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    Elegy for Eddie: A Maisie Dobbs Novel
    Elegy for Eddie: A Maisie Dobbs Novel
    Elegy for Eddie: A Maisie Dobbs Novel
    Ebook382 pages6 hours

    Elegy for Eddie: A Maisie Dobbs Novel

    By Jacqueline Winspear

    4/5

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    In this latest entry in Jacqueline Winspear’s acclaimed, bestselling mystery series—“less whodunits than why-dunits, more P.D. James than Agatha Christie” (USA Today)—Maisie Dobbs takes on her most personal case yet, a twisting investigation into the brutal killing of a street peddler that will take her from the working-class neighborhoods of her childhood into London’s highest circles of power. Perfect for fans of A Lesson in Secrets, The Mapping of Love and Death, or other Maisie Dobbs mysteries—and an ideal place for new readers to enter the series—Elegy for Eddie is an incomparable work of intrigue and ingenuity, full of intimate descriptions and beautifully painted scenes from between the World Wars, from one of the most highly acclaimed masters of mystery, Jacqueline Winspear.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateMar 27, 2012
    ISBN9780062049599
    Author

    Jacqueline Winspear

    Jacqueline Winspear is the author of the New York Times bestsellers The Consequences of Fear, The American Agent, and To Die but Once, as well as thirteen other bestselling Maisie Dobbs novels and The Care and Management of Lies, a Dayton Literary Peace Prize finalist. Jacqueline has also published two nonfiction books, What Would Maisie Do? and a memoir, This Time Next Year We’ll Be Laughing. Originally from the United Kingdom, she divides her time between California and the Pacific Northwest.

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    Reviews for Elegy for Eddie

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    • 3/5
      See more reviews on Short & Sweet Reviews!

      Elegy for Eddie, set in the early 1930s, follows private investigator Maisie Dobbs as she tries to unravel the seemingly accidental death of Eddie Pettit, a gentle man who took care of horses and did random tasks for factor workers and men in the market from time to time. Being a mystery novel, of course, his death is anything but accidental and Maisie finds herself involved in a complex inquiry that touches closer to home than she'd first thought.

      Like many mystery novels, this is a more recent entry in a series, however, it's perfectly easy to get into without having read any of the previous novels. For the most part, the reader gets enough information on Maisie and her past that even the recurring characters seem familiar from the very start. So it's easy to jump into the action as Maisie investigates Eddie's death, navigates her own personal life, and deals with the way the investigation bleeds over into her own world.

      Maisie is an interesting, although not always entirely sympathetic, character. She's a woman who came from nothing to wind up with her own private investigation firm, thanks largely to an inheritance from the man who mentored her. In this book, Maisie really seems to struggle with being between two worlds -- she hasn't forgotten what it was like working as a maid in a big house, but she knows just what wealth will help her accomplish. She sometimes acts with her heart in ways that are with the best of intentions, but which aren't always well received by people for various reasons. It annoyed me because she can come off as somewhat self-righteous and a know-it-all, but fortunately these traits are addressed within the plot and her actions improve over the course of the book.

      The mystery itself takes lots of unexpected twists and turns and winds up in a place I hadn't expected at all. I don't think it's a spoiler to say that Eddie's death is much more complicated than even Maisie had thought. It's pretty cool to watch her as she starts to untangle the mystery, and as always, interesting to read a crime novel that doesn't take place in a contemporary setting.

      This book is a very clean read, with most of the violence taking place off of the page, and no profanity that I can recall. It's a fun read that manages to mix crime-solving and personal drama in equal measures. Feel free to pick up the series with this book, or go back to the beginning of the series to get a better, more rounded picture of Maisie and her friends.
    • 4/5
      Elegy for Eddie, Jacqueline WinspearEddie has a way with horses and as a result is known throughout London. He is quiet, friendly, has an amazing memory and is labeled as being ‘not all there,’ ‘slow,’ or ‘dumb.’ His talents are used but he is also looked down upon by others. Regardless he has true friends who love him and when he is killed in a freak accident they turn to Maisie, who remembers Eddie from her childhood. The investigation reveals a newspaper baron manipulating the news he prints to counter what is happening in Germany in 1933 and to make people proud of England, of work Churchill and others are doing with airplanes preparing for the defence of Britain, work which touches Maisie’s James and writer friend Partridge and a bully with ties to Eddie’s past. In the end Dobbs accepts what she finds with sadness for Eddie and a growing fear for the future of Britain. Her personal future has also been revised.“Elegy for Eddie” more than the previous titles makes Maisie look at life and the disquiet she feels. How her inheritance from Maurice Blanche and how she is using it is cutting her off rather than including her in peoples lives. All in all it gives the reader much to think about as the decade of the 1930’s moves forward.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
    • 4/5
      It was a little longer than was necessary, but well-written with a twist to the plot that was very interesting. Maisie Dobbs is a strong character and an extremely independent woman. This is at a time when such independence would have been quite unusual and probably not very well received on either side of the pond. What I particularly liked was that the character of Maisie Dobbs is less concerned with "who" the villain is...although that is always worked through for the reader...but "why" they behaved as they did. Makes for an different and interesting story.
    • 3/5
      Maisie investigates death of “simple” lad who works magic with horses. I think I have read too many in series - plot seemed a bit weak and her love interest wasn’t particularly interesting. Maisie needs a little humor in her life!
    • 3/5
      I read the Maisie books on occasions and usually enjoy them. I was rather bored with this one though. It was just rather dull.
    • 3/5
      Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in a Goodreads giveaway.

      First off: the book is enjoyable, but it's not like previous books in the series. This book marks something of a turn in Maisie's life - she starts to confront her now not-so-new wealth and the repercussions of her intentions and actions towards the people in her life. While I normally enjoy character development, I felt that this book was too much character development - and not necessarily successful at that - and too little mystery. The resolution of the mystery at the end was very anticlimactic - not even a resolution, really - and it felt very out of character for Maisie. She's fierce, caring, and has a strong sense of justice. But she just lets the culprit off because of impending fears about Hitler? It doesn't come across as all that believable, I'm afraid. In previous mysteries, Maisie would've found a solution that still managed to satisfy justice, even if not through official legal channels, but she doesn't seem to try very hard here. I'm happy to see Maisie grow and adapt to her new life, but I also want the mystery. I hope future volumes in the series don't put the mystery in the backseat.
    • 3/5
      Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in a Goodreads giveaway.

