This one was recommended to me by a colleague who knows my taste in books, and she was absolutely right. Maisie Dobbs really hit the mark. I love detective fiction of the Agatha Christie kind, those clever mysteries with a sharp, observant lead. But this one felt different. It isn’t as light or cosy as some detective stories. It’s got a quiet sadness to it that come from the shadow of the war and never quite lifts.
The story begins in 1929, when Maisie opens her own private investigation business in London. Her first case seems simple enough: a man wants her to find out if his wife is having an affair. But the more Maisie digs, the more she uncovers a much bigger and sadder story. The book moves between the case and Maisie’s past, showing how she went from being a housemaid to a Cambridge student to a nurse on the front lines of the First World War to a female detective.
The war is right at the heart of this book. It's part of the setting and of the characters. Everyone is carrying some kind of loss or regret from it, and Maisie is no exception. The mystery turns out to be less about who did what and more about understanding how people live with the things that happened to them.
Maisie herself is wonderful. She’s strong and moral and incredibly thoughtful, but there’s also a real gentleness to her. She wants to do the right thing, even when it’s hard. Watching her put the pieces together, both in the case and in people’s lives, is so satisfying.
I really enjoyed this book. It’s detective fiction, but with more depth and emotion than I expected. I’ve already read the second book in the series, and I’ll definitely be reading them all.
4 stars: I loved it.
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