Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs was one of the most auspicious mystery series debuts of the last few years, and subsequent installments only confirmed this sentiment for her growing fan base. For whatever reason, I lost track of Maisie after the second book and only returned to the fold with this, the sixth entry. I'm glad I did. The early novels had plenty of pluck and wonderful backstory but her personality, especially as viewed by other characters, could be a bit on the saintly side. But An Incomplete Revenge shows Maisie at the top of her detecting form, acting on behalf of an old friend to investigate a land purchase in a Kent village about to come undone as a result of all manner of crimes large and small. Her ever-patient armor has also dented somewhat as the fate of her wartime love hangs in the balance, and Winspear handles the sense of impending loss Maisie feels with artful grace and sensitive prose. For longtime devotees, An Incomplete Revenge provides additional nuance to Maisie's character and profession, while those unfamiliar with the series are best advised to start here and work their way backward.
Books In Brief // Crime
Lifelines
By C.J. Lyons
Berkley / 05 pages / $7.99
Readers who prefer their medical thrillers to have characters with beating hearts and three dimensions are well advised to pick up this series debut by Lyons, a veteran of trauma centers and pediatric emergency medicine. The setting is Pittsburgh's Angels of Mercy Medical Center and the tense dynamic gets a shot of ephedrine with the arrival of the ER's new attending physician, Lydia Fiore, who experiences the high of saving a patient and the low of killing the chief of surgery's son just 24 hours after moving from Los Angeles. The stress level only gets worse when the prospect of clearing her name throws Lydia into a caldron of medical malpractice, hate crimes and secrets that should have little to do with her job but of course, have everything to do with it. Lyons captures the frenetic setting of the ER with a smooth style that demands the reader move forward to keep up with the piece, but she also creates winning portraits of the supporting players set to anchor the series. Resident Gina may be prickly but her wary distrust complements med student Amanda's naturally sunny nature and nurse Nora's fatalism about medicine and romantic relationships. Lifelines is overstuffed, as a series opener can be, but it sets the table well for the next adventure at Angels of Mercy.
Sarah Weinman reviews crime fiction every month for The Sun.