      First off: the book is enjoyable, but it's not like previous books in the series. This book marks something of a turn in Maisie's life - she starts to confront her now not-so-new wealth and the repercussions of her intentions and actions towards the people in her life. While I normally enjoy character development, I felt that this book was too much character development - and not necessarily successful at that - and too little mystery. The resolution of the mystery at the end was very anticlimactic - not even a resolution, really - and it felt very out of character for Maisie. She's fierce, caring, and has a strong sense of justice. But she just lets the culprit off because of impending fears about Hitler? It doesn't come across as all that believable, I'm afraid. In previous mysteries, Maisie would've found a solution that still managed to satisfy justice, even if not through official legal channels, but she doesn't seem to try very hard here. I'm happy to see Maisie grow and adapt to her new life, but I also want the mystery. I hope future volumes in the series don't put the mystery in the backseat.
    • 5/5
      In this novel, Maisie is approached by costers from her childhood, who are seeking to find answers to the untimely and tragic death of their friend, Eddie. As always, Maisie's investigation leads to a bigger investigation...ultimately changing the dynamics of the relationships around her.

    • 4/5
      This ninth book in the series finds Maisie being consulted by the costermongers who worked alongside her father when she was a child. The subject of the investigation is the death of Eddie, an intellectually challenged man, who died in an apparent industrial accident in a place where he was not an employee.Maisie is now thoroughly involved with James Compton. This is the first she has had sustained, reciprocal relationship with a man since the death of Simon, her paramour from WWI. In this episode she is negotiating developments in her own life relative to her acquired wealth in a previous book.The backdrop of this story is the rise to power of Hitler and the increasing drumbeat of war which was alluded to in the previous book, A Lesson in Secrets.I like this series quite a lot and will continue to read through it. It is good historical fiction with light mystery as a vehicle for the story.
    • 4/5
      Damn it Maisie, I like James. I've always liked James from the first book. I'm been waiting patiently for you kids to get together and now?!? Fictional series characters I tell you, never do what you want them too. Anyway another solid title in the Winspear's Maisie Dobbs series, even if I want my two favorite characters not to break up. I'll be interested to see how the author works WWII into the story.
    • 5/5
      First Line: Maudie Pettit pushed the long broom back and forth across the wet flagstones, making sure every last speck of horse manure was sluiced down the drains that ran along a gully between the two rows of stalls.A group of working men from Maisie's childhood London neighborhood come to see her about the death of Eddie Pettit, a young mentally challenged gentle giant who had a magic way with every horse he ever met. Eddie was killed in an accident in a paper factory, but the men believe that his death was swept under the rug in such a manner that they feel something's not right. The men all know Maisie and trust her to do the right thing.This case, with such strong ties to her lower class roots, comes at a time when Maisie is beginning to wonder if her relationship with a wealthy and titled man has any real future. Juggling both her personal and professional lives is tricky and exhausting, especially when the investigation sends one of her employees to the hospital. Maisie knows that something's not right about Eddie's death, and although the case may lead much higher than she'd originally thought, she's determined to find the truth and to bring his mother some measure of peace.I've loved this series from the very beginning, and my affection for it grows with each new book. Maisie's personal life is every bit as interesting as the case she is trying to solve. She faces a very real dilemma, not only in dealing with her relationship with a wealthy man, but in how she deals with the inheritance she received. Her tendency to spend money on all those she cares for may not have the results she intends, and it's something with which she must come to terms.Elegy for Eddie brings the working class areas of London to life-- all the people who have yet to truly recover from the First World War are now in the depths of the Depression. Life is precarious... and precious... and it warms my heart at how these people who have very little themselves insist on doing what's right for Eddie and for his grieving mother. Hitler and Fascism cast darkening shadows over everything, making me wonder what will happen to these characters I've grown to care for when yet another horrific war begins.The Maisie Dobbs series is perfect for those who love historical mysteries, for those who love intriguing investigations, and for those who love characters that work themselves into your heart. All that and a bit of psychology, too, because as Maisie asks herself some very thought-provoking and important questions, it's impossible for readers not to ponder them and answer the same questions for themselves.Elegy for Eddie stands alone quite well, but please treat yourself to all the books. The development of Maisie's character throughout the series is a literary feast you don't find often enough.
    • 4/5
      The Maisie Dobbs series has been described by USA Today as ‘less whodunits than why-dunits, more P.D. James Elegy for Eddie, Jacqueline Winspearthan Agatha Christie’ (USA Today). I’ve followed this series since Maisie debuted as a newly discharged WWI nurse in 1919, through Maisie’s growth during the 1920s. I particularly appreciate that Maisie’s life – her circumstances, her friendships, her personality with both strengths and flaws—has not remained static but has developed naturally as it might have in her time and place.Set in 1933 London Elegy for Eddie, the ninth and latest Maisie Dobbs offering, has Maisie investigating the brutal killing of a street peddler from the working-class neighborhood of her childhood. It’s one of the best in a super series.Read this: after you’ve read the rest of the series. Yes, each book in the series stands alone, but they’ll have greater impact if you’ve watched Maisie grow. If the period in Britain between the World Wars intrigues you, or you enjoy a strong but flawed female protagonist, you’ll particularly enjoy this series. 4 stars
    • 4/5
      SummaryA beloved community member, Eddie Pettit, is killed in a fluke factory accident, and suspicions point to foul play. Maisie vows to Eddie's mother to investigate and bring justice for her son even though the many of the answers are more complicated and have long range and deep reaching consequences than Maisie could have ever imagined. Along the way, Maisie also navigates her newfound status as a woman of wealth with that of her earned independence as well as her relationship with Viscount James Compton.What I LikedThe Setting - England - old England to be exact with names of cities, towns, communities, landmarks, estates - I'm unfamiliar with many of these, but I was able to follow a general lay of the land through Winspear's detail.The history - early history of Hitler, Churchill, political climate of Britain in between WWI and WWII along with ideas of how America might fit into the future of Britain as an ally.The brief look at the horse and buggy culture at the onset of motor car popularity - I found Eddie's death to be a figurative comparison to the death of the horse as the main mode of transportation.A British Manor Household - very similar to Downton Abbey in that there is a butler, footmen, housekeepers, gatekeepers, chauffer, etc. all with very specific job descriptions, designed to keep the Comptons comfortable in the manner to which their class is accustomed. Much fussy etiquette is observed at all times to Maisie's chagrin much of the time.Maisie's relationship with the townspeople - somehow Maisie is able to move back and forth between social circles with ease as far as how others accept her. She is not always comfortable fulfilling her "duties" as a society lady but seems to be respected wherever she goes. While she's certainly not a perfect character and feels the need to question and analyze her ever move, she manages to carry on even the most sensitive and tense conversations without letting her emotions get the best of her.The portrayal of Eddie as a challenged individual who, contrary to popular belief for much of history, was not just a "thow-away" person...Eddie had many gifts to offer those who took the time to find them. He lived and was loved by the people of his community and earned his own keep with his mother and teacher's help until a selfish individual took advantage of Eddie's willingness to please others...a lesson for today.The End - no happy wrap up here...history is complicated and politics even more so...and don't forget relationships :pEvelyn Butterworth - Bart's girlfriend - In the midst of tragedy, Evelyn puts on her "big girl britches," doesn't wallow in her sorrow, and keeps on moving. What a gal! :)Priscilla Partridge - I was a little worried that she was too good to be true, but I'm going to assume that she's exactly the kind of friend that Maisie would want...someone who accepts her for who she is, doesn't try to pretend she's something she's not (even though she has money), and knows when to push and even more importantly, when to back away.What I Didn't LikeOrder - While I don't think Elegy for Eddie has to be read in order with the other Maisie Dobbs books (because I didn't have a problem following the plot of this 9th book of the series), I'm just easily distracted enough to want to know about the people and circumstances from Maisie's past...her mentor Maurice, her previous life as a chambermaid, then nurse and her first love who died from injuries sustained in the war, etc.John Otterburn - a dangerous man disguised in wealth and his ability to reach many people and wield his power through his ideas via the newspapers he owns and his intolerance for those who question him. Can you say "Propaganda"?Bart Soanes - in his mind, a newspaperman with a a duty to shine light on injustice...but at what price?James Compton - please don't be mad - I just don't know...I'm not sure he knows who he is...he morphs in and out of character - the snobby Viscount expecting Maisie to fall in step to the young man who wants more in his life than following the path of his birth. I'm holding out my final decision on James until I find out more about him. I'm just not sure he's right for Maisie (since I'm the expert and all :p)Overall RecommendationI'm going to assume that anyone who's followed Maisie thus far would want to continue her journey. Maisie's story is an easy one...no grimacing violence nor language with focus on a self-made woman during the early twentieth century weathering both highs and lows of life.
