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Maisie Dobbs #3
Pardonable Lies
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 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.
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.
328 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
1746 people are currently reading
8013 people want to read
About the author
Jacqueline Winspear
61 books8,349 followersJacqueline Winspear was born and raised in the county of Kent, England. Following higher education at the University of London’s Institute of Education, Jacqueline worked in academic publishing, in higher education and in marketing communications in the UK.
She emigrated to the United States in 1990, and while working in business and as a personal / professional coach, Jacqueline embarked upon a life-long dream to be a writer.
A regular contributor to journals covering international education, Jacqueline has published articles in women's magazines and has also recorded her essays for KQED radio in San Francisco. She currently divides her time between Ojai and the San Francisco Bay Area and is a regular visitor to the United Kingdom and Europe.
Jacqueline is the author of the New York Times bestsellers A Lesson in Secrets, The Mapping of Love and Death, Among the Mad, and An Incomplete Revenge, and other nationally bestselling Maisie Dobbs novels. She has won numerous awards for her work, including the Agatha, Alex,
and Macavity awards for the first book in the series, Maisie Dobbs, which was also nominated for the Edgar Award for best novel and was a New York Times
Notable Book.
Series:
* Maisie Dobbs
http://us.macmillan.com/author/jacque...
She emigrated to the United States in 1990, and while working in business and as a personal / professional coach, Jacqueline embarked upon a life-long dream to be a writer.
A regular contributor to journals covering international education, Jacqueline has published articles in women's magazines and has also recorded her essays for KQED radio in San Francisco. She currently divides her time between Ojai and the San Francisco Bay Area and is a regular visitor to the United Kingdom and Europe.
Jacqueline is the author of the New York Times bestsellers A Lesson in Secrets, The Mapping of Love and Death, Among the Mad, and An Incomplete Revenge, and other nationally bestselling Maisie Dobbs novels. She has won numerous awards for her work, including the Agatha, Alex,
and Macavity awards for the first book in the series, Maisie Dobbs, which was also nominated for the Edgar Award for best novel and was a New York Times
Notable Book.
Series:
* Maisie Dobbs
http://us.macmillan.com/author/jacque...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 3,025 reviews
September 28, 2008
I just can't get behind these books. I keep reading them because I am a sucker for mysteries set in England between the two wars, and because Maisie is definitely a lovable character. I also enjoy them because Winspear has the good sense to describe in detail all the beautiful period clothing. The mysteries themselves, however, are thoroughly unsatisfying. I don't like Maisie's empathy method, where merely by mimicking people's posture, she suddenly knows their innermost thoughts. I don't like that Winspear doesn't play fair and give us the facts to toy with ourselves, like a confident mystery writer would, but instead holds them to her heart because she assumes that's the only way she can surprise us. And last but not least I don't like the sort of new agey, feel-goody, meditation and spiritualism angle of the books, which is especially bad here. Early on in the book Maisie leaves a spiritualist acknowledging that the woman has a "true gift" and I just... can't get behind that nonsense.
Sherlock Holmes would never have stood for it. Neither would Mary Russell, even though she does believe in God.
I will, however, probably keep reading these books when I encounter them in libraries, because I am dying to see the inevitable relationship between Maisie and Inspector Stratton.
Sherlock Holmes would never have stood for it. Neither would Mary Russell, even though she does believe in God.
I will, however, probably keep reading these books when I encounter them in libraries, because I am dying to see the inevitable relationship between Maisie and Inspector Stratton.
January 30, 2018
EXCERPT: The young policewoman stood in the corner of the room. Plain whitewashed walls, a heavy wooden door, a wooden table with two chairs, and one small window with frosted glass rendered the room soulless. It was a cold afternoon and she had been in the corner since coming on duty two hours ago, her only company the rumpled and bent girl sitting in the chair that faced the wall. Others had come into the room to sit in the second chair: first Detective Inspector Richard Stratton with Detective Sargeant Caldwell standing behind him; then Stratton standing while a doctor from the Maudsley Hospital sat before the girl, trying to get her to speak. The girl - no one knew her age or where she had come from because she hadn't spoken a word since she had been brought in this morning, her blood-stained dress, hands and face showing a month's worth of dirt - was now waiting for another person who had been summoned to question her: a Miss Maisie Dobbs. The policewoman had heard of Maisie Dobbs, but from what she had seen today, she wasn't sure anyone could get this young scrubber to talk.
