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To begin with, I normally don't like historical mysteries, but this one is an exception. Maisie Dobbs is more than just a mystery though, it is the story of a young woman growing up in London, moving on in the world, living through World War I, and finally, becoming what she wants to become, an investigator into people's problems. Not the hard core cynical type of investigator, but someone who cares about her clients, and what will happen to them, even after the case has been closed. Maisie is hired by Christopher Davenham to find out where his wife is going on certain afternoons during the week. Maisie tails Celia Davenham to a cemetery, where Celia is grieving over the loss of her first love, Vincent Weathershaw, who evidently killed himself after leaving a place called The Retreat. It is during one of these visits that Maisie notices that there are several graves of soldiers who are buried bearing only there Christian names. Later in the week, Maisie's benefactor, Lady Rowan Compton calls on her to find out about The Retreat. It seems James Compton is wanting to sign all his assets over to this place, move in there, and become a hermit. The Retreat, it turns out, is a place for soldiers who have suffered great physical scars from World War I, and cannot find their place in society. Maisie is troubled about this coincidence of facts, and tells Lady Rowan that things will be looked into. At this point, the book flashes into Maisie's past, from when she is a teenager living with her father, Frankie Dobbs, who has recently lost his wife. Maisie is sent to the Comptons to work as a maid. One night, she goes into the library to start reading. After several weeks of this, Lady Compton finds Maisie in the library at 3 a.m. studying a philoshy text. At this point, the reader meets Maurice Blanche, an enigma in many ways, but a well learned man at the same time. It seems Maurice challenges Lady Rowan to do things that make her seem alive. In meeting Maisie, he sees an opportunity to teach someone who really wants to learn about all the things in life there is to learn. Maisie goes off to Cambridge, joins the war effort as a nurse volunteer, then is sent off to the front. During this period, she meets Simon Lynch, a friend of her roommate, Priscilla, and is swept off her feet. However, Maisie feels she is beneath Simon, since he is a doctor, and she still carries around the feelings of being from the wrong side. As the war progresses, Simon and Maisie find themselves working side by side, until a bomb explodes near them. What happens after that allows Maisie to build up a wall around her heart. Back to the present, Maisie's friend, Billy Beale accepts the role of going undercover into The Retreat to find out what funny business is going on. For several days, Billy reports nothing is amiss. Then after a week, when he mentions a chap from The Retreat wants to leave, the person is not seen, and Maisie fears the worst. Putting the pieces together, Maisie and Maurice race to rescue Billy from a certain fate, only to come face to face with an evil more cunning than either have ever faced before. This book reads more like a coming of age novel than a mystery, but at the same time, there is a characterization that made me want to meet Maisie Dobbs, and get to know her better. I really felt like I was in both London and France while reading this book, as the author does a great job of describing the landscapes.
Reviewed by Steven Sill, June 2003
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