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Maisie Dobbs stars in this historical mystery series that was written by Jacqueline Winspear. Maisie becomes a nurse in the Great War, and later goes to work as an investigator and psychologist. Maisie is the daughter of a street seller (also called a costermonger), and worked as a maid for Lady Rowan Compton and Lord Julian Compton. She goes back to London, after the war is over to work with a great detective (Dr. Maurice Blanche). When he retires, she opens her own agency.
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Order of Maisie Dobbs Series
| # | Read | Title | Published | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maisie Dobbs | 2003 | Description / Buy | |
| 2 | Birds of a Feather | 2004 | Description / Buy | |
| 3 | Pardonable Lies | 2005 | Description / Buy | |
| 4 | Messenger of Truth | 2006 | Description / Buy | |
| 5 | An Incomplete Revenge | 2008 | Description / Buy | |
| 6 | Among the Mad | 2009 | Description / Buy | |
| 7 | The Mapping of Love and Death | 2010 | Description / Buy | |
| 8 | A Lesson in Secrets | 2011 | Description / Buy | |
| 9 | Elegy for Eddie | 2012 | Description / Buy | |
| 10 | Leaving Everything Most Loved | 2013 | Description / Buy | |
| 11 | A Dangerous Place | 2015 | Description / Buy | |
| 12 | Journey to Munich | 2016 | Description / Buy | |
| 13 | In This Grave Hour | 2017 | Description / Buy | |
| 14 | To Die but Once | 2018 | Description / Buy | |
| 15 | The American Agent | 2019 | Description / Buy | |
| 16 | The Consequences of Fear | 2021 | Description / Buy | |
| 17 | A Sunlit Weapon | 2022 | Description / Buy | |
| 18 | The Comfort of Ghosts | 2024 | Description / Buy |
Order of Maisie Dobbs Non-Fiction Books
| # | Read | Title | Published | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | What Would Maisie Do? (Short Story) | 2019 | Description / Buy |
The series started in 2003, with the release of the first book, “Maisie Dobbs”. Jacqueline gained a deep interest in the subject of World War I, and what happened after. This is due to her grandfather that developed shell shock and was severely wounded in the year 1916 at The Battle of Somme. The deep interest she has in history provided a framework to develop Maisie’s character. She developed the character in her mind, while she was stuck in traffic; she would later call this an moment full of artistic grace.
MAISIE DOBBS AWARDS
Publisher’s Weekly chose the first novel in the series as one of the Best Mystery novels that came out in the year 2003. The New York Times listed it among their “Notable Books” for the same year. It also earned an Alex Award in 2004. It was also won for: Agatha Christie (best first mystery novel) and Macavity Award (best first mystery novel). It was also nominated for three others. These include an Edgar, a Dilys, and a Barry (for best first mystery)
BEST MAISIE DOBBS BOOKS
For those readers looking to get into the “Maisie Dobbs” series by Jacqueline Winspear, this section will help with that. It will go over the novels “Maisie Dobbs”, “Birds of A Feather”, and “Pardonable Lies”.
Maisie Dobbs: This is the first novel in the “Maisie Dobbs” series and was released in the year 2003. Maisie Dobbs is more than just a young housemaid. She is able to use her own natural intelligence and the patronage of her kind employers to get into Cambridge. She goes to the front to work as a nurse, due to World War One breaking out. Coincidences are a meaningful thing, and the truth is elusive. After her war service, she goes into business, working as a private investigator. What started as a simple cheater case as her first assignment, turns into a big dark web of secrets. It is going to make her face some of the awful things that she tried to leave behind during the war. Including the love that she had.
Birds of A Feather: This is the second novel in the “Maisie Dobbs” series and was released in the year 2004. Maisie takes a job to find an heiress that has runaway, in the spring of 1930. The heiress has three friends that are found dead, and Maisie has to find out who would want them dead. Is there a connection between the heiress going missing and these three young women being killed? She digs into things and find that there are answers that have to do more with what happened during the first world war.
Pardonable Lies: This is the third novel in the “Maisie Dobbs” series and was released in the year 2005. London, in the year 1930. Sir Cecil Lawton makes a plea, from his deathbed, to get Maisie Dobbs’s help. Agnes Lawton never truly came to grips with the fact that her aviator son got killed in the first World War. So much so, that she went to people that practice dark arts and talk to those in the spirit world. Maisie’s spiritual strength is tested, by taking the case, not to mention her regard for the mentor that she had, Dr. Maurice Blanche. It brings her back together with Priscilla Evemden (a friend from college) who served in France, she has had three brothers get killed in the war. One of whom, was intriguingly connected to Ralph Lawton (who is currently missing).
OTHER BOOK SERIES YOU MAY LIKE
“Maggie Hope Mystery” series by Susan Elia MacNeal. Maggie Hope works in London as a spy and a codebreaker during the second world war, helping the British fight the Nazis. She was born in America and a math whiz.
“Inspector Ian Ruteledge” series by Charles Todd. Ian Ruteledge (who is an inspector in England) returned from the Great War with a big secret. He has shell shock. This series is set in 1919 in England.
What Is The Next Book in The Maisie Dobbs Series?
There doesn't seem to be an upcoming book in The Maisie Dobbs Series. The newest book is The Comfort of Ghosts and was released on June, 4th 2024.
I’m so disappointed there is not a book 17 yet. Here’s hoping one is in the works. I’m anxious to follow Maisie and Mark Scott through WWII!
I remember reading the first Maisie Dobbs book around the time it first came out. I couldn’t put it down! It is a very special book I love detective series especially with female leads. The relationship between Maisie and the lady of the house in the first book is very heartwarming, and it’s wholesome to watch Maisie grow into an amazingly smart detective.