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.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 … 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).
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Excellent! Riveting mysteries, heartbreaking personal revelations, and a hopeful ending for all . . . With this book, I’ve finished my binge. I’m sad to say goodbye to Maisie but look forward to book 17 sometime next year!
Love all the book in this series. Characters are well developed.
All Winspear’s books are excellent!
It’s well written, historically fastening. I love her books.
I love the character of Maisie Dobbs. I have read them all and anxiously await a new one.
This is the second book I have read in this series, though it is the third in the Maisie Dobbs series. I enjoy British novels and this one made me think of PBS mysteries. There are two prominent plots and a minor one that blends into one of the main story lines. I enjoyed the writing, the characters and the 1930’s setting. I hope to read the entire series .
It took me one book to appreciate how much I enjoy Maisie Dobbs. The mystery is well done and Maisie and her crew are characters who grow in strength and integrity. Inspiring reading. The audiobooks are also very well read.
Love British humor and history with a little bit of suspense.
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh……booooooooooooook hangover. Massive. Book. Hangover.
Wow.
Maisie, in doing a job she is retained to do, has to deal with many ghosts of the past, some that do not want to be found, including many of her own all while trying to stay alive and keep her friendships from breaking.
The scenes of remembrance of the Great War are heartbreaking and I spent much of this book in tears – these characters are so real and if you read enough Historical Fiction, you *KNOW* that there was someone somewhere that experienced what is talked about in this book. And that makes it even sadder.
Maisie is one of my favorite characters right now – I cannot seem to get enough of these books. I like her so much and I love her relationship with her helper Billy and those who flit around her and the stories.
Very good read.
Compelling
Loved the history woven into the intrigue
This is a strange series. I like the stories, but I really don’t like Maisie. She comes across as superior and thinks she knows more than everyone else. And she is secretive, even with the people she should trust.
As a former servant, how is it she is so fragile. She is always tired and needing to rest after a day of work. Really? How did she manage to work as a servant and study on the sly, when she can’t even go a day without being exhausted?
This is the best story so far, but sad. Lots of info about the time after the end of WWI.
I’m really glad that I’ve stuck with this series because it is definitely getting better! Pardonable Lies was a solid mystery, multiple actually, examining “the distinction between fact and truth and the nature of the lie” (p. 298). Elements of it were predictable, but not the entire mystery. The novel can really be summed up with this quote from one of the characters, Chantal Clement, “we lie for truth to prevail and for goodness to return for all of us” (p. 201). I just wish that Maisie would cut ties with Andrew Dene. I understand that his knowledge helps further the plot, but he’s not interesting and he’s not right for Maisie (which she knows).
Enjoyable story and I liked the ending. Didn’t disappoint.
I like all the Maisie Dobbs books, interesting character and also it is past WW1 which is an interesting era not always written about.