Rating: 
Summary: First of a proposed series
Review: A new sleuth is on the scene. Jacqueline Winspear's character, Maisie Dobbs, is a girl to watch. Set in the post-WWI era (with flashbacks to Maisie's pre-war childhood, housemaid, and Cambridge years), MD is a good piece of social commentary as the times, they are a-changin'. As the first of a proposed series, it's a good setup for what is sure to follow: more crime solving based on psychology and delicate sleuth work. The primary case in this book deals with The Retreat, a refuge for deformed and otherwise damaged war veterans that may or may not be a cult. While the story line is good, the outcome is predictable, and the main character is marred by an excess of goodness. Everyone loves her, she is loyal to those who helped here climb the class/social ladder along the way, she has no known enemies, and she has no visible weaknesses or faults. We could use a little depth of character here.
Rating: 
Summary: The Best In A Decade
Review: Brash statement, huh?
I am an inveterate reader of mysteries (wrote a few myself) and I am greatly disappointed in most writers, except Colin Dexter (not writing any more) Reginald Hill (still the Master) and Dennis Lehane (too changeable, suddenly but with the sharpest typewriter among American Mystery authors).
It is great to pick up a book and from the first sentence get an a prickly feeling, this is it!
Yes, it is fantasy (no, not SF)with a very short list of characters-the entire book is half what the usual overwriters produce today- with great punch and depth. One does not have to write pages to convey what a character feels. Maisie is 14 when her mother dies and her father, another fairy tale character, takes loving care of her. And Lady Rowan, and Maurice Blanche. The midnight reading of the great books in the library, and still get up early morning to do the chores, the feeling of inevitable success are all conveyed in short incidents.
There are three parts to the story: a short beginning with a whimsical mystery about a suspicious husband, and Maisie establishes her pro-feminine character in no uncertain way (shades of Cordelia Gray). The second and the most moving part, exqusitely written, is an Upstairs Downstairs story that culminates in the Great War, and unlike Bulldog Drummond, portrays an honest and perhaps the best short poignant description of the sufferings put between covers. The third part is another investigation, this time directly the result of the war.
You finish the book with a great sigh of satisfaction. Writing like this has not been in print since Ms. Dorothy L Sayers.
Good luck, Ms. Winspear! I am holding on to the next book for a nice Indian Summer weekend, to enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: A lovely addition to the mystery genre
Review: I am not a fan of historical mysteries; perhaps because the few I have read have not been that well written and/or researched. This novel is a welcome exception.
Winspear writes with a talent for bringing her characters and in particular, Maisie Dobbs to life. She also invokes the reality, the pain and the savagery of the First World War. It was indeed a savage, wrenching experience for those that lived through it and it never hurts to be reminded of the dreadful results of war. The recognition of the awful wounds resulting from it is a bitter reminder of the price paid by so many soldiers that were "lucky" enough to survive the war.
Maisie is bright, ambitious and almost too good. There is just a tad too much of the angel brushed over her. But this remains a good read. The ending is easily predicted by the expert mystery fan but, that being said, this is an engrossing, entertaining read.
I found the writing around the war particularly compelling so I am curious to see her next book and whether she is able to sustain the same interest without the historical addition of the war
Rating: 
Summary: Rave reviews???
Review: I bought this based on the rave reviews it received. But the book was so predictable and incredulous! At one point, I wanted to stop reading it altogether.
If her next book is anything similar, I will not buy it.
Rating: 
Summary: Nancy Drew, re dux
Review: I got this book after hearing a reasonably good review of it on NPR. Not many pages into it I wondered how in the world it found its way into print. The dust jacket mentions the author's long career in publishing so I suppose it was through her connections that this garbage got published. Rarely will you read such wooden, amateurish, mono-dimensional prose. Want a sample? Midway through p.18: (Here Maisie is apparently staking out a house): "....a man emerged from a neighboring house and walked in her direction. She quickly feigned interest in a window box filled with crocus buds peeking through moist soil. Their purple shoots seem to test the air to see if it was conducive to a full-fledged flowering. The man passed. Maisie still had ...."
Is that hysterical?!
