Journey to Munich

A Maisie Dobbs Novel

By: Jacqueline Winspear

Narrated by: Orlagh Cassidy

Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

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 12th novel in Jacqueline Winspear's New York Times best-selling "series that seems to get better with each entry" (The Wall Street Journal).

It's early 1938, and Maisie Dobbs is back in England. On a fine yet chilly morning, as she walks toward 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....

©2016 Jacqueline Winspear (P)2016 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"It's a knack to keep a long-running series fresh, and narrator Orlagh Cassidy definitely plays a significant role with her portraits of Maisie and her familiar friends and colleagues.... Cassidy's warm narration, with its clear emotional connection to the characters and events, makes this another winner." (AudioFile)

Maisie Meets the Third Reich

This is the twelfth book in the Maisie Dobbs series. The prior book and this one seem to do more with Maisie’s mourning the death of James, her husband in a plane accident.

Maisie takes on a job for the British Secret service. She is posing as the daughter of Leon Donat an engineer who the Nazi’s arrested for helping an underground newspaper in Munich. Donat is in Dachau Concentration Camp. The British government has paid for Donat’s release and Maisie is to get him and return him to England. When Maisie is taken to Dachau she finds the person the Nazis say is Donat it not. Maisie must now find him and get him out of Germany. Winspear weaves a mystery and suspense story with some action, but the building suspense had me on the edge of my seat.

What I like about Maisie is she is not the usual sexy, vivacious heroine; instead she is a prim, competent professional whose intelligence shows in her vocabulary and maybe she is just a bit moralistic. The suspense builds throughout the book. Winspear provides some information about Munich and the Nazis. I was getting tired of Maisie moping about the death of James and the miscarriage of their child. I am happy that the ending of the story has Maisie returning to her prior profession in her old office with Sandra and Billy. One of my favorite narrators Orlagh Cassidy narrates the series and she does her usually excellent job.

Good but not great book; narrator great

This is about an English woman sent on a dangerous mission in early to mid-1938. The author does a good job of setting the scene, and the reader can feel the looming disaster. The heroine is interesting, and the plot is well put together. My criticism is that the heroine spends long periods of time obsessing on her past, her thoughts, etc. described in almost excruciating detail.

One wants to overcome the shortcomings because of the great narration. The narrator sounds age appropriate to the main character. She has a rich, full voice. She knows how to differentiate characters well, and she knows how to read the male lines in an effective manner. The narrator made this book for me.

A new adventure for Maisie Dobbs

Minor spoilers ahead, but not for the main plot of this book.

Maisie Dobbs, properly Lady Compton, but she won't use it because it reminds her of what she's lost, is starting, very slowly, to recover from the loss of her husband and her unborn child. She's back in England, spending time with her friend Priscilla, her father Frankie, and her stepmother Brenda. Europe is sliding toward war, though, and British intelligence has a mission for her though, something they believe only can do well enough.

They need her to go to Munich, posing as the daughter of a British industrialist and "boffin" who has been imprisoned there for two years. The Germans have finally agreed to release him--but only into the custody of a family member. He has no surviving family except his daughter, and she's too ill to travel. Maisie, though, speaks French fluently and German passably, and is close enough to the daughter in appearance that she be made to pass for her, especially since Miss Donat wasn't a socially active woman when she was well.

So against her better judgment, after a few weeks of training in spycraft and learning to be Miss Donat, Maisie is off to Germany.

She encounters all the malicious bureaucracy of early Nazi Germany, but patience, persistence, and going with her experience and training finally leads to the moment when she is inside Dachau, seeing for the first time the man the Germans have imprisoned for two years as her "father," Mr. Donat.

That's when her mission goes off the rails, and becomes a mire of mystery, confusion, and intrigue.

And accomplishing her mission may force her to ally with the woman she holds responsible for her husband's death.

I think Winspear had hit a point in the Maisie Dobbs novels where, if she didn't break form, Maisie would have nothing to do that wouldn't be repetitive. Anne Perry worked through a similar problem with the Thomas & Charlotte Pitt series; eventually, Thomas's rise through the police ranks reached the point where he had to become head of the department, but doing it wouldn't be plausible for a character of his relatively lowborn origins. So Perry gave him a major change in direction.

Winspear appears to be doing something very similar here. It's true the book ends with Maisie saying she's never doing another intelligence mission, and getting her old team together in office space not far from their old office--but she seems to have very different plans, even if they haven't been articulated to the reader yet.

This Maisie is older, more hardened, more confident, and I'm looking forward to seeing where Winspear goes with her in the future.

Recommended.

I bought this book.

Superb!

I’ve listened to every book in this series and cannot get over the great writing of the author Jacqueline Winspear. She captures the essence of what I can only imagine the world was like in those days.
Unfortunately once again she is outdone by the brilliant work of Orlagh Cassidy. What a talent!
Just listen and you’ll hear what I can’t put into words.
On to the next book in the series!

Another fine Maisie Dobbs book

I love all the Maisie Dobbs books. they are not for those who want a quick read however. there is quite a bit of detail which I like. for those of you who enjoy historical novels, the busy dog series is perfect.

Glad I didn’t stop after last volume’s snoozefest

I really did not like the last volume. Convoluted and slow with no real story. I debated abandoning the series but a friend recommended I stick with it. I was skeptical, but downloaded this volume. The story took off like a shot. No endless self-indulgent musings. A great listen.

She's back!!!

This installment of Maisie Dobb's storyline was great, especially the ending. I love the historical time period and location of all her books, but this one is particularly interesting as it involves Hitler and his goons. So glad that Maisie is back on the trail like before.

too much power can undermine freedom through lies and self interest

Enjoyed the thought provoking ideas woven in the story that talks of history and yet includes personal experiences of every human during any time period. Life’s ups and downs and the willingness to appreciate each day we have.

Narration

Although the narrator has a lovely voice and captures well most characters, she misses Maisy. Too frequently Maisy, who is a very strong, bright and independent woman, actually seems to simper. The narrator should give a closer listen to how she reads Maisy and try to make her voice and intonation match the character as written.

she's back

the last book in the series was so sad and dark, while this isn't cheery, Maisie has her focus back and is saving the world thoughtfully