Ratings46
Average rating3.5
Maisie Dobbs got her start as a maid in an aristocratic London household when she was thirteen. Her employer, suffragette Lady Rowan Compton, soon became her patron, taking the remarkably bright youngster under her wing. Lady Rowan’s friend, Maurice Blanche, often retained as an investigator by the European elite, recognized Maisie’s intuitive gifts and helped her earn admission to the prestigious Girton College in Cambridge, where Maisie planned to complete her education.
The outbreak of war changed everything. Maisie trained as a nurse, then left for France to serve at the Front, where she found—and lost—an important part of herself. Ten years after the Armistice, in the spring of 1929, Maisie sets out on her own as a private investigator, one who has learned that coincidences are meaningful, and truth elusive. Her very first case involves suspected infidelity but reveals something different.
In the aftermath of the Great War, a former officer has founded a working farm known as The Retreat that acts as a convalescent refuge for ex-soldiers too shattered to resume normal life. When Fate brings Maisie a second case involving The Retreat, she must finally confront the ghost that has haunted her for over a decade.
Featured Series
15 primary booksMaisie Dobbs is a 15-book series with 15 primary works first released in 2003 with contributions by Jacqueline Winspear.
Reviews with the most likes.
Fairly well-written but I dislike how this was structured, with a prolonged flashback in the middle.
I thought this was interesting. Over 1/3 of the book is the backstory and training montage ofthe main character. The actual mystery is only a small part of the book.
I'm usually more interested in the plot then in the characters but Ms. Dobbs caught and held my attention. The time period is well described and the horrors of WW1 are a background for the book.
I'll try the next book to see if this kind of mystery interests me as it should spend less time introducing the characters.
I liked this book! I wish I could give half stars because for me it's really more of a 3.5. While I understand why the author gave us the flashbacks to provide background on Maisie, particularly since this is the first book in the series, I felt like it broke up the mystery story and detracted from it. I'm looking forward to reading another in the series to see how the mystery plays out without the interruption of the flashback.