THE BLURB: 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).
MY THOUGHTS: Pardonable Lies is my first encounter with Maisie Dobbs, a very pleasurable encounter. This novel covers a lot of different topics, including homophobia and mysticism.
Set in 1930, Maisie is a seemingly strong willed woman who has carved out a career for herself as a Psychologist/Investigator. But during the course of her investigations, Maisie is forced to confront some of her own demons, and some of her past actions may be placing her in danger.
Jacqueline Winspear has created a wonderful cast of characters and a deliciously compelling plot. Maisie Dobbs has a new fan in me.
I listened to the audiobook of Pardonable Lies by Jacqueline Winspear, narrated by Orlagh Cassidy via OverDrive. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
Please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the 'about' page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com for an explanation of my rating system. This review and others are also published on my blog sandysbookaday.wordpress.com page https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
THE BLURB: 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).
MY THOUGHTS: Pardonable Lies is my first encounter with Maisie Dobbs, a very pleasurable encounter. This novel covers a lot of different topics, including homophobia and mysticism.
Set in 1930, Maisie is a seemingly strong willed woman who has carved out a career for herself as a Psychologist/Investigator. But during the course of her investigations, Maisie is forced to confront some of her own demons, and some of her past actions may be placing her in danger.
Jacqueline Winspear has created a wonderful cast of characters and a deliciously compelling plot. Maisie Dobbs has a new fan in me.
I listened to the audiobook of Pardonable Lies by Jacqueline Winspear, narrated by Orlagh Cassidy via OverDrive. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
Please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the 'about' page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com for an explanation of my rating system. This review and others are also published on my blog sandysbookaday.wordpress.com page https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
January 5, 2013
Third in the Maisie Dobbs historical mystery series revolving around Maisie, a detective using meditation and psychology to solve her cases. This story takes place over the summer of 1930 in England and France.
My Take
Another pip from Winspear. It's hard to believe that Winspear is a contemporary author writing today as she really brings this period to life. She really knows how to dig in and write so that I felt as though I was there in 1930 England. The evolution of the telephone. The manners, dress, and mores of the time period. All involving an independent woman who defied the odds and achieved an education and a career in a depressed economy.
Maisie has high standards and while she is disinclined to cut corners or do less than her best, she also knows when it's best to present the truth that people want to hear. But the two cases involving soldiers in this story bring too much of her own war experience to mind. Traumas she would prefer to avoid, to leave in the past. Although, she does intensely grieve her mother's death.
World War I was a horrible war from a soldier's perspective and we're already hearing the rumblings that will lead to World War II in this story.
Thank god, Avril has Maisie in her corner! The police have her convicted of murder and ignore the physical evidence under their noses.
While Maisie does employ her psychological observations, it seems less overt than in the earlier two stories. I'm not sure if it was because Maisie's emotional state was overwrought with her remembrances of France or if Winspear was simply off her game.
The negatives...how could Stratton and the doctors who examined Avril have missed something so obvious? Maurice would know how dogged Maisie is. Heck, he taught her. So why not just come clean? Then there's Maisie's discoveries in France. A little too easy. I'd also like to know how someone, or who, managed to get to Maisie's brake lines.
Side Note: There's a mention of Conan Doyle dying a few months ago. I had no idea he had lived that long into the twentieth century!!
The Story
It's three different cases that Maisie obsesses over: Avril's pimp's murder; proving Captain Ralph Lawton's death; and, a favor to Priscilla to verify her brother's death.
Maisie has been doing well in her business and it's just when one is doing well, that the body, the mind, let down their guard, forcing one to deal with emotional issues of the past. It doesn't help that friends have been keeping secrets.
Nor does it help when enemies rise up, seeking revenge.
The Characters
Maisie Dobbs is doing well with her detective agency. One in which she incorporates the meditative benefits of yoga and the psychology taught her by Maurice Blanche. She's still living in the Comptons' Belgravia mansion and still driving her little red MG.
Dr. Andrew Dene is the orthopedist at the hospital in Hastings whom Maisie is seeing. He's serious about her, but also smart enough not to push and to give her lots of leeway.
