Summary | Excerpt | Reviews | Beyond the book | Read-Alikes | Genres & Themes | Author Bio
Critics' Opinion:
Readers' Opinion:
First Published:
Jun 2004, 360 pages
Paperback:
Aug 2005, 320 pages
Book Reviewed by:
BookBrowse Review Team
Buy This Book
From the book jacket: Maisie Dobbs
is back and this time she has been hired to find a wealthy
grocery magnate's daughter who has fled from home. What seems
a simple case at first becomes complicated when Maisie learns
of the recent violent deaths of three of the heiress's old
friends. Is there a connection between her mysterious
disappearance and the murders? Who would kill such charming
young women? As Maisie investigates, she discovers that the
answers to all her questions lie in the unforgettable agony of
The Great War.
Comment: I wanted to recommend Jacqueline Winspear's first book featuring
Maisie Dobbs (called simply 'Maisie Dobbs' - 2003), but
unfortunately the publisher was unable to provide an excerpt
at the time, which is, of course, an integral part of every
recommendation at BookBrowse. However, happily this
wasn't a problem with 'Birds of a Feather' - the second
in this very satisfying series. Readers familiar with the 1st
World War period may well figure out a few of the clues ahead
of Maisie, but that doesn't matter, as the journey with Masie
is so enjoyable.
The Maisie Dobbs series is a shoe-in to be made into a PBS
mystery series - but if you love good historical mysteries,
don't wait years to see the books flattened onto the TV
screen, instead rush out and grab a copy of either book today!
'Sinking into a novel this good is as satisfying as sinking
into a good leather chair: we know we are in for the duration,
and it feels right.....Maisie, who has gone from being in
service to a graduate of Girton at Cambridge, is as
intelligent and engaging a sleuth as one might desire: the
period touches, from clothing to manners, are not only
elegantly presented but unostentatious.' - Booklist.
This review
first ran in the August 3, 2005
issue of BookBrowse Recommends.
If you liked Birds of a Feather, try these:
by Sadie Jones
Published 2013
A frightening yet delicious drama of dark surprises - where social codes are uprooted and desire daringly trumps propriety - alight with Edwardian wit and opulence.
by Kate Morton
Published 2009
The House at Riverton is a gorgeous debut novel set in England between the wars. It is the story of an aristocratic family, a house, a mysterious death and a way of life that vanished forever, told in flashback by a woman who witnessed it all and kept a secret for decades.
The Flower Sisters
by Michelle Collins Anderson
From the new Fannie Flagg of the Ozarks, a richly-woven story of family, forgiveness, and reinvention.
The House on Biscayne Bay
by Chanel Cleeton
As death stalks a gothic mansion in Miami, the lives of two women intertwine as the past and present collide.
The Funeral Cryer by Wenyan Lu
Debut novelist Wenyan Lu brings us this witty yet profound story about one woman's midlife reawakening in contemporary rural China.
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
