Maisie Dobbs
Jacqueline Winspear
Soho Press
From Wikipedia<p>Maisie Dobbs is a mystery by Jacqueline Winspear published in 2003. Set in England between 1910 and 1929, it features the title character Maisie Dobbs, a private investigator. Generally well-received by critics due mostly to Maisie's quirky character, the novel has been nominated for several awards and is a recipient of the 2003 Agatha Award for Best First Novel. It is the first in the Maisie Dobbs series. Read more - Shopping-Enabled Wikipedia on Amazon</p><p>      In the article: Plot | Major themes | Development history | Reception | Awards and nominations</p>From School Library Journal<p>Adult/High School-Maisie is 14 when her mother dies, and she must go into service to help her father make ends meet. Her prodigious intellect and the fact that she is sneaking into the manor library at night to read Hume, Kierkegaard, and Jung alert Lady Rowan to the fact that she has an unusual maid. She arranges for Maisie to be tutored, and the girl ultimately qualifies for Cambridge. She goes for a year, only to be drawn by the need for nurses during the Great War. After serving a grueling few years in France and falling in love with a young doctor, Maisie puts up a shingle in 1929 as a private investigator. She is a perceptive observer of human nature, works well with all classes, and understands the motivations and demons prevalent in postwar England. Teens will be drawn in by her first big case, seemingly a simple one of infidelity, but leading to a complex examination of an almost cultlike situation. The impact of the war on the country is vividly conveyed. A strong protagonist and a lively sense of time and place carry readers along, and the details lead to further thought and understanding about the futility and horror of war, as well as a desire to hear more of Maisie. This is the beginning of a series, and a propitious one at that.<br /><em>Susan H. Woodcock, Fairfax County Public Library, Chantilly, VA</em><br />Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. </p></br></br>