Frankie Dobbs, her father, is doing fine after his scare in Birds of a Feather , raising Derby winners in Kent with Lady Rowena Compton. She and her husband, Lord Julian, spend most of their time on their estate in Kent. Their son, James Compton, is overseeing family business in Toronto. George is the family chauffeur; Eric is the London footman who cares for the cars when George is in the country; Sandra is the most senior below-stairs employee with Carter, the butler, down at Chelstone; and, Teresa is the servant who was poisoned.
Billy Beale is Maisie's assistant. He's married to Doreen and they have their sons. Dr. Maurice Blanche is the man who took her under his wing at the behest of Lady Rowena. Basil Khan is the Ceylonese wise man who taught her all about meditation and yoga.
Priscilla Evernden, now Partridge, was and is Maisie's best friend from college. She went off the deep end into a bottle of alcohol with all her losses just after the war, but then she met Douglas Partridge, a famous author and poet whom she married. They have three boys---Timothy Peter, Thomas Philip, and Tarquin Patrick---and live in Biarritz. Her boys sound so lively. Her parents died of flu and her brothers all died in the war. But Pris has no idea where her brother, Captain Peter Evernden's body was buried or if he is missing in action. She does know where Patrick and Philip are buried. How horrible war is. Losing one's entire family like this...
Detective Inspector Richard Stratton hasn't quite given up asking Maisie out. Detective Sergeant Caldwell would prefer to shoot her.
Avril Jarvis is a thirteen-year-old girl accused of murdering her "uncle".
Sir Cecil Lawton is a QC and a friend of Lord Julian's. He's made his wife a deathbed promise to prove one way or another that their only surviving son is dead or alive. Brayley is Lawton's fiercely loyal manservant. Captain Ralph Lawton's plane crashed in France and it burned to ashes. But there's more to it than that. The Hon. Jeremy Hazelton is an MP and a childhood friend of Ralph's. He came back from the war in a wheelchair and is ably supported by his wife, Charlaine. He does seem to be a politician with a heart. Even if he does cheat.
Mrs. Browning, Miss Darby, and Miss Hartnell are all psychics pandering to those who are grieving. It's only with Madeleine Hartnell that Maisie feels a chill down her spine. Harry Price is head of the Laboratory of Psychical Research; his assistant Archibald Simpson is quite helpful.
André Vernier is the Parisian concierge who still remembers his clientele from thirteen years before. Madame Eva is a Vietnamese woman who runs Café Druk, a club that caters to a particular clientele; Captain Henri Desvignes is in charge of the police in Sainte-Marie just outside Reims; Madame Thierry runs the pension in Sainte-Marie; Madame Chantal Clement and her thirteen-year-old granddaughter, Pascale Clement are the village's first family. Suzanne was Madame's daughter who was executed by the Germans. Patrice was their crippled gardener. Daniel Roberts is an excellent mechanic. Brian Huntley is an Englishman involved in the secret service. Ted Tavistock, an Australian, and his French wife Josette run a pension near Bailleul where Maisie was stationed during the war.
The Cover
The cover is in Art Deco style with Maisie in a dark blue cloche and coat, perched at the rail of a ship, its yellow funnel highlighted against the subdued, yet brilliant blue sky.
The title refers to those Pardonable Lies told us by friends who believe they have good reason to withhold the truth.
My Take
Another pip from Winspear. It's hard to believe that Winspear is a contemporary author writing today as she really brings this period to life. She really knows how to dig in and write so that I felt as though I was there in 1930 England. The evolution of the telephone. The manners, dress, and mores of the time period. All involving an independent woman who defied the odds and achieved an education and a career in a depressed economy.
Maisie has high standards and while she is disinclined to cut corners or do less than her best, she also knows when it's best to present the truth that people want to hear. But the two cases involving soldiers in this story bring too much of her own war experience to mind. Traumas she would prefer to avoid, to leave in the past. Although, she does intensely grieve her mother's death.
World War I was a horrible war from a soldier's perspective and we're already hearing the rumblings that will lead to World War II in this story.
Thank god, Avril has Maisie in her corner! The police have her convicted of murder and ignore the physical evidence under their noses.
While Maisie does employ her psychological observations, it seems less overt than in the earlier two stories. I'm not sure if it was because Maisie's emotional state was overwrought with her remembrances of France or if Winspear was simply off her game.
