Birds of a Feather by Jacqueline Winspear

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

If you have read either of my previous reviews on the well crafted Maisie Dobbs series (over her first appearance in Maisie Dobbs and then in the fourth book, Messenger of Truth), you will recall that the series takes place in the years after World War I in England, and that the main character is Maisie Dobbs, who served as a nurse during the war, was injured, and now has opened her own practice as an investigator. I want to focus on the second book in the series, Birds of a Feather.

As the book begins, Maisie's practice has grown enough to hire Billy as her assistant. We learned before that when Maisie served as a nurse in a field hospital, one of her patients was Billie. His leg was severely injured; however, due to the skill of the surgeon (who was also her boyfriend Simon). Billy feels tremendous loyalty and affection and credits Maisie and Simon for saving his leg. He and Maisie later meet in London, because he does odd jobs in the building where her office is located, and soon he is helping her in a number of ways.

Maisie has also made a good impression on Scotland Yard's Inspector Stratton, who is investigating a murder. Maisie is hired to find the missing daughter of a very wealthy man, and soon uncovers a link to the murder...and further evidence of the damage done by a war that changed countless people's lives forever.

The title of the book turns out to have a chilling meaning: in the efforts to get more young men to enlist in the military, some women took to handing out feathers on the streets, as if challenging men to step up and prove something. As Billy tells Maisie, many underage boys went off to fight--and die--in the war, while many others returned home with terrible wounds both in their bodies and minds. Maisie herself paid a terrible price for her service: a bomb exploded near her and Simon at the field hospital and she still bears a scar to show for it. Simon's physical injuries healed but he retreated within himself and is hospitalized in an institution for victims of shell shock.

If books like Bubbles All the Way and the Stephanie Plum series seem a little light on substance, like cheesecake, the Maisie Dobbs series is a lavish feast with many courses. It's evident that Winspear does a great deal of research, and her work consistentally contains rich detail, description, and dialogue. All of this helps transport the reader back to the days of post-war London. Maisie is also a remarkable character--a strong, intuitive, intelligent and resourceful person. Each book gives readers additional insight into her life and a sense of better understanding this period of time.

Birds of a Feather is available in the Adult Fiction area of the WPL.

If you are interested in learning more about the books, or their author, visit Jacqueline Winspear's website.