I got this fair-condition softcover at this Little Free Library in Manchester NH while dropping off some books of my own, and was pleased to have another release copy.

I discovered this series via Volume 2, and have followed along ever since. Set in 1929, it introduces Maisie Dobbs, a clever young woman who has, it seems, an excellent deductive mind as well as some kind of psychic talent (though this is mainly suggested here by a tingling at the back of her neck). She's versed in psychology as well as in detective skills, and has a small consulting practice where she attempts to not only solve the clients' mysteries for them but also to bring all the parties to some kind of resolution. The apparently-simple case she takes on here turns into something darker, and leads her to some unexpected places...

And she has some unresolved issues of her own to deal with, including the loss of her beloved fiance during WWI. Just what the nature of the loss was, we find out in the course of this book, and Maisie takes her first steps towards healing this particular wound.

I liked the character, and her relationship with her assistant Billy (also suffering aftereffects of war injuries), and his struggling family. Later in the series we'll get to know quite a few more people in Maisie's circle, and we'll see many more scars left by the war as well.

In some ways this is a "cozy" series, but it doesn't feel old-fashioned. I like it very much.

I left this book in the Little Free Library; hope someone enjoys it!

[See other recent releases in NH here.]