Reviews

Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear

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cdjdhj's review against another edition

4.0

The book started out a bit slow, but after 100 pages or so, it became much more interesting. The author entwines mystery and romance with the back drop of World War I and its aftermath. Quite a good read. I will be looking for more books in this series.

superdewa's review against another edition

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2.0

This was a DNF that I gave a second chance because so many people have recommended it. It was just as awful the second time around. The plot and characters are tolerable, but the author regularly uses 20 words where one will do and can’t restrain herself from explaining things that would be better left to the reader to deduce. Why, for example, do we need so much detail about the car she borrows, why it was leant, why she accepted, how she learned to drive it, blah, blah, blah. It was clear by then that these tangents weren’t meant to be red herrings. It was tedious.

susanne_latour's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes

3.0

utahmomreads's review against another edition

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3.0

Maisie Dobbs, by Jacqueline Winspear is a sharp, unconventional approach to the detective novel. I don't read them often and I won't pretend to be an expert. I especially enjoyed the intelligent and thoughtful way that Maisie Dobbs investigates. As a psychologist and investigator, Maisie is as concerned with the people she helps as she is with solving the case. Skilled at understanding and even manipulating the human mind, Maisie takes a sometimes subtle and careful way in getting to the truth.

Maisie Dobbs, opening her own detective agency a decade after the first World War, is hired by a man to find out if his wife is having an affair. This seemingly simple case will lead Maisie into a more dangerous investigation.

The novel did lag a bit during Maisie's back story. However, it was interesting to see where she came from; how she became a detective and what has shaped her own life. I understand that since this is the first novel in a series of Maisie Dobbs mysteries that there would probably be more of Maisie's story in this first novel. It definitely gets moving again, once Maisie gets back on the probing quest for the truth regarding The Retreat, a home for wounded veterans.

Maisie is also portrayed as squeaky, clean and sometimes dull. She loves everyone. Everyone loves her. While this is refreshing, the very ending is at a sharp contradiction with her character.

The case wasn't terribly mysterious and I had guessed at the truth early in the novel. It was fun to see how Maisie figured it out and employed her knowledge of human nature to save those in the harrowing situation.

Maisie Dobbs was an enjoyable read and I will definitely be picking up more books from the series in the future.