Jacqueline Winspear’s Maisie Dobbs was a national bestseller, a New York Times Notable Book of the Year 2003, an Edgar Award Nominee for Best Novel 2003, the Agatha Award winner for Best First Novel 2003, and one of Publishers Weekly’s Best Mysteries of 2003.
The New York Times review for this book said “Prepare to be astonished …”
It received starred reviews in both Publishers Weekly and Library Journal and its many other laudatory reviews included terms such as engaging, inspired, delightful, poignant, compelling, and fresh.
Maisie entered domestic service in 1910 at the age of thirteen to work as a maid for Lady Rowan Compton. When her remarkable intelligence and innate love of learning are discovered by her employer, her education is taken in hand and she eventually enters Girton College at Cambridge University.
World War I intervenes and changes her plans. She serves as a nurse at the front and falls in love with a handsome young doctor, only to lose him.
In 1929, following an apprenticeship, Maisie hangs out her shingle -- M. Dobbs, Trade and Personal Investigations -- and soon becomes enmeshed in a mystery surrounding The Retreat, a reclusive community of veterans wounded in body and spirit. She uncovers a disturbing mystery there and, after a dramatic dénouement, Maisie finds the courage to confront the ghost that has haunted her for over ten years.
There have been four additional Maisie Dobbs mysteries, each as brilliant as the first, and I found the most recent, An Incomplete Revenge, to be the best yet. PW reported that “this jaunt back to a bygone era is as satisfying as a spin in Maisie's MG.”
Charles Todd, author of the WWI survivor Inspector Ian Rutledge series, called Maisie Dobbs “a rare treat for mystery fans!"
The Usual Suspects Mystery Reading Group will be discussing Maisie Dobbs on Sunday, September 21st, at 2 p.m.
On Sunday, October 19th, we will discuss A Test of Wills, the first book in Todd's series.
Hope you can join us. New faces are always welcome. To reserve copies, call 291-4821.