    • 4/5
      This is the ninth Maisie Dobbs novel from the pen of Ms. Winspear. She has a very loyal following and I can understand why. I reviewed my first of her books, The Mapping of Love and Death back in March and I, like many others fell in love with Maisie. She is a strong, intelligent character dealing with life's messy issues and the aftermath of one war with the rumblings of another just beginning.This book begins as old friends of Maisie's father from her early days in Lambeth come to her about the death of a kindly young man, Eddie Pettit. His death was called an accident but they feel it was murder so they have come to Maisie for help in proving it. Maisie remembers Eddie from her younger days and can't understand why anyone would want to hurt him; he was a little slow and just plain kind to everyone he met.As Maisie investigates she finds that Eddie had found himself involved in something he did not understand at all, nor could he have comprehended it. He was being used and it ended very badly for him and for others. I won't write more than that so as to not ruin plot points but Eddie certainly didn't deserve what happened to him.The story has several plots that intertwine all coming together at the end and Ms. Winspear keeps them rolling along without difficulty but I don't understand this Maisie from the Maisie in the last book. She is a very detail oriented, upright, moral woman who does not let things slide and yet in this book all manner of murder and mayhem get overlooked for reasons that are not really well explained. The "greater good" is implied but not given as the definitive reason and it's disturbing to see Maisie overlook murder and revenge murder. She also spends an inordinate amount of time dithering over her relationship with her boyfriend. OK - she was once a maid and he is of the upper class. OK - he has oodles of family money and she just came into money. Just either get on with it or not. Don't spend half of the book whining about it. It got old.I will not give up on Maisie because of this read. I will most certainly read either earlier books or the next book in the series but if she doesn't get back to the form she showed in The Mapping of Love and Death I will be re-evaluating my love affair with Maisie and her adventures.
    • 4/5
      I'm a big Maisie Dobbs fan. She's a great character and I really like how Jacqueline Winspear has been moving the series forward in time. Although I enjoyed "Elegy for Eddie," there were a few things that either weren't explored deeply enough--for example, should Maisie excuse Otterburn's actions--and a few things that I didn't think fit into Maisie's character (would she really not understand the effects of too much generosity?) or that other characters did that didn't seem quite reasonable (Billy's wife being so angry at Maisie). It could be that I am not remembering previous books clearly enough, but there were times when I was surprised by how some of the recurring characters behaved. Even so, I enjoyed the book.
    • 4/5
      My introduction to Maisie was in the winter of 2012, though she'd been on my TBR list for years. I read the first 8 in a row and waited about a month for #9. Since then I'm in a holding pattern for #10 and it's driving me crazy. Just love Maisie Dobbs!
    • 5/5
      The ninth volume in this lovely series, we are now up to 1934. Our heroine, Maisie Dobbs, is approached by a group of horse-drawn food cart peddlers to investigate the untimely death of Eddie, a simple man with an extraordinary gift with horses. At this point in the series, we are well acquainted with Maisie’s remarkable rise from the same hard worn streets. Of course, she would be happy to look into the beloved Eddie’s case for these rough hewn former neighbors and friends of her father’s. I’ve enjoyed the series to this point and this volume doesn’t disappoint. Winspear has gift for intimate personal characterizations while placing her story in a greater historical context. Her details of pre-WWII London provide great atmosphere, but her knowledge and research are not intrusive. (Too many historical novels have a ‘hey-l’ve-done-all-this-research-have-to-squeeze-it-all-in’ quality.) The ominous rumblings of discord from Germany and the Continent are heard and Winston Churchill and a stand-in for Lord Beaverbrook make appearances. Looking forward to the next Maisie Dobbs novel!
    • 4/5
      I'm a great fan of this series.  With each new volume, I almost dread reading it because I'm afraid the story will get stale, or the characters won't be able to continue to expand.  Jacqueline Winspear has so far avoided both those traps.In this one, Maisie Dobbs is called upon to look into the unexpected death of a young man, Eddie Pettit, she's known since her childhood.  Was is murder? An accident? and what about all the ensuing unusual deaths  of people connected to Eddie?  And why was her assistant Billy Beale assaulted while he was investigating this?In addition to the current mystery, Maisie continues to struggle with her new status as a wealthy woman, while remembering her roots as a servant in the mansion she now inhabits. She is growing more and more anxious about her relationship with James Compton.  Will they marry?  Will James demand that she give up her private investigating business?  Will she be able to maintain her sense of self?Frost these two layers of the cake with an excellent discussion of the political atmosphere in England during the second half of the decade (1930s) as the world watched Adolf Hitler grab power and re-arm.  Winspear has given us another great mystery, some well-researched historical facts woven in the fiction, and managed to continue the romance without resolving the ultimate question.  There's definitely room for more of this delightful series and protagonist. 
    • 4/5
      When a man from Maisie's old neighborhood dies in suspicious circumstances, the costermongers band together to hire Maisie to investigate his death. Eddie Pettit was a simple man who in many ways had never lost a child-like innocence. Everyone, or at least almost everyone, in the neighborhood liked Eddie and felt protective of him and of his single mother, Maud. Maisie's investigation takes her into the newspaper world and into the orbit of a powerful publisher. It also leads to unexpected conflict with James.This novel captures the atmosphere in England amidst Hitler's rise to power in Germany. Maisie is ambivalent about the future. She sees signs of impending danger, yet she is hopeful that the threat can be averted without another war. Maisie is still adjusting to her newly-acquired wealth. She no longer fits into the world she grew up in, but she isn't comfortable among the wealthy class, either. Her social unease has begun to affect her relationship with James.Maisie continues to intrigue me. She manages to resolve her cases at a crossroad in her life, leaving readers wondering what direction she might take next. Unfortunately, I'll have to wait for the publication of the next book in the series to find out.
    • 3/5
      good mystery, long on the introspection of the heroine
    • 5/5
      I too have been following Maisie Dobbs, this is a lovely book that deserves and needs to be reread to appreciate the many layers within.
    • 4/5
      This is the ninth novel in the Maisie Dobbs mysteries that take place in the aftermath of WWI. It is now 1933 and there is rumors of another war on the horizen.The story begins when some local market sellers seek out Maisie's help in a finding out what really happened in a suspicious death. This request sends the now wealthy Maisie back to her poor Lambeth roots to investigate the death of a "slow" but well-loved man named Eddie Pettit. As Maisie investigates more, she realizes that Eddie may have been in over his head involving matters of national security.Although this is only the second Maisie Dobbs novel I have read, I once again had no problem in understanding the plot and characters. These are great mysteries due to the time era, the issue of class and the compelling character of Maisie. This particular book focuses quite a bit on Maisie and her discovery of some possible flaws and issues she must deal with within herself.This is an excellent series and the ninth novel was well worth the read.
    • 4/5
      More intrigue in her professional and personal life.
    • 3/5
      There is a long section on Maisie's background, which brings it all together very nicely and isn't boring for those who have read the whole series. This wasn't neat and tidy like some of the other, but I do see a trend in the topics getting more complex as the series goes on. I was pleased to see that Maisie listened to two of her colleagues/friends. I think she makes a big leap in her emotional health in this book. Her relationship with James sorts itself out a little, too, but I don't think it is as tidy as I would like (note: the word *I*), but I am not the writer.

