Leaving Everything Most Loved by Jacqueline Winspear - A Look at the Maisie Dobbs Series

Once upon a time I heard about a historical mystery series that took place after WWI. I was intrigued to find it centred around a strong, female character that had been a nurse during the war and was a private investigator after the war. I knew I was going to have to check it out. So, I ordered book 1. I was not impressed. I was almost bored. It was not an amazing start to a series and that made me sad. I wanted to love Maisie and get caught up in her world. I didn't entirely forget her, though. In 2009 I rejoined the library and one of the first things I did was get book two in the series: Birds of a Feather. The series just sounded like my thing and I wasn't about to give-up so easily. I didn't feel it necessary to run out and buy the entire series, but that is why libraries are so great. Birds of a Feather was SO MUCH better than book 1. Winspear really came into her own and I started to get interested in the characters and the story-lines. I had found a historical fiction mystery series that worked for me.

In 2009 I read all of the books that were available through the library and then I received a review copy of the newest book. That started me collecting the ones that I had read for free through the library. Suddenly I did want to own all the books. Maisie has captured my reading heart and I look forward to a new book every year. I always pre-order and hug when the book actually arrives. (According to Winspear's website Maisie appeared in 2003, so this is actually her 10th year of capturing readers hearts. And, Leaving Everything Most Loved is book 10. You have to love a writer that can put out a new book in a series every year.) While I was a bit slow in joining the Maisie bandwagon I still can appreciate her longevity and hope that Winspear continues the series for a while, but also goes out with a bang.

Let's look at the characters shall we? First up is Maisie, of course. The young main heroine of our tales. Let's be frank. She bothers me at times. She can be a bit too perfect and things can work out just a bit too perfectly for her. This is not to say that bad things don't happen, but she is a bit too squeaky clean at times. This is also the probably I have with Bess Crawford from Charles Todd's historical mystery series. The women do not have to be saints. It doesn't give them enough dimensions. People are not perfect all the time. While this doesn't detract from my enjoyment of the series necessarily, it does make me annoyed at times. If it bothered me too much I wouldn't still be with the series 10 books later. In a lot of ways it is the secondary characters that make the books for me. Is that a sad fact? I really enjoy Billy Beale for example. He is Maisie's assistant and was injured during the war. Winspear makes the time to give him a compelling backstory and I just enjoy the way that he interacts with people. It makes for an enjoyable character. I feel bad for him, too. He has had some bad luck in life.

Then there is Maurice. It is because of his relationship with Maisie that she was even able to become the investigator she is today. I really enjoyed seeing his character grow in the books. He was a bit mysterious at times and it was nice to get some glimpses into the man of mystery. A series of books centred around him would be very interesting. He has lived a varied life and it would be interesting to see more of his past. He was like a second father to Maisie even though Frankie Dobbs is very much alive and beloved by his daughter. He is a quieter character and is usually involved in quieter scenes when we see him. In a way even though he is not front and centre you really get a taste of who he is without that being necessary. Other characters include Lady Rowan Compton, Maisie's former employer, who I love and would love to learn more about. There is also her son, James, who was mostly absent from the earlier books and has more of a presence in the later books. I enjoy him.

Another enjoyable character from the series is Priscilla. She is Maisie's very larger than life friend. Not to mention the exact opposite of Maisie. It makes for a most interesting contrast at times. Maybe she will one day rub off on her friend? She does try. That just leaves Detective Inspector Richard Stratton and Simon Lynch. The detective crosses paths with Maisie often because of her cases. He quite admires Maisie, but the feeling is not returned. Even the detective has time for a back story because we know he is a widower and has a young son. I enjoy secondary characters that are three-dimensional. As to Simon, he is more of a presence than anything else. He was Maisie's first love and was injured during WWI. She still goes to visit him sometimes and there are moments where there are flashbacks to the way things were, but sadly his present character doesn't have the ability to become more central to the story. He is damaged in body and mind. It's a shame.

This brings us to book 10 in the series. There has been a lot of things that needed to be addressed and this book starts a new chapter in Maisie's life. It makes her rethink some of the things that have been happening. I think it is a very important book to the series. The problem with later books in the series is it is so hard to review them without ruining so many things. That is why I decided to go about this post as an overview of the entire series instead of rambling about one specific book. I have to at least mention the latest book, though. I continue to enjoy the series and will be waiting for book 11 to be hot off the presses. Maisie is a character that definitely grows on you and I really want to see what happens for her next. And, because the secondary characters have stories, too, I want to see what happens for them.