The negatives...how could Stratton and the doctors who examined Avril have missed something so obvious? Maurice would know how dogged Maisie is. Heck, he taught her. So why not just come clean? Then there's Maisie's discoveries in France. A little too easy. I'd also like to know how someone, or who, managed to get to Maisie's brake lines.
Side Note: There's a mention of Conan Doyle dying a few months ago. I had no idea he had lived that long into the twentieth century!!
The Story
It's three different cases that Maisie obsesses over: Avril's pimp's murder; proving Captain Ralph Lawton's death; and, a favor to Priscilla to verify her brother's death.
Maisie has been doing well in her business and it's just when one is doing well, that the body, the mind, let down their guard, forcing one to deal with emotional issues of the past. It doesn't help that friends have been keeping secrets.
Nor does it help when enemies rise up, seeking revenge.
The Characters
Maisie Dobbs is doing well with her detective agency. One in which she incorporates the meditative benefits of yoga and the psychology taught her by Maurice Blanche. She's still living in the Comptons' Belgravia mansion and still driving her little red MG.
Dr. Andrew Dene is the orthopedist at the hospital in Hastings whom Maisie is seeing. He's serious about her, but also smart enough not to push and to give her lots of leeway.
Frankie Dobbs, her father, is doing fine after his scare in Birds of a Feather , raising Derby winners in Kent with Lady Rowena Compton. She and her husband, Lord Julian, spend most of their time on their estate in Kent. Their son, James Compton, is overseeing family business in Toronto. George is the family chauffeur; Eric is the London footman who cares for the cars when George is in the country; Sandra is the most senior below-stairs employee with Carter, the butler, down at Chelstone; and, Teresa is the servant who was poisoned.
Billy Beale is Maisie's assistant. He's married to Doreen and they have their sons. Dr. Maurice Blanche is the man who took her under his wing at the behest of Lady Rowena. Basil Khan is the Ceylonese wise man who taught her all about meditation and yoga.
Priscilla Evernden, now Partridge, was and is Maisie's best friend from college. She went off the deep end into a bottle of alcohol with all her losses just after the war, but then she met Douglas Partridge, a famous author and poet whom she married. They have three boys---Timothy Peter, Thomas Philip, and Tarquin Patrick---and live in Biarritz. Her boys sound so lively. Her parents died of flu and her brothers all died in the war. But Pris has no idea where her brother, Captain Peter Evernden's body was buried or if he is missing in action. She does know where Patrick and Philip are buried. How horrible war is. Losing one's entire family like this...
Detective Inspector Richard Stratton hasn't quite given up asking Maisie out. Detective Sergeant Caldwell would prefer to shoot her.
Avril Jarvis is a thirteen-year-old girl accused of murdering her "uncle".
Sir Cecil Lawton is a QC and a friend of Lord Julian's. He's made his wife a deathbed promise to prove one way or another that their only surviving son is dead or alive. Brayley is Lawton's fiercely loyal manservant. Captain Ralph Lawton's plane crashed in France and it burned to ashes. But there's more to it than that. The Hon. Jeremy Hazelton is an MP and a childhood friend of Ralph's. He came back from the war in a wheelchair and is ably supported by his wife, Charlaine. He does seem to be a politician with a heart. Even if he does cheat.
Mrs. Browning, Miss Darby, and Miss Hartnell are all psychics pandering to those who are grieving. It's only with Madeleine Hartnell that Maisie feels a chill down her spine. Harry Price is head of the Laboratory of Psychical Research; his assistant Archibald Simpson is quite helpful.
André Vernier is the Parisian concierge who still remembers his clientele from thirteen years before. Madame Eva is a Vietnamese woman who runs Café Druk, a club that caters to a particular clientele; Captain Henri Desvignes is in charge of the police in Sainte-Marie just outside Reims; Madame Thierry runs the pension in Sainte-Marie; Madame Chantal Clement and her thirteen-year-old granddaughter, Pascale Clement are the village's first family. Suzanne was Madame's daughter who was executed by the Germans. Patrice was their crippled gardener. Daniel Roberts is an excellent mechanic. Brian Huntley is an Englishman involved in the secret service. Ted Tavistock, an Australian, and his French wife Josette run a pension near Bailleul where Maisie was stationed during the war.