      I think this would be an interesting book for high school history students to read as there is a lot of scope for discussion and the story is interesting.
    • 3/5
      Maisie Dobbs, psychologist turned private detective,returns in this 9th book in the series. While many of the earlier books dealt with the obvious aftereffects of the Great War, Elegy for Eddie finds England preparing -- or not preparing -- for World War II, though most of the country doesn't know it yet. It's 1933, and Adolf Hitler has just come to power in Germany.I was not as impressed with this book as I have been with the past ones. While some reviewers liked the continuing development of Maisie's character, I find myself wishing she'd just get over herself and also stop wondering "What would Maurice do?" at every turn. The plot, particularly the ending, was unsatisfying too. And yet -- I'll read the next book in the series, out soon, and probably as many more as Jacqueline Winspear cares to write. My dissatisfaction with Maisie is also an indication of how real she has become for me. And, of course, Winspear has cleverly set her books in my favorite time period, and it will only get better as England lurches toward her finest hour.
    • 3/5
      WWII looms large, Dobbs hobnobs with the soon to be famous, and the crimes get serious for one of her assistants. This is a bit of a turn, and I kind of wish the series could have continued w/out the name dropping and famous figures. But probably the author wanted to try something different. I could not see how Maisie was in the wrong any more than her benefactor, Maurice Blanche had been when he made her rich by dying.
    • 5/5
      This is good historical fiction set in the UK in the period between WW1 and WW2, a time of great social change and economic hardship.Maisie Dobbs (an "inquiry agent") investigates a suspicious death in the neighbourbood where she spent her early childhood. Eddy, an autistic man, dies in a factory accident but there are those who doubt that it was an accident and ask Maisie to look into it. This investigation brings her back to people who knew her as a child and do not necessarily know of her new higher social status. As her investigation progresses her old world intersects with her new one, not always in a good way.It's a darker story than others in the series in that Maisie is having doubts about her new life. There's only passing reference to her nursing exploits in WW1. She struggles with some criticism about her generosity -- that she is too controlling and intrusive into the lives of those around her, like Billy Beale and her father. In the midst of this struggle her investigation brings her into contact with a powerful industrialist who behind the scenes is working to get Britain ready to fight the Nazis (it's set in 1933 which is when Hitler was coming to power). While she agrees with his motives she is uncomfortable with his ruthless ways. This causes conflict with her "boyfriend" James Compton (I don't think he has progressed to being a fiance)who is working on a project for the industrialist (along with Winston Churchill). Added to this is Maisie's discomfort at the structured life of the new social circle she is in with Compton -- she longs for a simple life free of social obligations.As I neared the end of the story, I thought that this was going to be the last book of the series, but it isn't: there's a least two more. It appears that Maisie is going to spend time to "find herself" through travel and exploration of new horizons. The resolution of the suspicious death is not as neat as it could have been -- it does however introduce some moral ambiguity that has not been in the Maisie Dobbs stories. This may signal Maisie's new approach to her life and exploits.
    • 4/5
      Read in Nov. 2013. A Maisie Dobbs novel. Eddie, a simple and slow man, is murdered. Maisie reaches an agreement with her boyfriend. Excellent.
    • 5/5
      A thought provoking topic filled with all of Jacqueline Winspear's best story telling abilities; and , as a previous reviewer said, my favorite novel of hers, so far.
    • 2/5
      This installment is the 9th in the Maisie Dobbs series and the first I read. It will most probably be my last.

