Maisie Dobbs is the first novel in the Maisie Dobbs mystery series by Jacqueline Winspear. This book is amazing and I’m excited to talk about it!
It’s 1929 and the tall, regal, and beautiful raven-haired Maisie Dobbs has arrived in London to open her own detective agency. Her first subject is Celia Davenham, a woman whose husband suspects she is cheating on him.
Maisie’s sleuthing leads her to a far-off cemetery where Celia spends most of her day mourning a mysterious grave marked, “Vincent.” After arranging an “accidental” meeting with Celia, Maisie learns that the once-dashing and handsome Vincent took his own life after being permanently disfigured during the Great War. Maisie’s discovery leaves her reminiscing about her own personal experiences as a nurse on the front lines.
As Maisie ponders Vincent’s death, Winspear takes us back to the years 1910 through 1917 to show how Maisie became a detective after volunteering as a nurse during World War I. We witness Maisie’s transformation from a pauper into an educated, respectable, and proper young woman who sacrificed her own well-being to help wounded men during the war.
On the battlegrounds, Maisie meets Simon Lynch, a doctor with whom she falls deeply in love. Readers are left to wonder whether Simon is alive or dead in present day (1929) as Maisie continues to recount her past. Near the end, we learn that Maisie’s own background plays a major role in her being able to solve the mystery behind Vincent’s real demise.
Maisie Dobbs isn’t a traditional cozy mystery. Its got a much classier vibe and its style is much like the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith and the Aunt Dimity Mysteries by Nancy Atherton. Once you start reading, you’ll feel a great calm wash over your body thanks to Winspear’s eloquent and serene prose. If war books tend to reach your soft spot, you better keep a box of tissues nearby, because this one might make you cry.
Winspear reveals very little about Maisie at first, and slowly peels away her layers until you get to her core to reveal an extremely bright and loving character. I absolutely can’t wait to read the rest of the series. I loved it so much I’ve already purchased the next three books!
There are 18 books in the Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear. The author has also written two standalone novels called:
- The Care and Management of Lies (2014)
- The White Lady (2023)
Last Updated on November 24, 2025 by Sarah Ann
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