Messenger of Truth: A Masie Dobbs Novel
by Jacqueline Winspear
As murder mysteries go, this was a lot better than
Sunset and Sawdust. It had some serious flaws, such as an ending that comes out of nowhere, but I kind of enjoyed it anyway.
This book is the fourth in a "
Masie Dobbs" series of detective novels. As female crimefighters go, Masie has everything on "Sunset," probably because this book was written by a woman and not a gross old horny loser. Like that other book, this takes place in the 1930s, but the setting is completely different. Instead of Texas, this story happens in Merrie Olde England.
An artist is murdered and Masie delves into the exciting art world, as well as encountering the high society that propagates and patronizes this art. Masie and her assistant get bitter about the class divide, but ultimately some humanity of the entitled rich jerks touches her.
It could be slow moving, and I don't know much about mysteries but I thought they were supposed to give the reader more clues so we can feel smart and try to crack the case.
I guess I'd give it a 3 out of 5 but luckily I read it soon enough after that last 30s murder mystery to contrast this one in a pretty positive light.
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