The end of the Maisie Dobbs era and it’s the perfect book to say goodbye. Our readers will miss this series. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read the ARC.

Fans of Maisie Dobbs will be glad of another addition to the series, but may regret that this is her final story. Her partner Billy and his family play a part in this story, because Maisie encounters Will, Billy's son who is suffering ptsd from his POW experience in Japan. At the same time, she meets four youth who are squatters taking care of Will, who are damaged in their own ways. Maisie determines to make things right for all of them, but must first uncover their secrets. As it turns out, she uncovers a major secret that will clarify her own past and enrich her future.

This claims to be the last Maisie Dobbs book. Lord Julian Compton (the father of her previous husband James) has just died, and Lady Rowan hears there are squatters at Ebury Place, their London house. Maisie goes to the house and talks with young Mary through the letter slot, and Mary tellls Maisie about a man who is in the house and not well. When Maisie finds out that Will Beale has disappeared after being demobbed from the army, she gets food and goes back to Ebury Place and asks to see the man. She gets in with the food and finds Will. She takes him to her friend Priscilla. She also finds a place for the four children, who are afraid they will be blamed for a murder they witnessed. Before the children leave Ebury Place, Mary discovers a packet of love letters hidden under a floorboard. Maisie recognizes her former husband's writing and takes the letters home. She discovers that her former husband James fathered a son with the maid who was Maisie's roommate a long time ago.

Maisie has a lot of work to protect the children, discover what they are afraid of, and find out what happened to James' son. This is an interesting picture of London and surroundings as WWII ends. It is also somewhat of a review of Maisie's earlier life.

I thank Soho Press and Netgalley for the ARC for me to read ahead of publication.

The Comfort of Ghosts by Jacqueline Winspear
This is the last of the Maisie Dobbs series as Maisie navigates the death of her father-in-law and uncovers family secrets that may lead to healing and family connection.
Maisie discovers 4 kids squatting in the house she was a young maid in, and she is compelled to investigate the reasons behind their behavior.
She also works to reunite her assistant Billy, with his son, fresh from war and shell-shocked and malnourished.
Britain is trying to look to the future after the war, but with food and housing shortages and injured soldiers returning home, morale is low.
Amidst a murder investigation and old associates re-entering her life, Maisie must stay centered and focused on what is important in her life- her family and loved ones.
#netgalley

While I am so sad to see this series come to an end, this book was the perfect conclusion. As always, it was beautifully written, had an intriguing plot and excellent character development. I look forward to recommending this one to our patrons.

I thoroughly enjoyed the last book in this series! It will be had to let her go. A must read for historical fiction fans! I hope the author continues to write, she has a wonderful style!

It is with a heavy heart that I review the last Maisie Dobbs book. The last installment in this series still gives the reader the warm and calming feeling that all of the other books in the series conveyed. I will miss you Maisie.

Jacqueline Winspear drew on her British parents and grandparents' memories of the world wars to write the Maisie Dobbs series.. This is the final volume.

As with many of the previous seventeen books, Winspear reveals an aspect of war not commonly known. This time, the reader learns that school students were drafted to serve as eyes and ears in the community during World War II. The teenagers were even issued cyanide pills to swallow if captured.

Maisie calls on all her friends to help four teens who were in the program. Her partner Billy and friend Priscilla and mother-in-law Rowan come to her aid.

Ghosts also play a role. Her late husband and friends she lost during the wars have left loose ends. Winspear ties them up beautifully.

A lovely fullstop to the Maisie Dobbs series - I took a long break in the middle there (other Maisie readers will know why - ENOUGH WITH THE TRAGEDIES), but I'm glad I returned and followed the rest of her experiences.

I've read all the Maisie Dobbs books. This is an excellent finish to the series. I recommend all of her books.

It's very hard to see this long running series come to an end, but for those of us who have followed Maisie Dobbs since she was 13, there's a lot of satisfaction in seeing all the threads come together, allowing us to picture the future of so many characters we have come to know and love.

