Birds of a Feather

Jacqueline Winspear

It's 1930 and Maisie Dobbs has her own private investigation and psycological agency. She had attended Oxford, been a nurse in WW I, and mentored with a retired private investigator. Her business has prospered and she has been able to move to a larger office in London. She even has been able to cultivate the friendship with an inspector from Scotland Yard.

Joseph Waite contacts Maisie to locate his missing daughter. Mr. Waite is a self made man, extremely wealthy. He owns a chain of efficient, expensive food stores. Although England is in a depression, he is doing well and his stores are busy. Charlotte Waite, in her early 30's, has been a problem. She hasn't married. She doesn't appreciate the quiet woman's life at home. Miss Waite and her father often disagree and quarrel. She has disappeared again.

Maisie takes the case. She and Billy Beale, her assistant, start following up with Miss Waite's friends. Three women had been good friends with Miss Waite during the war, but split up after that. Yet their lives have still be touching. Maisie meets one for a talk. When she returns, the woman had been found dead. The more she digs, the more she uncovers more layers of a dark secret.

Billy has his own problems. He still is in pain and limps from a serious injury during the war. Maisie sees him outside a bar in odd circumstances. When Mrs. Beale approaches Maisie about Billy's strange behavior. Maisie now has to work with Billy as well as the Waites.

This sequel to Maisie Dobbs is worthy of the first book. It's not as captivating as the first, yet is still an excellent tale. The premise of the mystery is sensitive to the time period of the novel. Winspear takes the reader to 1930 England and recreates the (probable) feel of the time. The mystery becomes believable and enjoyable.

Maisie Dobbs
Birds of a Feather
Pardonable Lies
Messenger of Truth
An Incomplete Revenge
Among the Mad