Maisie Dobbs

I liked this book! I wish I could give half stars because for me it's really more of a 3.5. While I understand why the author gave us the flashbacks to provide background on Maisie, particularly since this is the first book in the series, I felt like it broke up the mystery story and detracted from it. I'm looking forward to reading another in the series to see how the mystery plays out without the interruption of the flashback.

I thought this was interesting. Over 1/3 of the book is the backstory and training montage ofthe main character. The actual mystery is only a small part of the book.
I'm usually more interested in the plot then in the characters but Ms. Dobbs caught and held my attention. The time period is well described and the horrors of WW1 are a background for the book.
I'll try the next book to see if this kind of mystery interests me as it should spend less time introducing the characters.

You know, this is a solid entry in what appears to be a very successful series. That said: I liked the characters, but the prose annoyed me. It's competently written, but just not for me. I can understand its appeal, though. Winspear is a fine writer, it's just not my bag.

It's one of those sorts of series that I'm not going to read any of sequels, but if/when this gets made into the inevitable BBC mysteries series, I'll watch the hell out of it.

It's been quite a while since I read it. It wasn't brilliant, but it wasn't bad either.
I liked the mystery.
I didn't like the solution that much. (That singing bit, etc.)
Nor the fact that the victim was murdered. I hate it when the murder victim is someone who should have lived. I mean, of course, every murder victim should have lived, but if one has to murder someone, it should be someone less likable. :-D

I really loved this. Maisie is fun and smart but has her faults. The side characters are fun. Billy and Rowan and (in flashback) Priscilla. Simon... I'd like to hear more about Maisie at school and in the war and with Simon... I like that it's kind of like the Poirot books and you don't get all the information (which I know people don't always like, which I get). Maisie was going to figure it out and I wasn't. I've read too many lately where I've figured it out before the main character, so that was nice. I really look forward to continuing the series. :)

Maise Dobbs is a character I like. She's smart, but not arrogant. She goes against the flow but doesn't have a chip on her shoulder. She seems a very real abs relatable character to me.

I enjoyed the way the author unfolded this story. It is not a fast paced story, but because I enjoyed the characters, I bought into wanting to know how it turned out. There are some intense sections of the story where things pick up and move, but this really is one that I simply enjoyed the telling of the story.

This book was not what I expected. It fell more in line with historical fiction than mystery. That said, it was very well written and I enjoyed the mystery elements that were there, I just wish it focused more on the mystery elements than on Maisie's past and childhood. The whole book had a very serious and sometimes gloomy feel and could have benefitted from more humor and action and less philosophical musings. I think I will try out the second one, in hopes that it focuses more on the mystery now that we know so much about Maisie's past. Fingers crossed it is also a little more upbeat.

I picked this one up as a recommendation for those who enjoy Dorothy Sayers and Josephine Tey. Winspear is not in the same league as Sayers (one of my favourites) or even Tey (I‰ЫЄve only read one of hers and just liked it, but more than this).

I dropped it in part because of all the dark hints about Maisie‰ЫЄs own troubled past that were so clearly supposed to pique my interest that I quickly lost interest. If her history is supposed to be relevant to the story‰ЫЄs mystery, why not just reveal it up front rather than attempt to give it more significance than it (I‰ЫЄm guessing) deserves, by delaying the revelation? I might seem like keeping the reader interested in how things will unfold, but it comes off as heavy-handed.

But also, the story didn‰ЫЄt grab me. It seemed so – thin? There are too many good mysteries out there to waste time with ones that don‰ЫЄt interest me. The first part was boring enough but then the book launched into the history of Lady Rowan and Maurice. Seriously? No thank you.