Maisie Dobbs reminded me of a grown-up, British, Upstairs-Downstairs World War I Nancy Drew. Overall, it was a delightfully and politely paced mystery. It was very enlightening about the psychological toll of World War I Britain on its soldiers and on its different castes of people. It was enjoyable, but I must admit, with so many great books out there, not quite enjoyable enough for me to be running out to read the series to come right away. Maybe someday.

"Maisie Dobbs" is simply of a higher caliber than most mysteries. The writing is great, Maisie the character is likable at once, & the mystery is first rate. I loved how the author used WWI as part of the mystery. The London setting post WWI was another plus, as I have had trouble finding books set during this time period. I intend to continue with this series.

I actually bought this book for my aunt, because I knew she would enjoy the charming Maisie Dobbs and the wonderful writing of the author. I look forward to the next Maisie and I will read it as slowly as the others, to savor the rich descriptions and characters. The descriptions of city and countryside settings and of time periods, as each book moves forward in time, is a door to the past for me.

As several reviewers have noted, this book is a slow read, particularly for a mystery.

But Winspear seems more interested in people and social developments than in mysteries.

The book is punctuated by a LONG central section, a flashback, to Maisie's years as a nurse in WWI. The section is harrowing, and rightly so, because the book is about the horrifying effects on everyone of the war.

As usual, her period details (1897-1929) are perfect, and her prose is notably crisper and less affected than in "The Messenger of Truth."

Her eye on emotions is profound, and her choreography and plotting are stunning.

A warm and involving book, to which the mystery is really a footnote.

There really are no "bad guys," only people more and less shattered by war.

After reading reviews, I purchased the first four books of the Maisie Dobbs series and am forcing myself to finish the third and fourth. Maisie is a private investigator, solving cases with her mind powers and her very calming manner, which is pretty much the way the books seem to be--too calm and boring! I found my mind wandering away from the reading, as the plots are too slow. The book starts out with Maisie being a servant with a lot of personal attention from her employers, her service in WW1, and her starting her own private investigating service. I feel more could have been written about these parts of her life, instead of sitting down constantly for a cup of tea. A good part of the book is Maisie taking trains or "motoring" around to interview different people, and to solve a case by singing a song? So disappointing! I liked some of the characters, such as Billy Beale and Enid, and enough wasn't written about them to make the Maisie Dobbs book more interesting. Even though it is supposed to have researched into World War I, I didn't learn much except that a lot of lives were lost and just about every family Maisie encountered had lost sons or were left with injuries, and while she served as a nurse, all that evolved was that she was cold in her tent and was injured, but nothing was written about the explosion that injured her or incapacitated her love interest. Perhaps this is a "young adult" book? Just too simple for me.