Maisie Dobbs, a London psychologist, empathic, and investigator is retained by a wealthy American family who has just learned that after being declared missing for over twenty-years, their son's body was found in a mass grave in France. Michael Clifton was a citizen of the United States when war was declared in Europe and he felt that his skill at cartography would be useful to the allies. Michael's father was born in England, but left his family and fortune to immigrate to America and make his own way, and did very well. Mrs. Clifton was an American heiress, and each of their children, including Michael, had very large trusts. Before leaving America, Michael spent a large amount of money on some property in California that is rich in oil, but the family cannot find any documentation of this purchase.

Maisie has been hired to go through the papers that were with Michael at the time of his death. The Clifton's want to know who the mysterious nurse is that Michael had fallen in love with and also if there is any information about his land in the packet that was given to them. Several claims have been made against this property, but until rightful ownership can be established, the estate cannot be probated.

With the help of her assistant, Billy Beale, Maisie is able to ascertain that the lady in Michael's life was with a privately funded group of English nurses, and she also established from the coroner's report that Michael was murdered rather than killed in action as were the others that shared his grave. Using all of the techniques bequeathed to her by her mentor, Maurice Blanche, and just plain old leg work, Maisie brings another case to a satisfying conclusion.

Reading a Maisie Dobbs mystery is comfort food for my mind. Jacqueline Winspear is a true artiste with a beautiful, flowing rhythm showcasing her talents and knowledge for the postwar depression era of the first World War. Each character is carefully sculpted with tender hands and their personal sagas are meticulously narrated. THE MAPPING OF LOVE AND DEATH brings several changes to Maisie's life as well as to those lives of the continuing characters from each of the previous books. For the reader that enjoys and appreciates a masterful accounting of this era of English wartime history, the Maisie Dobbs' novels would be your cup of tea.

Book Summary

In the latest mystery in the New York Times bestselling series, Maisie Dobbs must unravel a case of wartime love and death—an investigation that leads her to a long-hidden affair between a young cartographer and a mysterious nurse.

August 1914. Michael Clifton is mapping the land he has just purchased in California's beautiful Santa Ynez Valley, certain that oil lies beneath its surface. But as the young cartographer prepares to return home to Boston, war is declared in Europe. Michael—the youngest son of an expatriate Englishman—puts duty first and sails for his father's native country to serve in the British army. Three years later, he is listed among those missing in action.

April 1932. London psychologist and investigator Maisie Dobbs is retained by Michael's parents, who have recently learned that their son's remains have been unearthed in France. They want Maisie to find the unnamed nurse whose love letters were among Michael's belongings—a quest that takes Maisie back to her own bittersweet wartime love. Her inquiries, and the stunning discovery that Michael Clifton was murdered in his trench, unleash a web of intrigue and violence that threatens to engulf the soldier's family and even Maisie herself. Over the course of her investigation, Maisie must cope with the approaching loss of her mentor, Maurice Blanche, and her growing awareness that she is once again falling in love.

Following the critically acclaimed bestseller Among the Mad, The Mapping of Love and Death delivers the most gripping and satisfying chapter yet in the life of Maisie Dobbs.