      The fact that I hadn't read the previous books didn't affect my knowledge of the story, because the author likes to remind us of Maisie's past. That's all well and good, naturally. But then, it happens for the second time. And once more. And when it happened again, I had to drink two mugs of hot coffee to keep on reading. Or watch a thriller. That was the main problem of the narrative. The repetition was out of proportion, actually. I don't need to read about her life in the past more than once, I got it the first time, I'd like to think I am not stupid. I don't need a pack of pages repeating Maisie's doubts over ler love life with the least interesting character in British Literature. Seriously, a paragraph 1/3 into the novel is repeated three times during the 300-plus pages with different words. It was frustrating to say the least. The same problem took over the mystery Maisie Dobbs is called to solve. Although the crime story was plausible and unpredictable enough, I could do with 80-100 pages less, and without the tedious dialogues. Which brings me to the second major fault of
      Elegy for Eddie.

      The interactions between the characters are written in a wooden, stale way, and I had the feeling I was reading repeated (as in boring) monologues. More often than not, while in discussions with each other, the characters seem to give external voice to their inner thoughts, something that I find unrealistic. The characters themselves are nothing to write home about. Maisie Dobbs is passable at best. She is clever and persistent, and I appreciated the fact that she doesn't like to be patronized by men, especially that boar of a boyfriend of hers, James. Can someone explain the maths of the reason she stays with him, and doesn't leave him once and for all?. He is a total joke. Soapy, patronizing, and completely unsuitable for her, or any other woman for that matter. The only characters I enjoyed were Sandra, Inspector Caldwell and Maisie's father. And that's about it.The only redeeming quality of the novel is its historical context, set a few years before the nightmare with the name Adolf Hitler spread his shadow of death all over he world.

      So, all in all, another failed attempt of mine to find a good British cozy mystery. Colour me disappointed and disillusioned with the genre. Let us hope that the Mary Russell series will be better...

    Book preview

    Elegy for Eddie - Jacqueline Winspear

    Prologue

    Lambeth, London. April 1887

    Maudie Pettit pushed the long broom back and forth across the wet flagstones, making sure every last speck of horse manure was sluiced down the drains that ran along a gully between the two rows of stalls. Night work at Starlings Brewery suited Maudie, because the grooms and drivers were just leaving when she arrived in the evening, and there was only the night watchman there, and one stable boy who slept in a hayloft over the harness room, just in case a horse was taken ill. Maudie was all of sixteen, and though an observant woman with a measure of common sense could see that she was in the final weeks, if not days, of pregnancy, her long skirts and a loose blouse topped with an old coat served to cloak her condition. Disguise was crucial, because if the guv’nor found out, she’d be out on her ear with a new baby and no job to keep the poor little scrap. Maudie had been born in the workhouse, and she was determined that not only would she not be going back there, but her baby wouldn’t be born in the workhouse either.

    From the time she was twelve years of age, Maudie had cleaned the stalls at the brewery every night, and then gone on to the morning shift at the pickle factory, and sometimes picked up a bit more work at the paper factory in between. She had precious few hours each day to mind her own business, but considered herself lucky to have a roof over her head and fellow lodgers who looked out for her. Jennie and Wilf were brother and sister, born in the workhouse a few years before she came into that ugly world. But as luck would have it, all three managed to live beyond the age of ten to find honest work outside. And they stuck together, eventually renting two upstairs rooms on Weathershaw Street from Mabel Hickmott, who was, as Jennie often said, Madam by trade and madam by nature. All the same, Mabel left them alone and didn’t want to know their business as long as she had the rent money in her hand on time.

    Owwwwww, Maudie bent double, clutching her swollen belly with one hand, and holding on to the brass bars of a stall with the other. The old mare, Bess, turned away from her feed and came to investigate the noise.

    Shhh, Bess, it’s only the baby moving, love. You go back to your mush, go on.

    The mare nickered, brushing her soft mouth against Maud’s fingers. Maudie loved the mare. The draft horses at Starlings were all geldings, but Bess had been there for years, and was used to draw the guv’nor’s cart when he went out to the pubs to check on business. They said that having the old mare at the stables kept the geldings in check, that she’d sort out any funny business with just one withering look across the stalls. Some of the stable lads were a bit scared of her, having felt a nip when they brushed her too hard. But Maudie always kept a treat for Bess, and would stop for a moment to run her fingers through the horse’s mane.

    Oh dear God, Bess, my darlin’, the baby’s coming, and here I am in a manure gulley.

    Maudie pulled herself up and began walking up and down again, pushing the broom back and forth, even though the flagstones were now as clean as anyone had ever seen them.

    Got to keep moving, haven’t I, eh, Bess? That’s what Jennie said to do, if she wasn’t at home when the baby came. She blew out her cheeks and stopped to rub her back. The horse did not return to her mush, but stood watching as Maudie walked first one way, then the other.

    The girl’s work didn’t end until midnight, after the brass fittings on the stalls had been cleaned and the floor of the harness room was spick and span. She needed the money—good Lord, she needed the money, especially if she couldn’t go to the pickle factory tomorrow—so she had to carry on. She clenched her teeth to stop herself from crying out again. Then she dropped her broom and reached out towards the bars of the stall once more.

    Oh, no, the baby’s really coming now.

    She was alone. The stable lad and night watchman were likely playing cards and taking a nip or two of whiskey in the feed room, which was just as well. She didn’t want anyone to know. She just wanted to lie down and have her baby. Taking a deep breath, she slipped the latch on the mare’s stall. Old Bess stood back and nuzzled Maudie’s pocket, then moved her nose across the rise of her belly.

    That’s right, old love, my baby’s in there and he’s wanting to come out. Let me lay down with you, just for a minute. He might change his mind and the pains will stop.

    Maudie piled hay in the corner of the stall, covered it with her coat, and lay atop the softness. Old Bess leaned down and nickered, her nose close to the girl’s head.

    Leave me be, Bess, love. I’m all right, in truth I am.

    Soon the pains became almost too much to bear, and as she felt the baby move, Maudie clutched at her underclothes and pulled back her skirts. Tears cascaded down her face; tears for the pain, tears for fear she’d be found out, and tears of terror because she might end up in the workhouse once more. Again and again she took a deep breath and pushed, and at last felt the baby’s head, then his shoulders, and then, in her arms, her son, who squealed, announcing his arrival.

    Oh Bess, oh Bessie, now what am I to do? Now what? I don’t know what to do. Still crying, she started to clean the baby with the sleeve of her blouse.