The Cover
The cover is in Art Deco style with Maisie in a dark blue cloche and coat, perched at the rail of a ship, its yellow funnel highlighted against the subdued, yet brilliant blue sky.
The title refers to those Pardonable Lies told us by friends who believe they have good reason to withhold the truth.
February 2, 2025
It’s been awhile since I first started this series. I am glad to have finally got back to it.
The year is 1930. The Great War still looms large in people’s memories. Maisie Dobbs, psychologist and private detective has taken two cases pertaining to lost/ dead men from WWI. Sir Cecil Lawton wants her to confirm his son is really dead. He promised his wife on her death bed that he would pursue this. She always believed that he was still alive. Her best friend, Priscilla Evernden, lost 3 brothers in the war and she wants Maisie to find out where her brother Peter was buried. He is the only one whose grave she has been unable to visit.
The author captures the time and place well. Maisie is a very sympathetic character. She was a nurse during the war and has her own demons to wrestle with as well.
I really enjoyed this one on audio, read by Orlagh Cassidy. I look forward to continuing with the series.
Published: 2005
The year is 1930. The Great War still looms large in people’s memories. Maisie Dobbs, psychologist and private detective has taken two cases pertaining to lost/ dead men from WWI. Sir Cecil Lawton wants her to confirm his son is really dead. He promised his wife on her death bed that he would pursue this. She always believed that he was still alive. Her best friend, Priscilla Evernden, lost 3 brothers in the war and she wants Maisie to find out where her brother Peter was buried. He is the only one whose grave she has been unable to visit.
The author captures the time and place well. Maisie is a very sympathetic character. She was a nurse during the war and has her own demons to wrestle with as well.
I really enjoyed this one on audio, read by Orlagh Cassidy. I look forward to continuing with the series.
Published: 2005
October 12, 2020
Maisie Dobbs, book 3. I’m reading this series out loud to/with a friend.
This one seemed to have less humor than the first two books in the series, but it did have some, and it seemed to have a lot more intrigue, and intricate and fun multiple mysteries. I love the shades of gray in these books, with the characters and with their circumstances. There isn’t a lot of black and white, nor are there definite heroes and villains. I really appreciate that.
I’m thoroughly enjoying this series but now associate it with reading out loud to/with this one particular friend. We are reading them really, really slowly. I have book 5 as a loaner from another friend which will be great because so far they’ve been Kindle e-books from the library and not renewable and there has been a wait to get each book back each time. Now waiting for book 4 for the first of likely multiple check outs.
At the end of the book proper this edition has the Acknowledgements section and a short author bio, and also an interview with the author and discussion questions. These books are great discussion books.
I’m glad that I’m finally reading this series. I really like it.
4-1/2 stars
This one seemed to have less humor than the first two books in the series, but it did have some, and it seemed to have a lot more intrigue, and intricate and fun multiple mysteries. I love the shades of gray in these books, with the characters and with their circumstances. There isn’t a lot of black and white, nor are there definite heroes and villains. I really appreciate that.
I’m thoroughly enjoying this series but now associate it with reading out loud to/with this one particular friend. We are reading them really, really slowly. I have book 5 as a loaner from another friend which will be great because so far they’ve been Kindle e-books from the library and not renewable and there has been a wait to get each book back each time. Now waiting for book 4 for the first of likely multiple check outs.
At the end of the book proper this edition has the Acknowledgements section and a short author bio, and also an interview with the author and discussion questions. These books are great discussion books.
I’m glad that I’m finally reading this series. I really like it.
4-1/2 stars
November 18, 2018
I really like the idea of a young woman setting up an investigative agency in the 1930s and Maisie Dobbs is becoming more independent and confident as she sets about her cases. She is asked by the police to help them interview a young girl accused of murder and sets out to investigate her guilt or innocence. At the same time she is approached by an eminent KC who promised his wife on her death bed that he would confirm that their son, a pilot, was killed in the war. His wife had never accepted that their son had died and had her beliefs supported by several psychics. Maisie must return to France and face her own past as a nurse in the war, as she investigates the fate of the young pilot.
