4.5/5

Read pre- GR.

Book 2 of 17

Once again Maisie Dobbs is my Shero. I love this series and this book was amazing. I listened to the audio version and I enjoyed all 10 hours of the audiobook. The book reads like a soap opera. The characters are so engaging, the story seems so real and entertaining, and the twist and turns that led to the solving of the murder(s) are very interesting. The book held my attention the whole time and I am so looking forward to listening to book 3.

*One of the characters (Rosalind Throne) who was killed has the same name of another British series in which I am reading. That was a little disturbing to me but I know that Rosalind is well and kicking in the Thorne Mysteries. Lol

Fascinating read. Maisie's character is so interesting--as are her entourage. And because I'm a self-proclaimed word geek, Winspear's writing makes me giddy.
Already started #3...

It is now 1930, and this second installment in the Maisie Dobbs mystery series finds Maisie's detective services requested by the rich grocery chain owner Joseph Waite, whose 30+ year old daughter Charlotte has run away from the family home and her feckless lifestyle. Maisie and her sidekick Billy Beale once again delve into the pain and anguish caused by WWI, and encounter a mystery tinged with loneliness, grief and revenge. In her quest to solve Charlotte's disappearence, Maisie uncovers the murder of 2 of Charlotte's girlhood firends, as well as the suspicious suicide of a third. Might Charlotte make up a fourth death, or is Charlotte a murderess?

While I completely enjoyed this foray back into Maisie's sleuthing world, I found Birds of a Feather did have some problems with it, IMO. Firstly, Maisie comes across as a very cold and unfeeling character, and I don't quite buy into all her intuitiveness (or her appeal to men) as a result. Secondly, I feel that Winspear lays on Maisie's new-agey-zen-like detecting methods with too heavy a hand; it's Tibetan monk meets "The Ghost Whisperer", and it leaves me scratching my head that she could accomplish anything beyond calming her inner detective. That being said, this installment provided another entertaining mystery for the reader who enjoys a more unconventional detective. I will continue reading the Maisie's Dobbs series to see what else Winspear has in store for her creation.

I gave this second book in the Maisie Dobbs series a chance, after a lukewarm reaction to the first book. I ended up not really liking the second one either, which is a shame, because they have such great potential. A young, female detective in London in the years after World War I sounds like a great premise for a mystery series. But it's the execution of the characters that I just didn't like.

In this second book, Maisie Dobbs is investigating the disappearance of the daughter of a wealthy store owner. Her disappearance is linked to the war and several other people who have died. The mystery in "Birds of a Feather" is actually compelling, with good plot twists, strong details, and clues, but the writing is something I just can't get over.

Maisie Dobbs herself is drawn to be just a little too perfect and a little too precious. In a mystery series, I just can't stand for the main character to have "shiny, jet-black tresses," or to constantly be pushing "loose tendrils" of hair out of her face. In my experience, tresses and tendrils belong in romance novels, not in mysteries. I said in my review of book #1 that Maisie Dobb's absolute control and perfection also get on my nerves, and she's still perfect in book #2. She's never flustered, never put out, never says the wrong thing. I guess I prefer my heroes and heroines to be a little more human, and a little less perfect.

In all, I love the premise of these books, but the writing of the main character is enough to turn me off. It's all just a little bit too precious and cloying for me. YMMV.

I'm having a bit of a hard time with Maisie's Mary Sue-ness. She seems too good to be true, always knowing just what people need from her and successfully fulfilling those needs. Also, her intuition about cases borders on the supernatural, but is never treated as such. Odd, to say the least. Apart from those gripes, I continue to enjoy learning about WWI in this series and overall do like the recurring characters.

This is the second in the Maisie Dobbs murder-mystery series that is set in England in the decade after the end of the Great War. Winspear has chosen to expose the ill-advised campaign adopted by a few women of handing out white feathers to men who had not yet joined the military as a means of boosting enlistment. While Winspear does a credible job of transporting the reader to the 1930s, she could definitely tighten up the action. There is a tendency to dwell too long on the mannerisms of the period—it made me feel like I was cloistered in the parlor listening to time pass slowly by with each tic of the clock. Is it at least time for tea?

Me ha gustado tanto como el segundo, el primero se centra bastante en el personaje de Maisie su adolescencia y su vida antes y durante la primera guerra mundial, en este va directamente hacia el encargo y el misterio qué deben resolver ella y su ayudante Billy. Qué parece que pueda estar relacionado con otro caso.
Sabemos más de los personajes que la rodean, aprendemos más del método qué Maurice enseñó a Maisie así como las secuelas qué ha dejado la guerra en muchas familias y jóvenes que perdieron a sus hijos, amigos, hermanos o maridos. Han seguido adelante pero muchos siguen anclados en el pasado, el peso de haber sobrevivido cuando tantos no lo hicieron.
También aprendemos más de la dicotomia en la que muchas veces se siente Maisie, vuelve a vivir en la casa en la que sirvió y ella no pertenece ni al mundo de arriba (upstairs, Los dueños de la casa) ni al de abajo (downstairs, el servicio doméstico).

Esta serie de libros esta siendo una sorpresa para mi, no pensé que llegaría a disfrutarlos tanto, estoy deseando hacerme con el tercer volumen.

בלשית חוקרת רצח של כמה נשים באנגליה שבין שתי מלחמות העולם.

מייסי היא דמות חביבה אבל לפעמים רגשנית וניו אייג׳ית מדי לטעמי. המתח סביר אבל הצלחתי לנחש את הסוף.
זה ספר שני בסדרה ולא קראתי את הראשון ולפעמים היה חסר לי ידע.

3.5 stars

Book #2 in the Maisie Dobbs series

I liked this second book better than I did the first book of the series. Maybe it was because I knew what to expect, or maybe because I understood Maisie better, or possibly due to the plot. I did however pretty much have this mystery figured out well ahead of the ending.

Maisie Dobbs, a female sleuth in the early 1900's, England, has recently opened her own detective business, and brought on a war injured vet as her side kick, Billy. In this book as Maisie starts to clear up the murder of 3 women and the disappearance of another, we find two eligible professional men that have their sights on Maisie.

Once you are used to the cockney language in these books, you find Winspear creates a clean, non-violent mystery. She does a good job of tying her books together, although so far it appears that each book can also stand alone, as the mystery is cleared up within that book, while other issues are carried over. Next book in the series is book # 3 - "Pardonable Lies".

I'm loving this series. My only complaint is that there was a lot of backfill in the first 3rd of the book to the foundation set in the first of the series, Maisie Dobbs. Still highly recommended for period mystery lovers.