    The mare leaned towards the baby boy squirming in Maudie’s arms and began to lick his head, then his arms. Maudie lay back, astonished, exhausted, and too worn out to push the giant horse away. Then the mare looked up, her ears twitching back and forth.

    You there, Maudie? Maudie? You there?

    It was the stable lad.

    I’m here . . . She almost faltered, and without thinking, placed her hand across the baby’s mouth, for fear he would cry. Then she unbuttoned her blouse and lifted him to her breast. Just making a bit of water in the mare’s stall, if you don’t mind turning your back and walking out again, Harry Nutley.

    Bess was standing by the door to her stall, looking out and giving young Nutley the eye that said that if he came close, she’d go for him.

    Well, we’ve just brewed up, and there’s a cuppa here for you, if you want it.

    Much obliged, Harry. I’ve just got to do the brasses and the harness room floor, then I’ll be going home.

    All right, Maudie.

    She heard his footsteps recede into the distance, and muffled voices as he and the night watchman continued on with their talk.

    Jennie had never told Maudie what to do if there was no one to help when the baby came, but she knew she had to cut the umbilical cord. She pulled a length of ribbon from her underskirt, tied the lagging cord in two places, then the new mother leaned forward and used her teeth to separate her son from her body. She breathed deeply, looked down at the baby as he continued to suckle.

    What shall we call him, eh, Bess? she whispered. They say my dad was an Edwin, not that I ever knew him. Died from the consumption before he even saw me. So I’ll call him Edwin. Little Edwin Pettit. Got a ring to it, eh? Eddie Pettit.

    And as if the mare had understood every word, she stood over mother and child and nickered.

    There are those who say Maudie Pettit was seeing things that night. They said the terror of having her boy in the stables at Starlings Brewery had been too much for the girl, and she’d had the sort of vision you hear about. But Maudie stuck to her guns, and always maintained that when old Bess leaned over them, Eddie raised his little fist and pressed it against her nose, and with that one touch from a newborn baby, the horse closed her eyes and sighed; then she turned around, pawed her spot, and lay down alongside the hayrack. Maudie said it was the mare who woke her before dawn, while the stable boy was still in his loft and the grooms and drivers had yet to arrive. The girl washed her underskirts in cold water and threw the soiled hay on the pile of stable debris at the back of the brewery courtyard, covering it with more hay so no one might wonder what had taken place. And as Maudie Pettit told it, when she walked away with her son in her arms, Bess called out to her, whinnying for her to come back. She said it was like having a guard of honor, with the horses all lined up to watch her leave, staring at the bundle in her arms as she walked past the stalls. Maudie always said that, even then, with only a few hours of life to his name, her Eddie could calm a horse just by being close.

    Chapter One

    London, April 1933

    Maisie Dobbs pushed her way through the turnstile at Warren Street station, then stopped when she saw Jack Barker, the newspaper vendor, wave to her.

    Mornin’, Miss Dobbs. Paper today?

    Mr. Barker, how are you this morning? It’s very close, isn’t it? Summer’s here before spring!

    At least it ain’t as hot as it is over there in America—people dying from the heat, apparently. Mind you, at least they can have a drink now, can’t they? Now that their Prohibition’s ended. Never could make that out.

    You know, you’re the only newspaper seller I know who reads every single one of his papers, said Maisie. She took a coin from her purse and exchanged it for the day’s Times. And there’s been a lot to read this year already.

    Ever since all that business about the bodyline bowling over there in Australia, it seems it’s been one thing after another—and not very nice things, either. Not that I hold with bad tactics in cricket, whether it’s ours or theirs, but I’m glad England kept the Ashes all the same. Mind you, not my sort of game, cricket.

    Jack, I have to confess, I still don’t know what that was all about. I never could quite understand cricket.

    Maisie’s comment fell on deaf ears, as Jack Barker continued his litany of events that had come to pass over the past several months.

    Then there was all the noise about that Adolf Hitler, being made Chancellor in Germany. What do you reckon, Miss? Seems the bloke’s got people either worried or turning cartwheels.

    I think I’m on the side of the worried, Mr. Barker. But let’s just wait and see.

    You’re right, Miss Dobbs. Wait and see. Might never happen, as the saying goes. And then we’ll all be doin’ cartwheels, eh? At least we’re not like them poor souls in Japan. I know it’s a long way off, the other side of the world, and can’t say as I’ve ever met one of them in my life—don’t expect I ever will—but they say it was one of the worst earthquakes ever. Hundreds killed. Can’t imagine what that would be like, you know, the ground opening up under your feet.

    No, neither can I—we’re lucky we live in a place where that sort of thing doesn’t happen.

    Oh, I reckon it happens everywhere, Miss Dobbs. I’m old enough to know it doesn’t take an earthquake for the ground to break apart and swallow you; you only have to look at all them who don’t have a roof over their heads or a penny in their pocket to put some food on the table.

    Maisie nodded. Never a truer word said, Mr. Barker. She held up her newspaper by way of a wave and began to walk away. I’ll look for the good news first, I think.

    Jack Barker called after her. The good news is that they reckon this weather will keep up, right until the end of the month.

    Good, Maisie called back. Makes a nice change.

    Might be a few thunderstorms, though, he added, laughing as he turned to another customer.

    She was still smiling at the exchange when she turned into Fitzroy Square. Five men were standing at the foot of the steps leading up to the front door of the building that housed her office; one of them stepped forward as she approached.

    Miss Maisie Dobbs?

    Yes, that’s me, how can I—oh, my goodness, is that you? Mr. Riley? Jesse Riley?

    The man doffed his cap and smiled, nodding acknowledgment.

    And Archie Smith— She looked at the men in turn. Pete Turner, Seth Knight, Dick Samuels. What are you doing here?

    We were waiting here for you, Miss Dobbs.

    Well, come in then. You could have waited for me inside, you know.

    Maisie unlocked the door, wiped her feet on the mat, and dropped her umbrella into a tall earthenware jar left alongside the door. The weather might be fine this morning, but she always took an umbrella with her when she left the house, just in case.

    Follow me. She turned to speak again as she walked up the stairs. Was there no one in to see you?

    Oh yes, Miss. Very nice young lady came to the door when we rang the bell. She said we could wait for you, but we didn’t want to be a nuisance. Then the gentleman came down and he said the same, but we told him we’d rather stand outside until you arrived.

