Maisie Dobbs accepts a case from an old friend concerning his potential land purchase. She goes to a small rural community to investigate mysterious fires that erupt regularly, in addition to a series of petty crimes. Her assistant, Billy, and his family are there to pick hops. (Every August or September, thousands of Londoners left the crowded city to live in huts for weeks to pick hops. Not long after this time period, workers were replaced by machines. What was interesting was the attitude of the pickers, they formed a community and sang and danced in the evenings, and treated their time in Kent more like a vacation than drudgery.) 1931 brought many challenges to folks in the different classes, from Londoners to gypsies to townspeople.. Prejudices are never pretty.

 England was still healing from the aftermath of  WWI, Billy and his sweet family are still healing from their loss, and Maisie has her own loss to work through, too. Revenge is added to loss in the village where Maisie learns about a secret no one wants to discuss. Another mystery is the Zeppelin raid that killed the baker and his family. Can Masie find answers and solve the case?

“Fear is the driving force behind revenge, but love is the antidote.” Sounds like the Bible verse from 1 John 4:18: “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.” This book was filled with revenge quotes that packed a punch. Kate pointed out that maybe an incomplete revenge is one that has not been forgiven, what a powerful point! 

Please join us as we recap Maise Dobbs’s 5th book, An Incomplete Truth by Jacqueline Winspear,  “The past may haunt us, but only by facing it can we find true peace.”

Blessings, dear listeners!