Book Jacket:
Maisie Dobbs, Psychologist and Investigator, began her working life at the age of thirteen as a servant in a Belgravia mansion, only to be discovered reading in the library by her employer, Lady Rowan Compton. Fearing dismissal, Maisie is shocked when she discovers that her thirst for education is to be supported by Lady Rowan and a family friend, Dr. Maurice Blanche. But The Great War intervenes in Maisie’s plans, and soon after commencement of her studies at Girton College, Cambridge, Maisie enlists for nursing service overseas.
Years later, in 1929, having apprenticed to the renowned Maurice Blanche, a man revered for his work with Scotland Yard, Maisie sets up her own business. Her first assignment, a seemingly tedious inquiry involving a case of suspected infidelity, takes her not only on the trail of a killer, but back to the war she had tried so hard to forget.
You can read an excerpt here.
Review:
If you want a dark soda, generally you have three brands to choose from: Coca-Cola, Pepsi, or Dr. Pepper. When it comes to detective stories (most egregiously on TV), generally you have three tried and true tropes to choose from: one, the over the top misanthropic intellectual who solves puzzles by sheer scientific brilliance (Sherlock, House, Wallander, Lie to Me); two, the typical hard working good guy everyman (Marlowe, any CSI, Law & Order, or NCIS type); and three, the quirky odd man out who makes crime solving light and fun (Psyche, The Mentalist, Castle). Despite the fact that I like many of these shows, I admit I’m fatigued by the same old tropes, over and over again – which is what made Maisie Dobbs such a delightful surprise. This book is a mystery with a flavor all its own and an engaging and unusual lead.
Maisie is a quiet type – she solves crimes because she listens; she mimics body posture to get a sense of what people are feeling; she uses empathy to gain discerning insights without being overtly emotional, and she takes the time to meditate on a problem, to find stillness in the manner of Eastern philosophies. Her influences range from Kierkegaard to Jung to Buddhism, and she is a smart, classy and fascinating woman who is very much a product of her time.
Equally interesting is the backdrop of this story, the society Maisie is navigating. As an educated woman from a working class background, Maisie is caught between the worlds of the old class system, at a time when that system is starting to come apart at the seams. Set in the years following World War I, this book in particular is about people who are still living the war, even ten years later, and how Maisie is one of them, in her own way. I love how this story gives us a sense of the toll of The Great War, both writ large and small, with carefully crafted detail.
This story is also unusual in structure – it is divided into three parts, the first being the beginning of the mystery, showing us Maisie in her present day, the second takes us from Maisie’s childhood through the war, and the third blends the last few pieces of her wartime memories into the unraveling of the puzzle, showing us the ways in which they intertwine. Maisie pursues the truth not only to solve the case, but also because it is something she needs to understand, for her own reasons. At its heart, this is a very personal story.
Maisie Dobbs is a delightful blend of war story and cozy mystery, tied together with a strong thread of romance. The character work is excellent, and while the mystery is interesting, it isn’t all encompassing – in the end, this story is about unraveling the puzzle that is Maisie Dobbs, a woman who absolutely deserves her own series. Her work is as much about psychology as it is about crime, and it makes for a hypnotizing combination. I will definitely be picking up the next book in this series.
Byrt Grade: A
As Levar Burton used to say – you don’t have to take my word for it…
Maureen Corrigan for NPR says:
Jacqueline Winspear’s debut novel, Maisie Dobbs, is a quirky literary creation. If you cross-pollinated Vera Brittain’s classic World War I memoir, Testament of Youth, with Dorothy Sayers’ Harriet Vane mysteries, and a dash of the old PBS series Upstairs, Downstairs, you’d approximate the peculiar range of topics and tones within this novel…Overall, its intelligent eccentricity offers relief from the dopey doldrums of most other so-called summer books.
By devoting so much attention to her main character while still giving depth to other characters and weaving an intriguing story in the bargain, Winspear has written a fantastic first entry into what will hopefully be a long and successful series. The world Winspear creates with her words is full of intriguing possibilities for further stories, and this reviewer will be eagerly awaiting each and every one.
I wasn’t sure I was ready for a new female sleuth when I picked up Jacqueline Winspear’s novel, Maisie Dobbs. But as Maisie’s story unfolded, I was drawn in deeper and deeper, and now I think I may have to run to my local indie bookstore to buy the follow-ups!
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