    Maisie could not quite believe how the morning was unfolding. Here they were, five men she hadn’t seen since girlhood, waiting for her on the doorstep, all dressed in their Sunday best, in the flamboyant way of the cockney costermonger: a bright silk scarf at the neck, a collarless shirt, a weskit of wool and silk, and best corduroy or woolen trousers, all topped off with a jacket—secondhand, of course, probably even third- or fourth-hand. And each of them was wearing their best flat cap and had polished their boots to a shine.

    Maisie opened the office door and bid her two employees good morning as she removed her hat and gloves. Oh, and Billy, could you nip next door to the solicitor’s and ask if they can spare us a chair or two, she added. We’ll need them for an hour at least, I would imagine. She turned to Sandra, who had stood up to usher the men into the room, which at once seemed so much smaller. Oh, good, you’ve brought out the tea things.

    We told the gentlemen they could wait in here, Miss Dobbs.

    I know. It’s all right. She turned to her visitors. I seem to remember this lot can be particularly proud, can’t you, Jesse?

    The man laughed. Well. Miss D—

    Maisie cut him off. I was Maisie to you when I was a girl, and I’m Maisie now. There’ll be no standing on ceremony. Ah, here we are, more chairs. Thank you, Billy. Maisie smiled at her assistant as he returned with several chairs stacked one on top of the other. Come on, all of you, take a chair, sit yourselves down and tell me what this is all about—I can’t ever remember having a delegation of costers greet me, and at this time in the morning.

    Sandra had taken the tray with china and a teapot to the kitchenette along the corridor, and in the meantime, with the men seated around her, Maisie perched on the corner of her desk. She introduced each of the visitors to Billy and waited for Jesse to speak. He was about the same age as her father, but, unlike Frankie Dobbs, he still worked his patch of London streets, selling vegetables and fruit from a horse-drawn cart. She knew the reason for the visit must be of some import, for these men would have lost valuable income in giving up a few hours’ worth of work to see her.

    We’ve come about Eddie. Remember Eddie Pettit?

    Maisie nodded. Of course I remember Eddie. I haven’t seen him or Maudie for a few years, since I lived in Lambeth. She paused. What’s wrong, Jesse? What about Eddie?

    He’s dead, Miss—I mean, Maisie. He’s gone.

    Maisie felt the color drain from her face. How? Was he ill?

    The men looked at each other, and Jesse was about to answer her question when he shook his head and pressed a handkerchief to his eyes. Archie Smith spoke up in his place.

    He weren’t ill. He was killed at the paper factory, Bookhams. Smith folded his flat cap in half and ran his fingers along the fold. When he looked up, he could barely continue. It weren’t no accident, either, Maisie. We reckon it was deliberate. Someone wanted to get rid of him. No two ways about it. He looked at the other men, all of whom nodded their accord.

    Maisie rubbed her arms and looked at her feet, which at once felt cold.

    But Eddie was so gentle. He was a little slow, we all knew that, but he was a dear soul—who on earth would want to see him gone? She paused. Is his mother still alive? I remember the influenza just after the war had left her weak in the chest.

    Maudie’s heart is broken, Maisie. We’ve all been round to see her—everyone has. Jennie’s looking after her, but Wilf passed on a few years ago now. The grooms down at the bottling factory, the drivers at the brewery, everyone who looked after a horse in any of the boroughs knew Eddie, and they’ve all put something in the collection to make sure we give him a good send-off.

    Has he been laid to rest yet?

    This Friday. St. Marks.

    Maisie nodded. Tell me what happened—Seth, you start.

    Seth Knight and Dick Samuels were the younger men of the group; Maisie guessed they were now in their late forties. She couldn’t remember seeing them since they were young apprentices, and now they were men wearing the years on faces that were lined and gray, and with hands thick and calloused from toil.

    Knight cleared his throat. As you know, Eddie made a wage from the work he did with horses. There wasn’t a hot or upset horse in the whole of London he couldn’t settle, and that’s no word of a lie. And he earned well at times, did Eddie. Reckon this was after you left the Smoke, just before the war, but talk about Eddie’s gift had gone round all the factories and the breweries, and last year—honest truth, mind—he was called to the palace mews, to sort out one of His Majesty’s Cleveland Bays. He looked at Jesse, who nodded for him to continue. But horses don’t have a funny turn every day of the week, so Eddie always made a bit extra by running errands at the paper factory. He’d go in during the morning, and the blokes would give him a few coppers to buy their ciggies, or a paper, or a bite of something to eat, and he’d write everything down and—

    Wait a minute. Maisie interrupted Knight. When did Eddie learn to write?

    He’d been learning again for a while, Maisie. There was this woman who used to be a teacher at the school, she helped him. He’d found out where she was living—across the water—and he’d gone to her a while ago to ask if she could give him lessons. I’m blessed if I can remember her name. Apparently, he’d been doing quite well with a new customer, and it’d finally got into his noddle that if he learned to read and write he might be better off in the long run. He’d started to pay attention to money. I’d say it was all down to Maudie, pushing him a bit. In the past all he did was hand over the money to her, and she gave him pocket money to spend on himself, for his necessaries. She put the rest away for him—she always worried that he wouldn’t be able to look after himself when she was gone, you see.

    Maisie nodded. I remember her being so attentive to him, always. I was in a shop once—I think it was Westons, the hardware store; I must have been sent on an errand by my mother. I was behind Eddie and his mum, and she made him ask for what they wanted, even though he didn’t want to. She went stone silent until he’d asked for whatever it was, and then counted out the correct money. No one tried to hurry him along, because people knew Maud was teaching him to stand on his own two feet.

    Seth Knight went on. Well, Eddie seemed to have a little bit more about him lately, as if he’d been keeping us in the dark all along. He started asking questions about how to save his money so it was safe—of course, it was hard for him to understand, and he’d come and ask the same questions again, but all the same, he was trying. Anyway, it turns out this teacher—Miss Carpenter, that was her name—had always had a soft spot for him at school. When he turned up, that is. Trouble with Eddie, as you know, he’d always been happier around horses, so even as a young boy, when he got a message to go and sort out a horse, Maudie never stopped him. And to be honest, they needed the money, being as it was only the two of them; Wilf and Jennie were there to help out, but Maudie always said they needed everything they had to take care of themselves, especially with Wilf coming home gassed after the war. He might as well have died at Plugstreet Wood, the way the pain took it out of him, after he came home—and he was older than most of them; he wasn’t a young man when he went over there. Seth took a deep breath and looked down at his hands, the palm of one rubbing across the knuckles of the other. Anyway, going back to Eddie, he’d started to write down the odd note when the blokes at the factory gave him their instructions, and I for one think he could understand more than anyone gave him credit for. In any case, he always came back with what they’d asked him to get for them, and he never made a mistake.

