Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear

Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

If you're looking for a mystery with great suspense, or for a lead character who has flaws she needs to overcome, Maisie Dobbs probably isn't the book for you. But if you are looking for an interesting, romantic, story set during World War I and in the years following, you'll like this one.

Maisie is an extremely beautiful woman with superior intellect, compassion, and intuition. She does show one human failing toward the end of the novel, but most of the book's interesting character flaws are found in the people around Maisie, not in her. And even the minor characters seem to come around to the right way of thinking or have a good excuse for not doing so. There's a social climber who works for the war effort in a dangerous situation and a party girl who volunteers for the service. I won't mention others, to avoid including too many spoilers.

The story starts out with a typical mystery, a man believes his wife is having an affair and hires Maisie Dobbs to check on her. But the book takes a long detour back to the war years, where we get to learn about Maisie's time as a battlefield nurse. There's a wartime romance as well as an interesting friend, who serves as an ambulance driver.

The book also deals with the separation of classes that existed in England. Maisie plays a role in Winspear's portrayal of that era's social discrimination, giving the reader something to think about.

I listened to the audio and enjoyed it. The narrator, Rita Barrington, did a wonderful job and Jacqueline Winspear writes with a clear, interesting style that isn't overdone. It doesn't gets in the way of the story, yet she uses colorful language appropriate for the period.

Steve Lindahl - author of Hopatcong Vision Quest, White Horse Regressions, and Motherless Soul


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