Cloyingly sweet mystery set in 1929, first in a series starting the title character, Maisie Dobbs. The character concept is creative; Dobbs is, in some ways, the opposite of the classic detective Sherlock Holmes. Where Holmes is hyper-rational, deductive, and operates on his own much of the time, Dobbs is intuitive, semi-psychic, and strongly enmeshed in her relationships with a variety of allies and mentors. Holmes policies the Victorian boundaries of order and disorder; Dobbs spreads healing and understanding after Britain's old order has been permanently shattered by World War I.

The book suffers from its structure, however. The first third introduces a mystery in 1929; the middle half drops back to explain Dobbs' young adulthood from 1907 to 1917, laying in an overwrought but frustratingly chaste romance; that leaves roughly 17% percent of the book to complicate and resolve the mystery. Not surprisingly, without much space to develop, the mystery turns out to be pretty predictable. The structure is replicated on a smaller level as well: chapters frequently start with the last scene in a short sequence and jump back to immediately preceding scenes in flashbacks.

I also found the writing style too twee for me. The scenes that make up the narrative feel like tableaus, or set pieces. They almost always involve a piece of physical description that is there to add local color, and include a supporting character offering a bit of homely wisdom or insight into life in their special way. There's a fine line between archetypes and cliches, and this novel wanders across it freely. Still, the main character is appealing, and the series may mature. ( )

Maisie is an incredible character and I found the flashbacks, especially those to WWI, insightful and moving. I'm moving straight on to 'Birds of a Feather and am trying to resist book 3 on Amazon! I'll send both books onto Decembermum. ( )

In this first installment in the series, Jacqueline Winspear gives notice that Maisie Dobbs will not be a typical detective series. The reader first meets detective Maisie Dobbs in 1929 working on a case of a wandering wife (she was actually visiting the grave of a dead vet of the Great War), pretty standard fare so far, but Winspear then spends the middle chunk of the book giving us Maisie’s full background from 1910. A Downstairs girl whose intelligence and curiosity brings her to the notice of her progressive employer, Lady Rowan, Maisie’s education is interrupted by service as a nurse in WWI.

The story then runs back to a mystery that stemmed from the original inquiry: several WWI veterans buried in graves marked only by their first name. Why did they drop their last name? Why were they all at a place called the Retreat when they died?

The book explores the horrific psychological and physical consequences of traumatic war injuries that occurred on the battlefield and off. The book also explores the relationship of an only daughter with her loving widower father, the relationships in the Downstairs and between the Upstairs and Downstairs. A gem in the field of genre detective fiction. ( )

Considering that I LOVE British mysteries, that I love period fiction and that I enjoy starting a new mystery series now and then, this book should have been right up my alley. And, considering that this was a "New York Times Notable book, nominated for an Edgar award for best novel," etc. etc., it simply did not appeal to me. Not that's that ever been my critieria for liking or not liking a book, but I did expect a bit more.

Maisie Dobbs was young when her mom died and was sent off to work for Lord and Lady Compton in service. From there, she made her way to Cambridge University, from there she went to work as a nurse when the war broke out, falling in love with Captain Simon Lynch on the battlefield. Then she started working with a confidential investigator, where she got her training. Now he's retired, and she has the business. That's her backstory, which fills a majority of the book, leaving very little time a much fuller development of the central plot.

I think this would be more appropriate for readers of cozy mysteries, or those who like a bit of melodrama and romance in their mystery novels, or even for young adults. I guess I like more mystery in my mystery novel.

As a mystery series opener, it's one of the weakest I've read, which is a shame, really, since this book comes so highly recommended. ( )

Good picture of early 20th century Great Britain class system, the terrible effects of WWI.
Although a mystery - not a typical mystery. would be enjoyed by people who might not otherwise care for mysteries ( )