I enjoyed this much more than the previous book in this historical mystery series, but I'm not sure if I will read any more. I enjoy the historical detail, but I'm not feeling totally invested in the characters and don't yet have a real sense (after three books) of Maisie's character. Although the novels touch on a wide range of topics, the plots are fairly superficial without any real depth. 3.5★
I enjoyed this much more than the previous book in this historical mystery series, but I'm not sure if I will read any more. I enjoy the historical detail, but I'm not feeling totally invested in the characters and don't yet have a real sense (after three books) of Maisie's character. Although the novels touch on a wide range of topics, the plots are fairly superficial without any real depth. 3.5★
Read
September 25, 2021DNF. Page 159. I read it on Scrib.
November 20, 2018
3 stars
I was not impressed with this book of the series. I think the writing was probably as strong as the other books, but the story just seemed to be too full. There was just too much put into this book. Cut in about half would have been more pleasurable for me.
I did not like how part of the problems were brought to a close. I did not feel that enough time was given to each - they just seemed to be clipped short and closed. Other problems were well developed and kinda brought to close, but maybe left with strings dangling to be brought back in future books - which is always appreciated.
I will read the next book in the series, Messenger of Truth, but I believe more for Billy than for Maisie.
I was not impressed with this book of the series. I think the writing was probably as strong as the other books, but the story just seemed to be too full. There was just too much put into this book. Cut in about half would have been more pleasurable for me.
I did not like how part of the problems were brought to a close. I did not feel that enough time was given to each - they just seemed to be clipped short and closed. Other problems were well developed and kinda brought to close, but maybe left with strings dangling to be brought back in future books - which is always appreciated.
I will read the next book in the series, Messenger of Truth, but I believe more for Billy than for Maisie.
April 7, 2023
Book #3 of 17
In the line of solving mysteries Maisie Dobbs is a Boss. I love her style, her voice, her thoughts and her actions.
In this book there are 3 crimes and she solved them all. She has that boss intuition. She is coming for you in such a classy way.
Maisie Dobbs is the female Easy Rawlins in Walter Mosley series. I would love to see a collarbation with these two.
In the line of solving mysteries Maisie Dobbs is a Boss. I love her style, her voice, her thoughts and her actions.
In this book there are 3 crimes and she solved them all. She has that boss intuition. She is coming for you in such a classy way.
Maisie Dobbs is the female Easy Rawlins in Walter Mosley series. I would love to see a collarbation with these two.
September 28, 2025
This series continues to be very good. Maisie took on a job that takes her back to France where she served as a nurse during the Great War. This is very emotional and touching for Maisie as she delves into investigating an aviator's death as well finding information concerning her best friend's brother's fate there and at the same time revisiting a terrible time when she was serving in France. And she has someone who doesn't want her to do the investigating. I listened to the book via Libby and the narrator Orlagh Cassidy does a lovely job. An interview with the author at the end of the audiobook is very interesting as she talks about how she came about the writing the Maisie Dobbs series. Highly recommended series.
January 23, 2019
Pardonable Lies is part of an intriguing series by Jacqueline Winspear, featuring Maisie Dobbs, growing up as a housemaid and working her way through college at Cambridge. She later served during World War I as a nurse. At the conclusion of the war she opened a private investigation practice in 1929 in London. Coincidentally, in Pardonable Lies, Ms. Dobbs was researching the deaths of two soldiers during the Great War, one for a father that wanted to put to rest any chance of his son still being alive, and the other case researching the circumstances of the death of a close friend's brother. Both of these investigations brought her to France to determine the fate of each man in World War I. As the mystery unfolds, Ms. Dobbs finds that she must also come to terms with her own past, as well as her role in the Great War. There are a lot of gray areas as there are questions as to what constitutes a lie, and under what circumstances might it be understandable. At moments, there are passages in the book foreshadowing the threat of World War II. This was a very gripping and moving book.
"Pile the bodies high at Austerlitz and Waterloo. Shovel them under and let me work--I am the grass; I cover all. And pile them high at Gettysburg and pile them high at Ypres and Verdun. Shovel them under and let me work. Two years, ten years, and passengers ask the conductor: What place is this? Where are we now? I am the grass. Let me work."--Carl Sandburg (1878-1967), Grass
"They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them."
"Pile the bodies high at Austerlitz and Waterloo. Shovel them under and let me work--I am the grass; I cover all. And pile them high at Gettysburg and pile them high at Ypres and Verdun. Shovel them under and let me work. Two years, ten years, and passengers ask the conductor: What place is this? Where are we now? I am the grass. Let me work."--Carl Sandburg (1878-1967), Grass
"They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them."
