Pardonable Lies: Summary and book reviews of Pardonable Lies by Jacqueline Winspear, plus links to an excerpt from Pardonable Lies and a biography of Jacqueline Winspear.
Pardonable Lies
by Jacqueline Winspear
Hardcover: Aug 2005,
352 pages.
Paperback: Jun 2006,
368 pages.
In the third novel of
this bestselling series, London investigator Maisie Dobbs faces grave
danger as she returns to the site of her most painful WWI memories to
resolve the mystery of a pilot's death
Agatha Christie's Miss Marple. Sue Grafton's Kinsey Millhone.
Alexander McCall Smith's Precious Ramotswe. Every once in a while, a
detective bursts on the scene who captures readers' hearts -- and
imaginations -- and doesn't let go. And so it was with Jacqueline
Winspear's Maisie Dobbs, who made her debut just two years ago in the
eponymously titled first book of the series, and is already on her way
to becoming a household name.
A deathbed plea from his wife leads Sir Cecil Lawton to seek the aid
of Maisie Dobbs, psychologist and investigator. As Maisie soon learns,
Agnes Lawton never accepted that her aviator son was killed in the
Great War, a torment that led her not only to the edge of madness but
to the doors of those who practice the dark arts and commune with the
spirit world.
In accepting the assignment, Maisie finds her spiritual strength
tested, as well as her regard for her mentor, Maurice Blanche. The
mission also brings her together once again with her college friend
Priscilla Evernden, who served in France and who lost three brothers
to the war -- one of whom, it turns out, had an intriguing connection
to the missing Ralph Lawton.
Following on the heels of the triumphant Birds of a Feather,
Pardonable Lies is the most compelling installment yet in the
chronicles of Maisie Dobbs, "a heroine to cherish (Marilyn Stasio,
The New York Times Book Review).
If you're a fan of quality period fiction and have not yet discovered Jacqueline Winspear you must, absolutely must, hurry down to your bookstore or library and pick yourself up a copy of Pardonable Lies (or one her two earlier books) at your earliest opportunity; the plot of each book stands alone and Winspear provides sufficient backstory in each that you can dip into the series at any point. (Reviewed by BookBrowse Review Team).
Detroit Free Press
A thrilling mystery that will enthrall fans of Jacqueline Winspear's heroine and likely win her new ones.
Bookreporter.com
Following on the heels of the triumphant Birds of a Feather, Pardonable Lies is the most compelling installment yet in the chronicles of Maisie Dobbs
Publishers Weekly
Winspear writes seamlessly, enriching the whole with vivid details of English life on a variety of social levels.
Recent Reader Reviews
Rated of 5
by Carolyn Y. Goldfarb An intrepid heroine gains a reader This is my second Maisie Dobbs read and although longer in length than the first one I read (A Lesson in Secrets), I enjoyed it even more because of the inclusion of another country (France) and forays into the personal history of the heroine. In... Read More
Rated of 5
by Bob Vianello Pardonable Lies A good plot, but the book is about twice as long as it needs to be. What characters wear is of no interest to the reader. Too many sub plots. It would probably be a very good book if it was condensed by the publishers of Readers Digest Condensed... Read More
Rated of 5
by Melissa Likeable Characters I find that I thoroughly enjoy the Maise Dobbs series via audio books! I can't say it's my favorite series, but Winspear has gotten me hooked on following the life of Maise. The suspense isn't all that suspenseful, the mystery not all that... Read More
The Series so
far
Maisie Dobbs (2003) Birds of a Feather (2004) Pardonable Lies (2005) Messenger of Truth (Aug 2006)
The year is
1930 and it's been more than a
year since Maisie Dobbs first
hung up her shingle as a private
investigator She is a
perceptive observer of human
nature and, most important for
her line of work, she is able to
move smoothly between the
classes - a useful skill
in the still highly class-stratified
England of the inter-war period.
Her ability in this area is due
to the fact that she was born in
Lambeth, a then poor part of
London and went into service at
the age of 14. However, it wasn't long
before her employer, and soon to
be benefactor, Lady Rowan,...
Lovers of historical mystery will relish this chilling Victorian tale based on real events and cloaked in authenticity. Best of all, it casts British literature's most fascinating and controversial figure as the lead sleuth. (UK title: Oscar Wilde and the Candlelight Murders). Published in the USA simultaneously in hardcover and paperback.
These are 2 of the 7 readalike suggestions for Pardonable Lies. Members have full access to all readalikes. If you are a member, please login. To find out more about membership, click here.
Stranger than fiction, blending tragedy and farce, How to Create the Perfect Wife is an engrossing tale of the radicalism, and deep contradictions, at the heart of the Enlightenment.
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Although heavy on the scientific details, which slowed down the story for me (OK, I admit, I was one of those liberal arts majors who skipped out on...
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(343 words).
of 5
by Carolyn Y. Goldfarb
of 5
by Bob Vianello
of 5
by Melissa
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