A Maisie Dobbs period (1933) whodunit set in London and interestingly for the period involving the murder of Indian women from a hostel for those ill-treated by their employers. This has more philosophy than the previous titles which did slow the plot down. There is a fair bit of past history and an unsolved case too so I’d start a little earlier in the series if I were you.
London, 1933. Some two months after an Indian woman, Usha Pramal, is found murdered in a South London canal, her brother turns to Maisie Dobbs to find the truth about her death. Not only has Scotland Yard made no arrests, but evidence indicates they failed to conduct a full and thorough investigation. Before her death, Usha was staying at an ayah's hostel, a refuge for Indian women whose British employers had turned them out. As Maisie learns, Usha was different from the hostel's other lodgers. But with this discovery comes new danger - soon another Indian woman who was close to Usha is found murdered before she can speak out. As Maisie is pulled deeper into an unfamiliar yet alluring subculture, her investigation becomes clouded by the unfinished business of a previous case. And at the same time her lover, James Compton, gives her an ultimatum she cannot ignore ...
'Maisie Dobbs has not been created - she has been discovered. And what a revelation she is!' Alexander McCall Smith
'I'm a huge Maisie Dobbs fan' Lee Child
'An absorbing read' The Observer
Author
About Jacqueline Winspear
Jacqueline Winspear was born and raised in Kent and emigrated to the USA in 1990. She has written extensively for journals, newspapers and magazines, and has worked in book publishing on both sides of the Atlantic. The Maisie Dobbs series of crime novels is beloved by readers worldwide..
Fellow novelist KERRY REICHS on JACQUELINE WINSPEAR
I met – okay, I’ll be honest – stalked Jacqueline Winspear at a writer’s conference after reading Maisie Dobbs. The titular character of Winspear’s books is one you wish was your best friend. A historically intriguing peek at London in the cradle between two world wars, Winspear creates complex, multi-faceted people and plots that are more psychological studies than standard mystery fare. With Maisie’s skill at understanding people, after spending an afternoon with the “psychological sleuth” you will savor the relaxed feeling of her soothing hand on your brow.
