Jacqueline Winspear,英国侦探小说家，1955年出生于英国肯特郡，擅长写历史悬疑小说。其创作的以一战和二战为背景的“梅西·多布斯”系列（Maisie Dobbs series）是她的核心作品，也是她成名的基石。

2003年，该系列首部小说出版，随即登上《纽约时报》畅销榜，并赢得阿加莎奖。她的许多作品深入探讨了世界大战对普通个体的深远影响，特别是战后遗留的精神创伤。这套丛书共18册，目前已完结。本期择取其中四本，一起开启穿越迷雾的探案之旅。

1. Maisie Dobbs

The historical mystery Maisie Dobbs was first published in 2003,introducing readers to an inquisitive, young, English, working-class woman. Having started as a maid to the London aristocracy, studied her way to Cambridge and served as a nurse in the Great War, Maisie has wisdom, experience and understanding beyond her years. Maisie opens her own London detective agency following the war. But just who exactly is Miss Maisie Dobbs?

本书为“梅西·多布斯”系列首部小说，出版于2003年。小说塑造了一位聪慧好奇、出身工人阶层的英国年轻女性。从最初在伦敦贵族家中做女佣，到自学考入剑桥大学，再到第一次世界大战爆发，奔赴前线成为战地护士，梅茜拥有远超她年龄的智慧、阅历与洞察力。战后，她在伦敦创办了自己的侦探事务所（在那个年代，女性开办一家侦探事务所非常不易）。那么，梅西・多布斯小姐究竟是怎样一个人呢？

2. Birds of a feather

It is the spring of 1930, and Maisie has been hired to find a runaway heiress. But what seems a simple case at the outset soon becomes increasingly complicated when three of the heiress’s old friends are found dead. Is there a connection between the woman’s mysterious disappearance and the murders? Who would want to kill three seemingly respectable young women? As Maisie investigates, she discovers that the answers lie in the unforgettable agony of the Great War.

时值1930年春天，梅茜受雇寻找一位离家出走的女继承人。然而，这位女继承人的三位旧友接连被发现死于非命，这起初看简单的案件旋即变得扑朔迷离。这位女子的神秘失踪与这几起凶案之间是否存在关联？谁会想要杀害三个体面的年轻女子？随着调查深入，梅茜发现，真相的答案竟深埋于那场令一代人刻骨铭心的战争伤痛之中。

3. A lesson in secrets

In the summer of 1932, Maisie Dobbs accepts an undercover assignment directed by the Secret Service. Posing as a junior lecturer, she is sent to a private college in Cambridge to monitor any activities. When the college’s principal, Greville Liddicote, is murdered, Maisie is directed to stand back as Detective Chief Superintendent MacFarlane and Detective Chief Inspector Stratton spearhead the investigation. She soon discovers that Principal Liddicote’s death appears inextricably linked to the suspicious comings and goings of faculty and students. As the storm clouds of World War II gather on the horizon, Maisie Dobbs is about to face new challenges and powerful enemies.

1932年夏，梅茜・多布斯接受英国秘密情报局指派，伪装成初级讲师进入剑桥一所私立学院参与一项卧底任务。期间，学院校长格雷维尔・利迪科特遭人谋杀。上级并没有将此案交给梅茜，而是交由总警司麦克法兰与总督察斯特拉顿牵头调查。然而梅茜很快发现利迪科特校长的遇害，与师生们种种诡秘的行踪有着千丝万缕的关联。此时二战的阴云已悄然聚拢，梅茜・多布斯即将迎来全新的挑战与强劲的宿敌。

4. Elegy for Eddie

Early April, 1933. Maisie’s newest clients are the costermongers, men who sell fruit and vegetables on the streets of London. Their fellow， Eddie Pettit， is killed in a violent accident, the costers are skeptical about the cause of his death. Maisie is determined to help, but it soon becomes clear that powerful political and financial forces are equally determined to prevent her from learning too much about Eddie’s death. She must decide whether to risk all to see justice done. Elegy for Eddie is Jacqueline Winspear’s most poignant and affecting novel yet.

1933年4月初。这次找到梅茜的是几个伦敦街头的果蔬商贩。他们的同伴埃迪・佩蒂特在一场惨烈的意外中身亡，摊贩们对他的死因深表怀疑。梅茜决心出手相助便接下了这个案子。但很快，一股强大的政治与资本势力开始阻止她深挖埃迪的死亡真相。梅茜必须做出抉择，她是否要倾尽所有，冒险伸张正义。《埃迪的挽歌》是Jacqueline Winspear迄今为止最凄婉动人、直击人心的一部作品。