Set in London 1930, Maisie Dodds is a Private Investigator who solves her cases by sensing atmosphere -on a par with Hercule Poirot and the ‘little grey cells’.
Self-made man Joseph Waite, who has chain of up-market grocers stores on a par with Harrods, hires Maisie to locate his daughter Charlotte who walked out after breakfast one morning and has not been seen since.
Working from her offices in Fitzroy Square with her assistant Billy Beale, Maisie sets out to find Charlotte, but her investigations take a serious turn when a friend of Charlotte is found murdered - could there be a connection?
As Maisie conducts her enquires, she finds links back to WWI. She also makes an alarming discovery about her assistant Billy which also seems to link back to the Great War.
The sense of atmosphere of the 1930's was marvellous, transporting the reader back to a completely different time. The author doesn’t just set the book in the 1930's but also the mode of speech, so that the reader moves at the pace of an investigation in the 1930's.
Beautifully written, a good mystery, with a marvellous balance between right
and wrong, serving some good homilies. I will look forward to the next book
in the series; in the mean time I’ll be quickly seeking out the first book.
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Lizzie Hayes
The first Book in the series is entitled Maisie Dobbs.