Also, I really enjoy the covers to this series.

Thanks to TLC Book Tours and Harper Collins for allowing me the chance to read the newest book in the series and participate in the tour.

A Lesson In Secrets by Jacqueline Winspear (Maisie Dobbs Series, Book 8)

A Lesson in Secrets by Jacqueline Winspear

Completion Date: January 23, 2011

Reason for reading: Received an ARC from Harper Collins through NetGalley (And, to carry on with series.)

“A detective series to savor.”—Time

In the summer of 1932, Maisie Dobbs’s career goes in an exciting new direction when she accepts an undercover assignment directed by Scotland Yard’s Special Branch and the Secret Service. Posing as a junior lecturer, she is sent to a private college in Cambridge to monitor any activities “not in the interests of His Majesty’s Government.”

When the college’s controversial pacifist founder and principal, Greville Liddicote, is murdered, Maisie is directed to stand back as Detective Chief Superintendent Robert MacFarlane and Detective Chief Inspector Stratton spearhead the investigation. She soon discovers, however, that the circumstances of Liddicote’s death appear inextricably linked to the suspicious comings and goings of faculty and students under her surveillance.

To unravel this web, Maisie must overcome a reluctant Secret Service, discover shameful hidden truths about Britain’s conduct during the war, and face off against the rising powers of the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei—the Nazi Party—in Britain.

A pivotal chapter in the life of Maisie Dobbs, A Lesson In Secrets marks the beginning of her intelligence work for the Crown. As the storm clouds of World War II gather on the horizon, Maisie will confront new challenges and new enemies—and will engage new readers and loyal fans of this bestselling mystery series.

I really like this series! I bought the first book a few years back and really enjoyed it, but it wasn't until I joined the library again that I really got a chance to read the series. It is one of few series I am caught up in! I actually read 5 books in the series in 2009. That is pretty much unheard of for me and is a good indication about how much I enjoy the series. I am very picky about mystery series, but I really like the time in which this one is set. Winspear writes in such a way that the time really comes alive and the characters with it. Every time I open a book by her I expect to visit with new friends and I have not been disappointed yet.

This book is starting to deal with the dawn of World War II. Adolf Hitler is in power in Germany and people are starting to talk. Some people believe that he is what is needed for Britain. This is making the British government and Crown a bit nervous. There is one school that advocates peace in Cambridge and brings in aliens from all over the world to study there. The powers that be really start to become suspicious of this and call on Maisie Dobbs to pose as a teacher and determine if everything at the school is above the mark or if there really is cause for concern. I really believe Winspear caught this time very well. People may look back and say they never liked Hitler and were always suspicious, but the reality is that many people admired what he stood for in the beginning. Hindsight is always 20/20.

Then, there is Maisie. The modern woman. Her life changed drastically in the previous novel when the death of her mentor and teacher left her very well-off. In this book she is still coming to terms with that drastic change in circumstance and is using her change in status to help others out. She is also grappling with a new relationship with an old family friend. She is also a woman of the times. She has the chance to work for herself and be independent, but she also worries what falling in love and marrying will do to her future. I believe it is a very real concern that many woman had following the First World War and their changes in lifestyle. It would reappear again when the world is at war once again.

The book also includes some of the wonderful supporting characters. There is Billy, Maisie's assistant, who was injured during the war and is expecting his 4th child with his wife Doreen. He is one of those that Maisie is determined to help. Then, Susan, a woman a bit younger than Maisie who was in previous books reappears to add a bit of intrigue to an all ready full plate. There is Maisie's best friend, her lover, members of the police, and lots of new characters that Winspear manages to weave in expertly. She always finds a way for her supporting characters to have their time and develop their story. In this one we even learn that Maisie's father may be courting. I just really enjoy that the books are about more than just the cases. I don't think I would like the series if it was any other way.

Once again I recommend this series. It is one of my favourite historical mysteries on the market and I cannot wait until the next book!

This book is being released today, so rush out and buy it! I know that I will be!

The Series:

Maisie Dobbs (read in 2008)

Birds of a Feather (read in 2009)

Pardonable Lies (read in 2009)

Messenger of Truth (read in 2009)

An Incomplete Revenge (read in 2009)

Among the Mad (read in 2009)

The Mapping of Love and Death (read in 2009)

A Lesson in Secrets

***Note: The first book in this series is one of the books I challenged Marg, from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader, to read in 2011. I look forward to her thoughts!

