a simple soul with a kind heart and a knack for communicating with horses. Those who knew Eddie say he seemed uncharacteristically agitated in the last days of his life. Had he fallen in with the wrong crowd, or fallen prey to power brokers who took unfair advantage of his naivete? Dobbs' investigation takes her from the gritty streets of Lambeth to glamorous London dinner parties, where guests include press magnates and politicians with money and ambition to burn. Winspear's books are stronger on atmosphere than plot, and here she vividly evokes early-twentieth-century London and the glaring disparity between the haves and have-nots.--Block, Allison Copyright 2010 Booklist
Library Journal Review
Street justice is its own judge, jury, and executioner in Winspear's ninth Maisie Dobbs mystery (after A Lesson in Secrets). In 1933 London, a British psychologist/investigator is asked by old friends to look into the accidental death of their beloved neighbor, Eddie, a sweet, childlike man who had a knack with horses. Eddie had seemed troubled before his death, as if a great weight lay upon his mind. But who would kill a harmless man like Eddie and why? Maisie's inquiry leads her to more than just one killer. It will also lead her into the gathering storm of World War II. VERDICT Winspear hits just the right notes in her portrayal of Maisie struggling with her newly acquired wealth and the social constraints of her new love. This emotional story will leave readers questioning whether the ends really do justify the means. Recommended for all historical mystery enthusiasts, especially those interested in home-front war stories like Charles Todd's Bess Crawford series. [See Prepub Alert, 9/19/11.]-Susan O. Moritz, Montgomery Cty. P.L.s, MD (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
