Maisie Dobbs (Maisie Dobbs Mysteries) [Hardcover]

'In Maisie Dobbs, Jacqueline Winspear has given us a real gift. Maisie Dobbs has not been created - she has been discovered. Such people are always there amongst us, waiting for somebody like Ms. Winspear to come along and reveal them. And what a revelation it is!'

(Alexander McCall Smith )

'It's a long time since I've read a crime novel that begins as well as Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs ... well written ... [Jacqueline Winspear] is set fair for a very bright future as a crime novelist.' (Simon Brett, Daily Mail )

'Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs is a welcome addition to the sleuthing scene. Simultaneously self-reliant and vulnerable, Maisie isn't a character I'll easily forget' (Elizabeth George )

'Readers sensing a story-within-a-story won't be disappointed. But first, they must prepare to be astonished at the sensitivity and wisdom with which Maisie resolves her first professional assignment' (New York Times )

'A wry and immensely readable beginning to what promises to be a vivid new addition to crime fiction' (Mail on Sunday )

'Even if detective stories aren't your thing, you'll love Maisie Dobbs' (New Woman )

'The book is much more than a cosy mystery - it is also about women's growing emancipation and the profound changes to society after the First World War.' (Mail on Sunday's You ) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

'A wry and immensely readable beginning to what promises to be a vivid new addition to crime fiction' --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

'It's a long time since I've read a crime novel that begins as well as Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs' --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Sue Baker's 'Quarterly Highlights' --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Lady Rowan Compton first met Maisie when, at thirteen, she went into service as a maid at her ladyship’s Belgravia mansion. A suffragette, Lady Rowan took the remarkably smart youngster under her wing and became her patron. She encouraged Maisie to study at Cambridge, and was aided in this by Maurice Blanche, a friend often retained as an investigator by the elite of Europe when discretion and results were required. It was he who first recognized Maisie’s intuitive gifts.

The outbreak of war changed everything. Maisie left for France to train as a nurse, then served at the front, where she fell in love with a handsome young doctor.

After the Armistice, in the spring of 1929, Maisie hangs out her shingle: M. Dobbs, Trade and Personal Investigations. Her very first case involves suspected infidelity but turns up something else, a tombstone with only a first name—Vincent. And then she finds another. The deceased had lived on a cooperative farm called The Retreat, a well-regarded convalescent refuge for those grievously wounded in the war, ex-soldiers too shattered to resume normal life. When Lady Rowan’s son makes plans to join the reclusive community, Maisie hurriedly investigates and finds a disturbing mystery at its core whose resolution gives her the courage to confront the ghost that has haunted her for ten years.

Jacqueline Winspear was born and raised in England, and now lives California. She frequently returns to the UK to research the latest Maisie Dobbs mystery, and visit family and friends (20040806) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.