While I enjoyed the first in this series, this second book has me wondering if I really want to continue reading about Maisie Dobbs. The mysticism/woo used by Maisie to "sense" things is really becoming wearing and unnecessary--if Maisie is supposed to be so bright, intuitive, and observing of her surroundings, this extra "centering" and feeling the "hand" of a dead person on her shoulder is jarring and silly. There are also subplots with Maisie's father and partner that feel tacked on and, quite frankly, poorly distract from the actual case-solving. The one feels very much like "LOOK AT WHAT I FOUND IN MY RESEARCH, ISN'T THAT INTERESTING?" and does not organically spring from that character.

My larger problem is that I really don't LIKE most of the characters in this series. Maisie often comes off as cold and socially... well, not inept, exactly. More like bizarre. In this book, for instance, someone teases her jokingly and Maisie's response is indignant and almost shocked (and strangely so, even for the time). There is a strength and stubbornness that an investigator needs to possess in order to gain information, but in Maisie that's coupled with an arrogance and condescension that while not yet insufferable, makes me hesitate to continue reading about her. I'm likewise not so thrilled with her partner (often there for Maisie to bounce ideas off of in a condescending way), her father (passive-aggressive), or teacher (dude would be a "Magical Negro" if he were black, my god). Mostly, everyone feels like a 2-dimensional cut-out and not fully-fleshed people.

I have the third in this series on hold at the library and will hesitantly give it a whirl.

WELL. Sometimes we have to remember a bestseller is not always a Good Book/series. Word of mouth and hype can often be just that, to my dismay. I gave this series another chance, but the same things herein bothered me.

The murderer was predictable.

I was also annoyed by what other reviewers noted - (okay, despite the murderer BEING predictable) it's difficult to try to solve the mystery you're reading when clues are deliberately not named. Maisie picked up several "things" at scenes and they weren't named, so readers weren't really allowed to solve alongside her. She'll say she figured out a clue internally, and say aloud to another character to wait until she's sure etc.

Her hoodoo mental exercises that help her see scenes and 'what happened here' are a mixture of intuition, empathy, sixth sense and imagination that defy credibility. Just. Make her. A medium. Already. MAKE it paranormal, not this wishywashy halfway nature of her skills. I'd have preferred supernatural elements served to me straight.

I try so hard to like Maisie. I'd normally appreciate a cool-headed female detective who isn't prone to hysterics or excess emotion, but Maisie always comes off as robotic. Her lines are literally monotone in the audiobooks. I'd understand the crutch of female nurses of WWI having PTSD, and Maisie's emotional state sort of being frozen in time due to what happened to her sort-of fiancé in the war and stuff, life put on hold etc. But she scarcely breaks down or shows...well, credible behavior I guess. It's unsettling. She also scarcely seems to eat, and doesn't have any charming habits to ground her. No, instead she meditates in her spare time. As a result, she doesn't come off as charmingly odd as, say, Phryne Fisher in the Miss Fisher mysteries, or Poirot with his leetle gray cells.

Add to this the...IS it a love triangle? What is there to find in Maisie, besides her oft-mentioned black curls and tall, slim build? SMH.

Nothing was outright horrible enough to ever quit the book, but...I gave it a good go, but Maisie just isn't a fit for me after two books.

A good read. 3 stars feels like a solid rating for this one. I am still enjoying the sense of time and place and the mystery was pretty good, kept me guessing up until the end. If I wasn't reading this for a series group read, I might take longer to get to the next one but I'll be picking that one up next month. Maisie is an interesting character so I'm looking forward to her next case. I don't always love her methods but it's not getting in the way of enjoying the story.

I'm on the fence with this series. I struggled with the first few chapters of Birds of A Feather but once it got going I started to quite enjoy it and found it an easy read. I love the era that it takes place in so that has kept me intrigued. I like the supporting characters (except I hate that she tries to write Billy's accent - it seems so forced). But I can't quite get on board with Maisie. Something about her is just a bit off. The story itself was good though -very pertinent to the era. I'll give the series one more go to see if it pushes me over the fence. Worth trying this series if you do like historical mysteries/detective novels.

This, the second book in the Maisie Dobbs series, held my interest right to the end and the style, characters, local color and atmosphere are all in keeping with the first book. And there’s even a rather engaging travelogue of southeast England thrown in for added interest.
But some of the charm is wearing off for me. Maisie’s rise in social standing and accomplishment made for a good story in the first book but now that she is well established in her profession, this book had to succeed almost entirely on the strength of the mystery; the dramatic tension of a girl trying to navigate the British class system, surviving the war (even under fire), gaining and losing the love of her life — all that is behind her now.
As for the mystery, it was just OK. But there’s really nothing new here. So for readers who have simply fallen in love with Maisie, this will work just fine, and I expect the next books in the series will be more of the same. But personally, I’ve read all I want to read of Maisie Dobbs. Time to move on.