This book counts for the Historical Fiction Challenge and the TwentyEleven Reading Challenge.

The Mapping of Love and Death by Jacqueline Winspear (Maisie Dobbs Series, Book 7)

In the latest mystery in the New York Times bestselling series, Maisie Dobbs must unravel a case of wartime love and death—an investigation that leads her to a long-hidden affair between a young cartographer and a mysterious nurse.

August 1914. Michael Clifton is mapping the land he has just purchased in California's beautiful Santa Ynez Valley, certain that oil lies beneath its surface. But as the young cartographer prepares to return home to Boston, war is declared in Europe. Michael—the youngest son of an expatriate Englishman—puts duty first and sails for his father's native country to serve in the British army. Three years later, he is listed among those missing in action.

April 1932. London psychologist and investigator Maisie Dobbs is retained by Michael's parents, who have recently learned that their son's remains have been unearthed in France. They want Maisie to find the unnamed nurse whose love letters were among Michael's belongings—a quest that takes Maisie back to her own bittersweet wartime love. Her inquiries, and the stunning discovery that Michael Clifton was murdered in his trench, unleash a web of intrigue and violence that threatens to engulf the soldier's family and even Maisie herself. Over the course of her investigation, Maisie must cope with the approaching loss of her mentor, Maurice Blanche, and her growing awareness that she is once again falling in love.

Following the critically acclaimed bestseller Among the Mad, The Mapping of Love and Death delivers the most gripping and satisfying chapter yet in the life of Maisie Dobbs.

This is the seventh book in the Maisie Dobbs series. I read the first book in the series in 2008 and then read the next five in 2009. When I do something like that it usually means that I really like a series, so I was looking forward to this latest book in the series. I really enjoy books set during the early part of the 20th-century and Winspear has done an excellent job writing a series that captures the history of the time. I really enjoy the setting, historical notes, and Maisie as a character. When I finish a book in the series I am always left satisfied and looking forward to the next one. This was no exception.

The best part of this series is that while the author comes up with new cases for every book that are engaging; you also learn more about Maisie and the other characters that make up her world. Maisie grows as a character throughout the series. She was fragile following WWI, so she needed a little bit of aid to develop into the strong character she is in this series. This novel shows another progression in her character. She has moved on in the romance department; which is something she has been hesitating in for a long time. I will be interested to see how this develops in future novels. This book also brings a conclusion to a relationship she has maintained for many years. I found it really sad, so that must mean that I am engaging with the characters by reading the series. I won't say anymore because I consider it a spoiler.

Generally I am not a fan of mystery novels, but I think this book works so well for me because the cases solved are not entirely what I take away from the book. Sure they play a central role in the stories, but looking back it is always Maisie's story and that of the other characters in the series that stick with me. As long as the detectives have depth and there is more to the book than just the mystery, I am finding that I like mystery series more than I originally thought. Plus, Maisie has a really interesting 'detective' style that is different from many of the other books on the market. Then, there is the fact that this is the period between the wars and she is a woman, so for her to be a success at all was pretty amazing for the time. Whether or not she is something that was possible for this period is hard to say, but Winspear makes it seem like it could happen.

Overall, this is another great edition to the Maisie Dobbs world. I look forward to book 8!

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Pardonable Lies: A Maisie Dobbs Novel by Jacquelin Winspear (Book 3)

Books Completed: 29
Completion Date: February 3, 2009
Pages: 384
Publication Date: June 27, 2006

Reason for Reading: Third book in the Maisie Dobbs series.

Agatha Christies Miss Marple. Sue Graftons Kinsey Millhone. Alexander McCall Smiths Precious Ramotswe. Every once in a while, a detective bursts on the scene who captures readers heartsand imaginationsand doesnt let go. And so it was with Jacqueline Winspears Maisie Dobbs, who made her debut just two years ago in the eponymously titled first book of the series, and is already on her way to becoming a household name. A deathbed plea from his wife leads Sir Cecil Lawton to seek the aid of Maisie Dobbs, psychologist and investigator. As Maisie soon learns, Agnes Lawton never accepted that her aviator son was killed in the Great War, a torment that led her not only to the edge of madness but to the doors of those who practice the dark arts and commune with the spirit world. In accepting the assignment, Maisie finds her spiritual strength tested, as well as her regard for her mentor, Maurice Blanche. The mission also brings her together once again with her college friend Priscilla Evernden, who served in France and who lost three brothers to the warone of whom, it turns out, had an intriguing connection to the missing Ralph Lawton.

