Maisie Dobbs

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.