Birds of a Feather is the 2nd Maisie Dobbs mystery by Jacqueline Winspear. I've enjoyed the first two books so far. Winspear is a meticulous story teller, providing a lot of particular details while developing her characters and plot. Details about exactly what Maisie is wearing, etc seem irrelevant but they help provide a picture.
It's been hard to warm to Maisie as she is quite buttoned-up and does have personal issues from her time serving as a nurse during WWI and also between her and her father (guilt on both sides from her mother's death), but I'm getting to like her more. She is more than just a private detective. From her training with her old mentor, Maurice, she is more of a psychologist / private detective who provides both investigative assistance and then psychological assistance, whether the client wants it or no.
So, on to this story. Maisie is hired by a rich owner of a major grocery chain, Joseph Waite, to find his daughter. This is not the first time she has gone missing so he doesn't want the police involved. Maisie and her assistant, Billy Beale, agree to find her. They quickly realize that murders being worked on by Scotland Yard, especially Inspector Stratton, may be related to their case. As well, Maisie is concerned about Billy, an ex - soldier who had been severely during the war. He is acting strangely and Maisie is concerned. Also simmering is her relationship with her father.
It all makes for an interesting story and mystery. I will admit that I had a pretty good idea of what might be involved and ultimately also a pretty good idea of who might be the murderer, but the story is very well-written and crafted and was well worth reading. I am warming more to Maisie and look forward to reading the third installment. (4 stars)

Synopsis: Maisie has been hired to find a runaway heiress; soon three of the heiress's friends are found dead.

Beautifully crafted and written, I am sold on theseMaisie Dobbs books. In this book, Maisie gets hired to find the daughter of a wealthy man who owns a chain of fine grocery stores. The mystery that seems unrelated, but is completely tied to the job is a series of three deaths that were initially deemed suicides that are actually murders. There’s a secondary storyline about Maisie’s assistant, Billy, who is self-medicating to deal with pain from his war wounds.

The two main stories coexist nicely until they slam together in a perfect merge. It’s pretty perfect plotting, in my opinion.

In addition, we have Maisie still working through her emotional wounds from the war and there’s nice progress on her relationship with her father. She visits Simon, but also makes some decisions about his place in her life and her openness to seeing two men who express interest in her. She makes a symbolic change at the very end that made me smile…I thought it might take many more books to get here and aim glad we might see a happy Maisie sooner rather than later.

הספר השני הרבה יותר טוב מהספר הראשון. מייזי חוקרת את היעלמותה של שרלוט וייט. שרלוט בתו של סוחר עשיר ושתלטן בורחת מהבית ואביה רוצה שתחזור לביתו עד שתמצא חתן הולם. במהלך חקירת היעלמותה מייזי מגלה קשר בין רציחתן של 3 נשים. אף על פי שהמשטרה לא מעוניינת בעזרתה ואף מתעלמת מהמידע שהיא מעבירה, מייזי ממשיכה בחקירה.

אחת הבעיות בספר היא שיטת החקירה של מייזי המתרכזת בתחושות שהיא מקבלת מהמקום ומהאנשים. סוג של תקשור על טיבעי שממש מגחיך את דמותה של מייזי ואת שיטות החקירה שלה. אומנם מדובר בתחילת המאה ה 20 אבל תחושה של החדר וקבלת מסרים ניסתרים ועל טיבעיים נראים לי קיצוניים גם לאותה תקופה שלא לדבר על כך שהם משדרים שרלטנות וחוסר רצינות.

בעיה אחרת היא עלילת המתח הדי קלושה, ובשליש האחרון כבר ניחשתי מי הרוצח. גם בספר הראשון עלילת המתח היתה קלושה להחריד.

למרות זאת הכתיבה טובה והאווירה התקופתית מצויינת. אנגליה מספר שנים לאחר מלחמת העולם הראשונה. מייזי קצת פחות מוסרנית ופחות מעצבנת והצלחתי להנות מהקריאה וגם ללמוד משהו על מסדר הנוצה הלבנה, סוג של תעמולה מבוססת על פעילות פסיכולוגית שנועדה לשכנע את המשתמטים ואת הבנים שלא רצו להתגייס לצאת למלחמה.

2024 Review
Don't mind me, just re-reading dear Maisie again!

2019 Review
A lovely installment in the Masie Dobbs series. How long has it been since I've been wrapped up in a new series like this? Far too long. I have already gleaned volumes 3 and 4 from the local library. Let's go.

Solving the mystery was a little drawn out, but I enjoy the characters so much I didn't care! So glad I re-visited this early Maisie story.

What sets this series apart from your regular mystery novel is Maisie's reliance on psychology and how she's driven by the need to understand why people do what the do. She takes it upon herself to actually help people beyond just solving the case, which really helps with closure as a reader.

At the same time, I don't like the reliance on her "mystical feelings" to solve the case, though one could argue that's just like any other detective who works off a hunch.

I also love the setting of these novels and how the author interlaces little bits of World War 1 history into the story.