Birds of a feather (original 2004; edition 2004)

I am really enjoying this Maisie Dobbs series. This is the second book in the series, and in it we see Maisie and her wonderful assistant Billy Beale hired to find a young woman who has disappeared from her upscale home on Belgravia. The time is spring 1930. Maisie has changed her circumstances since the first book. She has moved her office to a better area, and changed her living quarters as well. While they Billy and Maisie are mapping out Charlotte Waite's past to try to determine where she has gone to, they uncover a series of seemingly unrelated suicides and a murder. The more they dig, the more it appears that these events and Miss Waite's disappearance are connected. There are more references to the First World War and the links in the cases seem to go back to that time. I really enjoy Maisie and I love Ms. Winspear's writing. The plots are suspensful, the characters are well-drawn and I love the sense of time and place that goes into these books. Maisie is a wonderfully strong and intelligent woman, and one that is truly believable. I sure am going to continue with this series. ( )

Another great book in the Maisie Dobbs series. I didn't give it the full 5 just because the story was more straight mystery than the previous one. But still beautifully written with a great plot too. Can't wait for the 3rd! ( )

Second Maisie Dobbs mystery, and a book I am struggling desperately to remember. Ah, yes. There are several interesting twists involved, but I think I pinpointed my problem with the first book. I'm not very fond of Maisie's detecting style. I mean, mixing in a bit of psychology is fine, but there were so few actual clues and so much standing around soaking in the atmosphere and then making apparently correct deductions from it. I'm afraid that for this classic-British-mystery fan, it was a bit much. I do have the third book out; we'll see if I keep having this problem. (Dec 20110

http://blogmybooks.blogspot.com/2007/10/birds-of-feather-by-jacqueline-winspear.... ( )

Maisie Dobbs is at it again, this time attempting to find a runaway debutante who does not want to be found. More of Maisie's character is revealed to us as she begins to connect the runaway case with the murders of two other women. After finishing this book, I can't wait to see what Maisie will do in the next book! ( )