    There was silence for a few moments, and Maisie knew that everyone was likely thinking the same thing, that Eddie wasn’t really gone, that he was as alive as the stories about him.

    Go on, Seth.

    I don’t know if you’ve ever been in Bookhams, but them rolls of paper are massive. They come out on a belt as wide as this room, and then they go straight onto the lorries—Bookhams are going over to lorries now. He sighed and rubbed his forehead. But they’ve still got a few old horses there, stabled out the back, for when the lorries pack up and won’t go—which is more often than the horses went lame, and that’s a fact.

    Maisie could see beads of perspiration forming on the man’s forehead, and the other men changed position or folded their arms. Take your time, Seth, she said.

    Seth Knight pulled a handkerchief from his trouser pocket, and rubbed it across his brow. No one can say what happened, and no one can say the how or why of it, but Eddie was walking out of the factory floor to take a few lumps of sugar to the horses, them as are left, and the next thing you know, one of them big rolls had slid sideways off the belt and come crashing down. It was all over like that. He snapped his fingers. Poor Eddie didn’t stand a chance. Not a chance. He was crushed, Maisie. Crushed to death.

    Oh dear Lord, what a terrible way to go.

    That’s not all of it—soon as it happened, the horses at the back, still in their stables, they all started going on. They knew, you see. They knew he’d gone. It was as if he was one of them. Always was like that, with him and horses.

    A choked cry caused Maisie to look back towards the door. Sandra had entered the room while Seth was speaking of Eddie’s death. She was standing by the door, holding the tray with shaking hands as tears ran down her face. Only months before, the young woman had lost her husband in equally tragic circumstances. Maisie nodded to Billy, who gently took the tray from Sandra and began handing out cups of tea to the men. Maisie stood up to comfort the young woman, whispering that if she wanted she could leave the office to sit in the square for a while.

    Jesse Riley drank back his tea, as if it were cold water quenching his thirst. He replaced the cup on the saucer and reached down to set it on the hearth. So, we came to see you about Eddie, thinking you’d know what to do, Maisie. Your dad comes up here from the country every now and again and he tells us, you know, he tells us how proud he is of you, and that you’ve brought murderers to justice. He leaned forward. You see, Maisie, no one cares about Eddie ’cept us, and his mum and Jennie. The police didn’t give a tinker’s cuss about it, said it was a ‘regrettable accident.’ Accident, my eye. It was a deliberate act of murder, that’s what it was.

    But why? Who would want to see Eddie dead?

    That’s just it, said Dick Samuels. We don’t know. But we thought you might be able to find out. He looked across to Pete Turner. Pete’s got our kitty, he can tell you about it.

    Turner leaned forward to speak to Maisie. We’ve had another whip-round, us and a few more costers at the market. He pulled out a drawstring bag. We don’t want you to work for nothing—you’ve come up the hard way and earned every penny, so we don’t want favors—but we want you to find out about Eddie. We want you to find out who killed him.

    Maisie was aware that all eyes focused on her. Not only the men were waiting for her to answer, but Billy and Sandra.

    Of course I will, but— Maisie was interrupted by a collective sigh of relief. She regarded each and every person present, then came back to Pete Turner. But I don’t want your money. Eddie was dear to all of us, so it’s up to us to do right by him and find out the truth of what happened to cause his death. If it was an accident, well, I’ll discover why it happened, and make sure it will never come to pass again. And if he was murdered, I’ll find out who wanted him dead.

    At first the men smiled and nodded to one another. Then Jesse Riley spoke up.

    Maisie, I’m an old coster and it’s not often I miss a trick. My mum, bless her, said that if you can’t pay anything else in life, you can pay attention, and I just noticed that you said you’d find out who wanted him dead, not that you’d find whoever it was killed Eddie.

    Maisie stood up. I just can’t imagine someone who knew Eddie, someone who saw him every day, wanting to do anything that might hurt him, which means that if his death was the result of a deliberate act, the person who wanted him dead might not have known him as we do. He had no means to protect himself, even as a boy. He was trusting, gentle and innocent. If he was killed intentionally, someone had a reason—and I can’t imagine what that reason could be. But that’s all speculation. In any case, my assistant, Mr. Beale— The men turned to look at Billy; Maisie continued. Mr. Beale will begin by asking each of you a good many questions, so we can get to the bottom of what you know and who you think we should be talking to. And in the meantime, here’s what I want you to do—I want you to rack your brains, think of anything unusual about Eddie in the weeks and months leading up to his death. Did he have any new work anywhere? Who was he dealing with? Did he upset anyone? Was he acting, well, not like Eddie at any time? I want you to think-think-think, and tell us if you remember anything you haven’t already told us about—even the smallest detail could be of use.

    Do you want us to stay here and talk to Mr. Beale today, Maisie? Until it’s done?

    Mr. Beale will want to speak to each of you for about an hour, so no, you’d all be wasting your time waiting here. Mrs. Tapley will draw up a list with a time for each of you. Come back here for your appointment with Mr. Beale—oh, and I think it’s best that you don’t say too much to the others down at the market; if they ask, just let them know that we’re looking into it. No more than that. Best to keep as much as we can between ourselves.

    Jesse Riley stood up. But we thought you’d be working on the case yourself, Miss.

    Maisie nodded. I will be, Jesse. But Billy and Sandra know what they’re doing—we’ve worked together on many cases, and I trust them implicitly. And while you’re doing your part and they’re doing theirs, I’ll be on my way to see Maud Pettit about Eddie. I’m leaving now—I remember where she lives. And after that, I’ll be visiting Bookhams. Maisie picked up her coat, hat, gloves, and shoulder bag. She decided to leave her briefcase, as it might seem intimidating—official people carried briefcases, people who might want to take something from you, and she didn’t want to frighten Eddie’s mother. Now then, I suggest we all meet here again, perhaps tomorrow—Sandra, how about late afternoon, when the gentlemen have finished their rounds? Would you put it in the diary?

    Bidding the men good-bye, she motioned to Billy to come to the front door with her.

    You know what questions to ask them, don’t you, Billy?

    Yes, Miss. And thank you, Miss, for putting this in my hands.

    "You’ve been with me for enough interviews to open an inquiry; you know what to do, of that I am sure. In any case, we’ll go through the notes together before they come back tomorrow—we’ve got the rest of

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