I'm not really sure what I made of this.

First, there was certainly an...interesting plot structure, but I can see where people might abandon the book.

Maisie Dobbs' first case in her own right, as proprietor of M. Dobbs investigations, is at first a fairly quick solve. But it unearths certain other questions, questions that at 30% in transport you to an extended flashback and history of Maisie's life until about 70% into the book. This is important, as it reveals context for Maisie's personality - experiences in the war, & previous romance etc., but it definitely put my own questions about the central mystery awkwardly on hold for a while.

The Great War is a character in its own right in this book, reminiscent of Simone St. James' excellent Post-WWI paranormal mysteries, which I highly recommend (more so than this book, as I am a sucker for romances with traumatized participants, alas; this book has little to no active romance, disappointing me even as it suits the plot). And Maisie has her own oddities - an almost paranormally-keen sense of intuition, activated as she psychologically analyzes clients/suspects, or even when she imitates their body language. It's kind of weird and a little implausible, but I nonetheless found her strangely-placid demeanor & character interesting. More goes on upstairs in Maisie's head than shows on her face or in her interactions; she didn't show...well, ANY strong emotion that I recall in this first mystery.

Her mentor in detecting is a funny character I felt was strongly similar to Hercule Poirot, a nice inclusion.
Otherwise...I can't say I felt strongly attached to this book? I enjoy other female detectives much more, like Lady Kiera in the Anna Lee Huber series I just started (the Anatomist's Wife is book 1 fyi!), and Deanna Raybourn's Victorian-era female protags, or as stated, any of Simone St. James' novels. I CAN say that I'm not averse to more Maisies, if they're available from my library while I wait on holds... just not champing at the bit for more. I do recommend it if you enjoy period piece mysteries with a female protag that are more no-nonsense, as Maisie is.

I picked up Maisie Dobbs from the library upon the rec. of my GR friend Carol, and have to say that this initial entry marks what may prove to be one of the cleverest mystery series since Dorothy Gilman brought the retired and intrepid Mrs. Pollifax to life back in the 1960s. (For more on Mrs. Pollifax, see The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax)

Don't go into reading Maisie Dobbs with any preconceived ideas about what you'll find there. Yes, it's a mystery -- somewhat. Yes, it's a historical novel -- somewhat. Yes, it's a exploration of psychological healing -- somewhat. In fact, Maisie Dobbs is one of those books that can't really be pegged and shelved in it's own confined area.

The book starts in 1929, when Maisie sets up her detective practice and receives her first solo case: A man wants Maisie to find out if his wife is having an affair. After solving that, the book abruptly switches gears and goes back 19 years, to 1910, when young Maisie is just a lower class girl living with her widower, costermonger father. While Maisie is decidedly low class in the ridged class structure of pre-War Britian, she is anything but low class in her intellect. Her bankrupt father sends her into service at the home of a wealthy and sympathetic upper crust family. From here, we learn Maisie's backstory - essentially, how she came to "be" Maisie Dobbs, Detective. This portion takes up quite a bit of this 290+ page book, so that by the time it's over, we're back to 1929 and Maisie's intuition leads her on an offshoot of her initial case, and the resolution of some feelings Maisie has been carrying around for quite a long time.

The writing is spare and somewhat simple in places, which initially put me off. However, once I got into its rhythm, I was hooked. I loved the setting (pre-and-post WWI England), and enjoyed Maisie's backstory with all it's information about being "in service". The ending was probably my favorite of all, but I won't tell...

I eagerly await my next installment of Maisie Dobbs:
n  n
to see if Winspear can keep up the novelty of her first book in the series.



And oh yeah, the covers on the Penguin editions ROCK. I want them as posters, they are so evocative of the era. Excellent!

This was fantastic! Historical, wonderful characters, a little mystery. I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to pick it up. Looking forward to diving into this long series.

I thought this was a good book as far as initial series books go. I enjoyed the way Maisie decided that she wanted to help out as a nurse rather than attend University, even though it went against her families wishes. She had real hutzpah. I also thought she did well in helping find the killer. Not a series I am dying to continue, but I would read another book in the series if so inspired.

