Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Maisie Dobbs
Book Review: beautifully evocative
Summary: 4 Stars
Maisie Dobbs is a delicious book, if for nothing other than the way it evokes the between-the-wars era in England. You really feel the damage WWI had caused England's spirit. Maisie's young life is well drawn along with her time in the VAD in France. The only part that really didn't go down well with me was the way Maisie's use of psychology is wrapped in a coating of psychic/supernatural/mystical ability. I found it hokey. I'm also not so sure that class barriers were quite as easy to bridge as Maisie appears to have found it. Overall I found "Maisie Dobbs" a charming read, the mystery pulls the story along, but the atmosphere and flavor make it stand out. Book Review: Here's what I want...
Summary: 5 Stars
I could echo the sentiments of everyone else here... I "shant."
I loved Maisie... One little thing, tho. I am a sucker for a terrific story with lots of history woven in... I would have liked to have seen more World War I, real-life London in this era... Sort of like The Alienist...
But, I already bought the second book, Birds of a Feather, and I was hooked immediately.
Maisie, I'm with you!
Book Review: If you are just now finding Maisie Dobbs, how I envy you!
Summary: 5 Stars
And you may as well order the next three now, because no way will you not want to read them! My husband and I have all four (so far published; we eagerly await the next one), and have shared them with numerous friends. Maisie is a wonderful heroine, and the books are so evocative of the time and place, and the characters so well drawn, that the mystery story itself is almost secondary. However, the stories are good, too. Maisie is a great find, and we hope she goes on for a very long time. Enjoy!Book Review: Disappointing and predictable
Summary: 2 Stars
Although this book had many engaging points, I have to agree with those who said that the plot is predictable, the characters are wooden, and the huge flashback taking up the middle of the book was a mistake.
I had many problems with Maisie herself. Her empathy feels more like manipulation most of the time, and although the author tries to remind us that Maisie is really feeling for the people she's managing, it feels more like she is just playing God with their lives.
I kept hoping for real conflict, but everyone tolerates Maisie amazingly-- even when people call her on her baloney, they back down as soon as Maisie asks them to. The ending scene is particularly annoying, as Maisie talks nonstop about her own feelings to someone who is suffering much more than she is.
I was surprised that the writer seems to be British, because the dialogue sometimes sounds like an American trying to imitate British speech. Especially with Billy, a sort of Sam Gamgee character with nothing to do but whatever the protagonist wants. He has a wife and children and, presumably, a job, but none of these things interfere with his ability to get up and jaunt off to Kent for as long as Maisie needs him.
Also, what's with Master James, the son? Why is he ill enough that he's considering checking into the Refuge for life, and then suddenly he's all fixed up and headed off to Canada just because Maisie solved the mystery?
I really do not understand why this book received so many good reviews.
Book Review: Absolutely Loved It!
Summary: 5 Stars
My husband and I belong to a book club. He just could not get into this book, but I promised myself that I was going to give it a try, even though I thought that it was not my kind of story. I could not have been more wrong. This book takes place during the war. I really thought that would be a turn off for me, but Winspear writes in such interesting details, that I could not put the book down. I loved the idea that Maisie was such an independent woman..someone that women would strive to be. The book has characters that are unforgetable. I was so glad to hear that Winspear was writing even more books about Maisie Dobbs after this one. It is worth a try!