Skip to main content

The Journey to Munich (Maisie Dobbs #12) by Jacqueline Winspear: A Book Review

Journey to Munich (Maisie Dobbs #12)
Author: Jacqueline Winspear
Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery
Publisher: HarperCollins
Release Date: 2016
Pages: 309
Source: Edelweiss/Publisher in exchange for an honest review
Synopsis: Working with the British Secret Service on an undercover mission, Maisie Dobbs is sent to Hitler’s Germany in this thrilling tale of danger and intrigue—the twelfth novel in Jacqueline Winspear’s New York Times bestselling “series that seems to get better with each entry” (Wall Street Journal).

     It’s early 1938, and Maisie Dobbs is back in England. On a fine yet chilly morning, as she walks towards Fitzroy Square—a place of many memories—she is intercepted by Brian Huntley and Robert MacFarlane of the Secret Service. The German government has agreed to release a British subject from prison, but only if he is handed over to a family member. Because the man’s wife is bedridden and his daughter has been killed in an accident, the Secret Service wants Maisie—who bears a striking resemblance to the daughter—to retrieve the man from Dachau, on the outskirts of Munich.

     The British government is not alone in its interest in Maisie’s travel plans. Her nemesis—the man she holds responsible for her husband’s death—has learned of her journey, and is also desperate for her help.

     Traveling into the heart of Nazi Germany, Maisie encounters unexpected dangers—and finds herself questioning whether it’s time to return to the work she loved. But the Secret Service may have other ideas. . . .

     My Review: Maisie Dobbs has now arrived back in England. Once she is back, she is forced to join the Secret Service and become an agent. Her mission is to rescue Leon Donat, a British subject who has been arrested and is incarcerated in a German prison. Because only a family member can release Leon from jail, Maisie is to pose as his daughter to get him safely home. She is also tasked from John Otterburn to bring his daughter Elaine home from Germany. Once Maisie arrives in Germany, she finds that her mission is not as smooth as the Secret Service claims it would be and problems arise. Maisie witnesses the tensions between England and Germany, and the growing power of Hitler’s regime.

    I really like the idea of Maisie being an agent of the Secret Service. Maisie is still trying to come to terms with James’s death and is struggling to forgive those who brought it upon him.  Miaise is caring and compassionate, for she wants to help a stranger that she barely knows and treats him like a father. As she helps those around her, she slowly recovers and decides what she wants in her life.  Thus, the mission to Germany has helped Maisie to see the positive things in a world amidst tragedy and chaos.

   Overall, this book is about forgiveness. It is also about a woman who is trying to heal after the loss of a loved one. The characters are fleshed out. I also like the depictions of Munich, for it is described as beautiful place, but it is only a temporary beauty for it will soon be gone with the war. Thus, this novel shows that Germany’s bright days are numbered. The story itself is fast-paced and is filled with suspense. While I didn't like that the murderer got away with it, I still found the mystery to be intriguing. Journey to Munich is a thrilling ride and I can’t wait to delve into the latest installment in the Maisie Dobbs series, In This Grave Hour.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn: A Book Review

The Rose Code Author: Kate Quinn Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Harper Collins Release Date: 2021 Pages: 635 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: 1940, Bletchley Park, Buckinghamshire.        Three very different women are recruited to the mysterious Bletchley Park, where the best minds in Britain train to break German military codes.       Vivacious debutante Osla has the dashing Prince Philip of Greece sending her roses – but she burns to prove herself as more than a society girl, working to translate decoded enemy secrets. Self-made Mab masters the legendary codebreaking machines as she conceals old wounds and the poverty of her East-End London upbringing. And shy local girl Beth is the outsider who trains as one of the Park’s few female cryptanalysts.       1947, London.        Seven years after they first meet, on the eve of the royal wedding between Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip, disaster threatens. Osla, Mab and Beth are estranged,

The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post by Allison Pataki: A Book Review

The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post Author: Allison Pataki Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Ballantine Release Date: February 15, 2022 Pages: 381 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: Mrs. Post, the President and First Lady are here to see you. . . . So begins another average evening for Marjorie Merriweather Post. Presidents have come and gone, but she has hosted them all. Growing up in the modest farmlands of Battle Creek, Michigan, Marjorie was inspired by a few simple rules: always think for yourself, never take success for granted, and work hard—even when deemed American royalty, even while covered in imperial diamonds. Marjorie had an insatiable drive to live and love and to give more than she got. From crawling through Moscow warehouses to rescue the Tsar’s treasures to outrunning the Nazis in London, from serving the homeless of the Great Depression to entertaining Roosevelts, Kennedys, and Hollywood’s biggest stars, Marjorie Merriweath

The Seven Sisters (The Seven Sisters #1) by Lucinda Riley: A Book Review

The Seven Sisters (The Seven Sisters #1) Author: Lucinda Riley Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance Publisher: Atria Release Date: 2015 Pages: 463 Source: My State Public Library Synopsis: Maia D’Apliese and her five sisters gather together at their childhood home, “Atlantis”—a fabulous, secluded castle situated on the shores of Lake Geneva—having been told that their beloved father, who adopted them all as babies, has died. Each of them is handed a tantalizing clue to her true heritage—a clue which takes Maia across the world to a crumbling mansion in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Once there, she begins to put together the pieces of her story and its beginnings. Eighty years earlier in Rio’s Belle Epoque of the 1920s, Izabela Bonifacio’s father has aspirations for his daughter to marry into the aristocracy. Meanwhile, architect Heitor da Silva Costa is devising plans for an enormous statue, to be called Christ the Redeemer, and will soon travel to Paris to find the right sculptor to