Elegy for Eddie by Jacqueline Winspear

Elegy for Eddie is the 9th book in the Maisie Dobbs series, which I usually enjoy.

When a group of costermongers approach Maisie about investigating the death of Eddie Pettit, a gentle and simple man, Maisie feels that her background with the men and their families deserve her time and effort.

Maisie undertakes the investigation and gradually comes to the conclusion that there was a deliberateness in the "accident."  I never felt the evidence for a deliberate accident was clear, but Maisie made enough connections to convince herself, and of course, we have a handy villain on the scene.  Whether Eddie's death was a result of an intentional murder or a warning gone wrong, Maisie is determined to discover the culprit or culprits.  While she may suspect the individual who actually caused Eddie's death, she wants to know if that person acted on his own or was given orders.

The investigation into Eddie's death leads Maisie to question the death of a young reporter who was acquainted with Eddie, and who supposedly committed suicide a short time prior to Eddie's death.

I'm afraid that I did not find this as satisfying a read as most of the Maisie novels have been.  The dialogue seemed stilted, Maisie's character seemed to be regressing (as did James' character), and there were a number of ethical dilemmas whose resolutions were tacitly approved.

After reading the novel, I looked for other reviews and found that most felt this was one of best in the series.  So there you go...I'm certainly in the minority.

One character that I did like was Eve.  She had color and verve despite her grief and was much more vibrant (even in her very minor role) than Maisie, who seemed like lukewarm milk toast in this novel.

Fiction.  Mystery.  2012.  331 pages.  library book.