Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear

A female investigator every bit as brainy and battle-hardened as Lisbeth Salander." —Maureen Corrigan, NPR's Fresh Ai

Synopsis -

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 very 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.

Review -

Maisie Dobbs is the first book in an 18 book series. I only heard about this series this year when a friend recommended it. I accidently read book 2 first. Still good, but it would be better to read them in order as this first book covers Maisie's back story, and it helps you understand who she is and how she works. 

This story is set in the 1920's after the war, but includes flash back to tell Maisie's story from childhood to how she came to open her own detective agency.  As a woman, getting those first clients was a challenge. Thankfully she was helped by her benefactor - Lady Rowen - and Maurice Blanche, the man who taught her everything he knew.  

The mystery we follow has elements created by the fall-out after a war - lost loves, tragic endings, terrible injuries - and how the people we meet are coping.  Layers are slowly peeled back as we gain an understanding of the why behind their actions. One thing that makes her work solving cases special is she cares deeply about the human beings she is both hired by, and the subjects of her research.  She wants the results of her efforts to improve their lives. This adds a unique element the story that I loved. 

A great read. 

Buy the book: Amazon US ~ Amazon CA

Meet the Author -

Jacqueline Winspear is the author of eighteen novels in the award-winning, New York Times, National and International bestselling series featuring psychologist-investigator Maisie Dobbs. In addition, Jacqueline’s 2023 non-series novel, The White Lady was a New York Times and National bestseller, and her 2014 WW1 novel, The Care and Management of Lies, was again a New York Times and National bestseller, as well as a Dayton Literary Peace Prize finalist. Jacqueline has also published two non-fiction books, What Would Maisie Do? and an Edgar-nominated memoir, This Time Next Year We’ll Be Laughing. 

Jacqueline’s work encompasses essays and journalism covering a wide range of subjects, from women working in wildfire management to articles on international education and social history.

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