This book is very light on the central mystery which is easily resolved with over 100 pages left to read. I don't think this would be a satisfying stand alone read, but for long time followers of the series it provides resolutions for the central characters and hints at the future that awaits Maisie and her family.

While I am sorry that there won't be further Maisie Dobbs stories, I have appreciated and loved reading about her life and exploits. She was a modern woman who changed with the times and I felt empowered as woman to do my best in my own life.

It's 1945-- the war has just ended, though there are many problems still in Britain. Maisie learns that some squatters have moved into the Compton residence in London. They are four teens from an orphanage who had been recruited to help the government during the war. There is also a veteran, a former Japanese POW, living there, and he is someone Maisie knows well. She sets about to help these people with the assistance of her friend Priscilla, and also learns a disturbing secret about her late husband's past. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This is the final volume in the Maisie Dobbs series. It’s sad to come to the end of her adventures but Winspear does a lovely job of finishing it up. It’s 1945, Maisie is settling in nicely to her life in the country as a mother and wife. But some cases pop up. Billy’s son has returned for the war but has not come home. He is missing. Maisie secretly begins the process of tracking him down. Additionally, while checking on the London house, she encounters a group of squatters. These are unusual squatters. They are four frightened young adults with interesting skills. And there is a revelation about Maisie’s first husband.
Thanks to NetGalley for providing an eGalley of this title.

A very solid and satisfying end to a great series. I'm sorry to see Maisie go, but excited to see where Winspear takes her talents next.

Thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to view an ARC!

Most of the series I love are ending, and it's making me sad. I enjoyed the final Maisie Dobbs book, but it was a but uneven for me. It kicks off nearly a year after D-Day, and Britain is still under rationing and struggling with the aftermath of the bombings as well as widespread homelessness. When Lord Julian dies, Maisie helps Lady Rowan deal with the estate and subsequently needs to deal with squatters in the Ebery Place Mansion. That kicks off Maisie's investigation. It isn't really much of a mystery and pretty much concludes a bit more than halfway through the book, when the focus seems to shift to really wrapping up the series more neatly than I think it needed. The story might have been stronger without the last third of the book, but I know many readers will want to know how things turn out for all the characters they've read about for twenty years.

What a send off to my favorite literary character. Another great book about Maisie and her friends and a beautiful way to end the series. She will be missed but looking forward to many more books by the author. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher!

Jacqueline Winspear's The Comfort of Ghosts delivers a poignant mystery in the aftermath of WWII. In this last installment in the Maisie Dobbs series, Maisie has two mysteries to solve, and one of them is very personal to her. The overarching theme is dealing with loss: the loss of loved ones, the loss of the life that once was, the loss of home, and the loss innocence. Maisie relies on the teachings of Maurice Blanche, her deceased mentor, to navigate all of this loss, not only for herself, but for those whom she loves. Even though the plot is filled with the "ghosts" of the past, this is in no way a morbid or gloomy tale. Rather, it has Maisie, her family, and her friends and associates looking hopefully and expectantly towards the future, the future of their own making. Maisie Dobbs fans will find this a satisfying read.

The last entry in the Maise Dobbs series was not so much of a mystery as it was a “final accounting” of the entire series. As always, the plot was well-grounded in historical context and it wrapped up loose ends for the many characters I’ve enjoyed reading about throughout the 18 entries. A very satisfying end to the series.

This was a beautiful and satisfying conclusion to a brilliant historical mystery series.

I have read and enjoyed every book in this series. Winspear has created a cast of rich characters with intricate webs of relationships between them. These people and their connections are woven throughout the 18 (very good) mystery books and that makes them even better.

Winspear is a master of pacing and plotting. Maisie’s character growth throughout the series and particularly in this final volume is profound.

This last story acts as a bit of a denouement for the whole series, wrapping up loose ends I wasn’t even aware existed. As Maurice and Maisie would call it, “A final accounting.”

I loved it. ❤️