Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear

Meet Maisie Dobbs, psychologist and investigator. I found her because of a book club I belong to that puts out paperbacks. I love a mystery, so of course I bit and brought home not one, but all three of the Maisie Dobbs mysteries.

Maisie Dobbs is the daughter of a greengrocer who is sent off to live and work at Lady Rowan’s house. Lady Rowan, when she discovers Maisie reading and absorbing some difficult books in her library, takes the girl under her wing and introduces her to Maurice. Maurice becomes her tutor and second father, and teaches her and sends her on her way into Cambridge to get a degree. Unfortunately, World War I intervenes, and when a girl she knows dies, she leaves school to become a nurse. Later, her experience as a nurse in France helps her in her first case, a seemingly easy infidelity case. Her search for answers leads to more questions about those men injured terribly in the war who decide to leave society and take up residence at The Retreat. Something seems fishy, and she is determined to figure it out. The answers she finds help bring about some closure to her own past, and opens her up to a bright future as a compassionate investigator.

I really enjoyed getting to know Maisie Dobbs. She was a real, well-rounded character. She is compassionate and smart, but troubled as well. She isn’t a cardboard cut out, and when her history is revealed, you feel compassion for her. The mystery is engaging, and although I pretty much figured it all out about as soon as The Retreat was mentioned, I still enjoyed the journey. I liked the way Jacqueline Winspear described England at war and of the struggles of each person in the aftermath. They are realistic without being so awful you need to turn away. You can tell Ms. Winspear speaks from experience (that of her family at least), and I felt as if she was telling me the story of someone she knew. It is delicate but it doesn’t turn away from the brutal facts of war.

I really can’t wait to read more about Maisie Dobbs and her investigations. If you like reading mysteries set in a historical period about intelligent women who use compassion, psychology, and their minds to solve problems, similar to the Jane Austen series of mysteries or the like, you’d like Maisie Dobbs.

Rating: 5 Purrs