A Dangerous Place

A Maisie Dobbs Novel

By: Jacqueline Winspear

Narrated by: Orlagh Cassidy

Four years after she set sail from England, leaving everything she most loved behind, Maisie Dobbs at last returns, only to find herself in a dangerous place . . .

In Jacqueline Winspear‘s powerful story of political intrigue and personal tragedy, a brutal murder in the British garrison town of Gibraltar leads Maisie into a web of lies, deceit, and peril.

Spring 1937. In the four years since she left England, Maisie Dobbs has experienced love, contentment, stability—and the deepest tragedy a woman can endure. Now, all she wants is the peace she believes she might find by returning to India. But her sojourn in the hills of Darjeeling is cut short when her stepmother summons her home to England; her aging father Frankie Dobbs is not getting any younger.

But on a ship bound for England, Maisie realizes she isn’t ready to return. Against the wishes of the captain who warns her, “You will be alone in a most dangerous place,” she disembarks in Gibraltar. Though she is on her own, Maisie is far from alone: the British garrison town is teeming with refugees fleeing a brutal civil war across the border in Spain.

Yet the danger is very real. Days after Maisie’s arrival, a photographer and member of Gibraltar’s Sephardic Jewish community, Sebastian Babayoff, is murdered, and Maisie becomes entangled in the case, drawing the attention of the British Secret Service. Under the suspicious eye of a British agent, Maisie is pulled deeper into political intrigue on “the Rock”—arguably Britain’s most important strategic territory—and renews an uneasy acquaintance in the process. At a crossroads between her past and her future, Maisie must choose a direction, knowing that England is, for her, an equally dangerous place, but in quite a different way.

Catching Up with Maisie Dobbs

If you could sum up A Dangerous Place in three words, what would they be?

Accepting a tragedy.

What was one of the most memorable moments of A Dangerous Place?

Maisie struggling with the will to go on. Her internal pain, her human weakness.

Which character – as performed by Orlagh Cassidy – was your favorite?

Maisie of course, but I also liked the owner of the cafe. He was so kind to Maisie.Viejo was also a most interesting character.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I had a heartfelt reaction to Maisie's struggle as I have followed her through all 11 books, from the time she was just a girl, a servant at Chelstone Manner.

Any additional comments?

Thanks to Jacqueline Winspear for another interesting story of Maisie.Dobbs. Waiting for more.

Least favorite of the series

I am a huge fan of the Maisie Dobbs series, but this one left me a bit flat. It is one of those stories that transitions a familiar character into a new situation without a doing a very good job of it. Orlagh Cassidy is amazing as always as Maisie. I will continue with the series.

Another wonderful Maisie Dobbs mystery

I loved it and am very happy to be visiting Maisie again. No spoilers here; my 4-star rating has more to do with some disappointment over not spending some time in Canada with Maisie and James, although I understand that Maisie was not "working" at that time, so there were no mysteries for her to solve. Also, I felt that some sections, although helping to convey the ongoing ups and downs of Maisie's emotional recovery, were too repetitious, somehow. I understand how an image can be emblazoned on someone's brain and then reappear at seemingly random times. And certainly, Maisie's traumatic losses qualify her for these PTSD symptoms. My minor beef is that I thought the language surrounding these events seemed repetitious, which distracted me to think more about whether or not I thought the repetition was a good thing rather than empathizing with Maisie.

Although I've spent way too many words on a nit-pick, I loved learning about this aspect of Maisie's character development and the political background for this aspect of the beginning of WWII, and am looking forward to whatever comes next -- and I do hope she gets home for Christmas.

Excellent chapter in Maisie Dobbs life

Great writer. Interesting reader. Always enjoy her books. A look at the Spanish Civil War and a surprising turn in her life.

Love Maudie Dobbs

I have enjoyed all of the Maisie
Dobbs books. After reading one by chance, I went back and started at the beginning. I hope Jacqueline Winspear is writing fast because I am now on the last of the series!