First of a series that felt like Downton Abbey with a Florence Nightingale heroine, and a little mystery thrown in as well. I'm hooked!

This is a wonderful book. I’m happy that it’s the first book in a series because I’m eager to continue and read the rest of the books.

Wonderful characters! Maisie and many other characters seem so much like real people. The story was great. There is a lot of absolutely brilliant humor! This book is not even close to being a comedy but it was so funny so many times. Lots of laughing and smiling at many amusing lines!!! There is also psychological sophistication when looking at people and at human nature and at psychological & physical challenges. I like that Maisie and her mentor(s) have so much understanding of the human condition and intuition when it comes to analyzing what’s going on with people.

My friend and I were disappointed that even though the story’s events took place from 1910-1929 that while WWI was covered the 1918-1920 influenza pandemic was not even mentioned. We both wanted to see how these characters and the places where they were coped with that pandemic, especially given our current situation.

I read this over a long period, reading out loud to a close long time (since age seven) friend who has cancer. We’d intended for me to read to her during her chemo treatments but the COVID-19 pandemic changed our plans when they’d no longer allow me to be present, so we read when we could, over a four month long period. It was a fun book to read aloud, though there were a few pages at one point where it was difficult because I was crying too hard. We both loved the book and started book two immediately upon finishing book one. From paperback to an Overdrive e-book edition from the public library given that e-materials are the only ones available to borrow right now. We will try to read book two much more quickly than we did book one.

This series is a great find. I’d had a couple of friends highly recommend it to me over the years so this first book had been on my to read shelf for a while. I’m glad that it is no longer languishing there!

4-1/2 stars

I was really torn about rating this book a three or a four, so I will say it is 3.5 for me. I did enjoy listening to the audio which added to the pleasure with accents and even singing!
Having recently finished reading, Johnny Get Your Gun this story continued along the same story line about men coming home after WW I with physical and emotional trauma. Similar themes of the horrors/aftermath of war.
Glad I finally read/ listened to this book, it has been on my TBR list for years.

I really wanted to like Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear At one point I thought this isn’t bad. Then it went back to dragging. This has been highly recommended. The whole series in fact. I found it lacking depth.

I fell in love with Maisie Dobbs! I had no idea I would. I also had no idea there was going to be a Downton Abbey style story in this book and there definitely is. I loved reading about Maisie getting started as a house maid and how her life transformed. I truly couldn't put the book down at that point.

My only complaint is the ending with Simon. Being that it's almost the last thing I read, it really left me sad. The author could've either moved it up earlier in the story so you have more time to get over it or tone it down a bit. Was the drool really needed? Couldn't we have just left it at the page where Simon uttered his last words while they worked on Billy? The reader then knows Simon didn't make it. I really dislike it when an author leaves me feeling sad. I do appreciate that Simon being a vegetable wasn't the very last scene in the book, but it was close to it so that is the impression that sticks with me.

Other than that I found this to be a fantastic read! I do feel compelled to have another adventure with Maisie so I will pick up book 2.

I really enjoyed this first book in Winspear's mystery series. Maisie Dobbs is a very intriguing and sympathetic heroine full of admirable traits.

At age 13, after her mother's death, her father sends her to be a servant in the home of a kindly aristocratic family. The family sees much promise in the smart Maisie and offers to fund her education. WWI breaks out and Maisie feels called to volunteer. She goes to France as a nurse and her experiences impact her in a way that changes her life forever. When she arrives home after the war, Maisie continues her education and ultimately opens a private investigation firm. One of her first jobs appears to be a routine infidelity case but ends up being much more and causes Maisie to revisit many of her traumatic memories of the Great War.

The mystery and plot are excellently written and exciting. I like the way that the author weaves in history and flashbacks to bring interest to the plot. I am a big fan of the WWI time period, as well. Winspear's strength lies in her characters...right up my alley!

Un grato descubrimiento, una novela muy amable y entretenida.

I enjoyed this so much I barely care about some of the faults it has. Excellent experience.