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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

Pardonable Lies
by Jacqueline Winspear
Hardcover: Aug 2005,
352 pages.
Paperback: Jun 2006,
368 pages.

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BOOK SUMMARY

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).
BookBrowse

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).

Full Review Members Only (343 words).

Media Reviews

  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 4 of 5 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 2 of 5 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 3 of 5 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,...

Continued...  Beyond the Book (members only)

Readalikes Full readalike results are for members only

If you liked Pardonable Lies, try these:


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Join Phryne Fisher, the feminist sleuth who always gets her man, on a tightly plotted maze of thrilling adventure set in 1920s Australia.

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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.


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