Among the Mad - (Maisie Dobbs Novels) by Jacqueline Winspear (Paperback)

About the Book

In the thrilling new mystery by the "New York Times"-bestselling author of "An Incomplete Revenge," Maisie Dobbs must catch a madman before he commits murder on an unimaginable scale.

Book Synopsis

In the thrilling next novel by New York Times bestselling author Jacqueline Winspear, Maisie Dobbs must catch a madman before he commits murder on an unimaginable scale.

It's 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. After being questioned and cleared by Detective Chief Superintendent Robert MacFarlane of Scotland Yard's elite Special Branch, she is drawn into MacFarlane's personal fiefdom as a special adviser on the case. Meanwhile, Billy Beale, Maisie's trusted assistant, is once again facing tragedy as his wife, who has never recovered from the death of their young daughter, slips further into melancholia's abyss. Soon Maisie becomes involved in a race against time to find a man who proves he has the knowledge and will to inflict death and destruction on thousands of innocent people. And before this harrowing case is over, Maisie must navigate a darkness not encountered since she was a nurse in wards filled with shell-shocked men.

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.

Review Quotes

"Absorbing and exciting . . . a fast-breaking case that takes Maisie Dobbs from 10 Downing Street to the meanest of London hovels. The book's puzzle is challenging, but what charms most is Dobbs herself . . . engaging." --The Wall Street Journal

"Maisie has only her considerable wits and empathic skill to help Scotland Yard identify the killer. The hunt gets the pulse racing, but the real draw is Maisie herself, a wonderfully nuanced character . . . . [an] engrossing mystery." --People ****

"[An] accomplished series . . . British mysteries of manners, highly evocative of place, often historical, with a compelling main character . . . Dobbs is intelligent, intuitive, and empathetic (she could be Clarice Starling's prototype)." --Minneapolis Star-Tribune

"Maisie Dobbs is a revelation." --Alexander McCall Smith

"With a plot that seems ripped from the headlines, a sympathetic and intriguing heroine and prose that leaves the reader marveling at her powers, Winspear has again created a work of great moral probity in which the horror is leavened--and perhaps even surpassed--by the author's encompassing humanity." --Richmond Times-Dispatch

About the Author

Jacqueline Winspear is the New York Times bestselling author of the Maisie Dobbs novels. The first in the series, Maisie Dobbs, won the prestigious Agatha Award for Best First novel, the Macavity Award for Best First Novel, and the Alex Award. She won an Agatha for Best Novel for Birds of a Feather and a Sue Feder/Macavity Award for Best Historical Mystery for Pardonable Lies. Winspear was born and raised in the county of Kent in England. Her grandfather had been severely wounded and shell-shocked in World War I, and learning his story sparked her deep interest in the "war to end all wars" and its aftereffects, which would later form the background of her novels. Winspear studied at the University of London's Institute of Education, then worked in academic publishing, in higher education and in marketing communications in the UK. She immigrated to the United States in 1990 and embarked on her life-long dream to be a writer. In addition to her novels, Winspear has written articles for women's magazines and journals on international education, and she has recorded her essays for public radio. She divides her time between Ojai and the San Francisco Bay Area and is a regular visitor to the United Kingdom and Europe.