For those that read my blog, you would probably have noticed two things about me that I feel like mentioning. Firstly, I don't read a lot of mystery novels. They enter the picture from time to time, because I try not to be close-minded, but generally I don't read a lot. Secondly, I am terrible with finishing series. I start them and then months later might read the next book! This book is an exception to both of these commonly held opinions about me, though. This is a mystery book and I only read book two in the series last month! I am breaking rules this reading year, apparently.

I really like this series, though. This book takes place about 12 years after the end of the First World War. Maisie Dobbs was a nurse in the war and she knows many people that served in the war and were touched by the effects of the war. So, even though this book doesn't take place during the war itself; it is still necessary to draw on the events of the past. The first book set up what life was like for Maisie during the war, and then each successive book has built on it. In this novel, Maisie actually has to go back to France for the case that she is working on and finds herself facing the terrible place where she almost lost her life. I think the mentioning of the war is the main reason that I stick with this series, but I also really like Maisie. For her times she is considered a spinster, but she really does not let her unmarried status or the fact that she is female stop her from living her life. It makes her a very likable and intriguing character; which makes you want to read more about her.

There are three cases on the go in this book. Two of them are directly tied in with the First World War, so I enjoyed learning the details while Maisie worked to track down the information that she needed. Obviously I have read a bit on what it was like during the war, but these men lead lives that I had never really read anything about before. They were very brave, not that everyone wasn't back then, and lead very interesting lives. Since they were not your typical wartime stories, though, it left me wondering if there are not more books on the subject. In any case, this was another good addition to the series and I cannot wait to read more!

Birds of a Feather: A Maisie Dobbs Novel by Jacqueline Winspear (Book 2)

Books Completed: 23
Completion Date: January, 2009
Pages: 360
Publication Date: June, 2004

Reason for Reading: Book Two in the Maisie Dobbs series. I read book one last year, but apparently never reviewed it.

Jacqueline Winspear's marvelous and inspired debut, Maisie Dobbs, won her fans from coast to coast and raised her intuitive, intelligent, and resourceful heroine to the ranks of literature's favorite sleuths. Birds of a Feather finds Maisie Dobbs on another dangerously intriguing adventure in London "between the wars." It is the spring of 1930, and Maisie has been hired to find a runaway heiress. But what seems a simple case at the outset soon becomes increasingly complicated when three of the heiress's old friends are found dead. Is there a connection between the woman's mysterious disappearance and the murders? Who would want to kill three seemingly respectable young women? As Maisie investigates, she discovers that the answers lie in the unforgettable agony of the Great War.

I can't believe I never reviewed book one in this series! I really was slack on the reviewing front last year. Anyway, I actually really like this series, even if it is a mystery series. I am not big on ones set in a more modern period, but I have enjoyed several with historical settings. This series takes place in between the First and Second World War. The Depression years were just about to set in, actually, which is something that was mentioned throughout the book.

My favourite thing about this series, so far, is how there is of course the mystery, but Winspear also works a lot of historical elements into the novel. Maisie might be a bit revolutionary for her time: being a detective and having her own business, but she also is plagued with the same problems that other women of her age and class experienced during the early to mid-twentieth century. Things were going to change again with the declaration of war, but for now, everyone is trying to come to terms with what happened during the first major war and get on with their lives. To solve this case, though, Maisie has to go back to the events of World War I, which I found really interesting.

So, maybe I should mention the case a bit. A local businessman has employed Maisie's services to search for his missing daughter. She has run off before, but this time he really has no idea where she is and wants her back safe and sound in his house. Maisie is not sure what to make of the case or the missing heiress, but it turns out to be quite the chase when other wealthy women starting turning up dead. Could the missing heiress be next, or has she already been murdered? These are just some of the things that Maisie has to wonder as she chases down the truth.

I really like this series so far. There are lots of interesting return characters, not just Maisie. Maisie also is shown to have a life, it is not only about the case with no character development. The same could be said for many of the secondary repeat characters, they also are given time to develop. It makes for a really interesting series, I must say! I am looking forward to reading more!