Another embarassingly funny piece of dialogue: (on p. 34, where Maisie is answering a question from the building handyman about one of Maisie's clients): "Billy, yes, Mrs. Scott is a client. But you know better than to expect a comment from me, don't you?" (Keep in mind, Billy is a grown man, not a 6 year old.) Next in this conversation Maisie asks Billy if he knows anything about a certain person, and then tells him he must keep it confidential (which is itself an odd statement for Maisie to make since she's the one asking for information). Winspear's response from Billy is: "'Nod's as good as a wink.' Billy tapped the side of his nose to emphasize the integrity of any information he might receive - he could keep a secret."
Good grief, this book is pathetic. This whole story stinks, period. I'm not sure what audience Winspear is targeting (Barbara Cartland-style detective stories???), but let's hope this "series" goes no further.
Rating:
Summary: Maisie Dobbs is a wonderful book!
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed reading this first novel by Jacqueline Winspear. I couldn't put it down and read it over the New Year's weekend. The characters each have a distinct voice and Maisie won my heart. I also learned a lot about World War I. I heartily recommend this book.
Alexis Powers, author
Rating:
Summary: A terrific read!
Review: I was delighted with this author's first effort! I hope she'll write many more books in this series. She has a light, sure hand and keeps things moving while giving excellent background and detail. Well done!
Rating:
Summary: Good start but needs work
Review: I will not provide a synopsis since that's already been done, ad nauseum. The writer has potential, but there's too much "Harlequin Romance" in this story/dialogue for my taste. Anne Perry fans will probably enjoy this book. PD James fans will not. The major characters: Lady Rowan (indulged and rebellious rich woman) - "Born in 1863 and growing up in the middle years of Victoria's reign, Lady Rowan had delighted her father, the fourth Earl of Westavon, but had been the source of much frustration for her mother, Lady Westavon, who was known to comment that her daughter was 'a lady in name only!' " Maisie - poor but incredibly brilliant protege who teaches herself Latin, etc. using Lady Rowan's extensive book collection
while working as a housemaid. Much of her emotions involve "tingling" and "thrilling." Some hints at clairvoyance. Billy Beale (faithful Cockney sidekick) - "I just knew it the minute I saw those eyes. That's all I remember, after they brought me in. Them eyes of yours... You and 'im saved my leg...I never forgot you, Miss. Never. Saved my life you did...Anything you ever want doing, you just 'oller...Wait till I tell the Missus." Maurice - the wise, well traveled and mysterious teacher who guides Maisie's studies. He's into yoga, psychology and forensic pathology; there are hints that he's done cloak and dagger work for the Allies during WWI. The underlying plot is interesting, but the narrative is choppy, as though it had been trimmed down from a longer story. There is an assumption that the reader is uneducated and is not familiar with such basics as the English mispronounciation of Ypres. These bits don't flow well with the narrative. You can easily spot the places where the editor probably insisted on the inclusion of background information. This is an Edgar nominee for best first novel, hopefully in recognition of potential, not actuality.
Rating:
Summary: Deserves the accolades it has received
Review: In England, 1929, Maisie Dobbs sets herself up as a private investigator in London. Previously she has worked as a housemaid, as well as a nurse during the Great War in France. The country is still reeling from the shock of the catastrophic loss of almost a whole generation of young men. Her first case involves a man who suspects his wife of infidelity. Investigation of the case leads Maisie to The Retreat, a convalescent home for severely wounded soldiers. However, things at The Retreat are not all that they seem to be.
Jacqueline Winspear manages to lend a strong sense of reality to the historical setting of her debut novel. Interestingly, the construction of the novel is in three parts. The first part introduces us to the heroine and her first investigation. The second part of the book takes us back ten years before the war and Maisie's upward mobility from the position of a housemaid to student to nurse. While part three concerns the matter related to The Retreat. Without a doubt the strength of the book is the vivid realism of the descriptions of the people and places of England between the wars. Not since Charles Todd created his wonderful Rutledge series have we been treated to such an auspicious and original new historical series of this time period. The book's major weakness is the tepid and predictable mystery of The Retreat.
This is a book that will receive much accolades and should be on the short list of all the major awards. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Mystery with a Message
Review: In Masie Dobbs, Jacqueline Winspear has created an unforgettable character and painted a vivid picture of The Great War and it's legacy of horrific effects on the survivors. As much historical novel as mystery, Masie Dobbs is a vehicle for a personal reflection on war and its aftermath. With a female hero who derives her power from her classical education and applied psychology there's a powerful role-model in this protaganist. I can't wait for the next in the series. Now that we have come to know Masie's roots, we can't wait to see where her brains, intuition, and her Swiss Army knife will take us.
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