March 9, 2011
#3 in the Maisie Dobbs mystery series, and this outing finds Maisie returning to Post-WWI France in a 2-fold mission to determine for a client that his son is, in fact, truely dead, and to help her friend to find out more about her brother's wartime activities.
While I liked this offering, I felt it was the weakest in the series so far. Maisie is beginning to grate. She's very unlikable IMO and has these strange new-agey powers that just don't mesh with the 1930's background. That being said, I still enjoyed this book, and will continue reading the series, but I wish I liked the main character :(
While I liked this offering, I felt it was the weakest in the series so far. Maisie is beginning to grate. She's very unlikable IMO and has these strange new-agey powers that just don't mesh with the 1930's background. That being said, I still enjoyed this book, and will continue reading the series, but I wish I liked the main character :(
October 31, 2021
I am really enjoying this series and I want to thank Lisa Vegan for encouraging me to read it.
Maisie has to solve several cases in this volume. One of them kind of broke my heart from the start, making this a book that didn’t always call me back to it. But I’m really enjoying getting to know Maisie and the other main characters (got to know a lot more about Priscilla in this one, and liking her more as a result), and also post-WWI Britain, where this is set. The author’s grandfather was wounded in the war and she speaks to it with great heart.
I’m enjoying the audiobook narration straight through the series so far as well. I’ll be starting the fourth book, Messenger of Truth, straight after, although I have more pressing hold list books with imminent due dates at the moment.
I highly recommend this book and this series for anyone interested in the period who enjoys a dash of romance thrown in to their crime novels. If you’re like me and prefer less violence and more heart in your mysteries, you’ll appreciate this series as well. Thanks again, Lisa ❤️🤗
Maisie has to solve several cases in this volume. One of them kind of broke my heart from the start, making this a book that didn’t always call me back to it. But I’m really enjoying getting to know Maisie and the other main characters (got to know a lot more about Priscilla in this one, and liking her more as a result), and also post-WWI Britain, where this is set. The author’s grandfather was wounded in the war and she speaks to it with great heart.
I’m enjoying the audiobook narration straight through the series so far as well. I’ll be starting the fourth book, Messenger of Truth, straight after, although I have more pressing hold list books with imminent due dates at the moment.
I highly recommend this book and this series for anyone interested in the period who enjoys a dash of romance thrown in to their crime novels. If you’re like me and prefer less violence and more heart in your mysteries, you’ll appreciate this series as well. Thanks again, Lisa ❤️🤗
February 27, 2012
As a teacher, it’s interesting and delightful to see a writer’s craft develop. I believe I am witnessing that development of art and skill in Jacqueline Winspear. With each book in the Maisie Dobbs series, she is just better. The plots have seemed to have more “pizzazz” and the characters just get rounder and rounder. I really liked that this book was in three sections, with the first section set in England, the second in France, and the last back in England. As in the previous books, the lingering ill effects of WWI loom large within the plot. With the trip to France, Maisie herself deals with her own “dragons” faced on the muddy fields of France as a nurse during the war. Issues of class remain a major element as well but this book also explores the difficulties of a gay man, the son of a knight, and his difficulties. There is also a bit of intrigue since of course England had utilized spies and there was a French resistance movement during the Occupation. The book is in many ways an essay of the moral dilemma surrounding truthfulness, hence the title. It essentially asks the question of when is it more honorable to withhold the absolute truth. I haven’t read a series of any sort since I finished the last Harry Potter back in 2008 or so. I’m really enjoying the feeling of truly getting to know the characters, how they view the world, how class and circumstances have affected them, and their relationships to the other characters. In a sense, they’ve become friends. Overall, I have found this book very satisfying and would definitely recommend it to a friend. Now, I'm off to start her new book, Messenger of Truth. Good Reading to all!
December 26, 2023
This is the third in the series and they get better as they go. While I found the first too heavy on backstory,this one moves along At the end of the audio-book, there was a ten minute interview with the author who said she had always done non-fiction.
She was stuck in a traffic jam in London when Maisie walked up out of the underground and appeared to Winspear almost fully realized. There were scenes that came to her while she was writing the first book, that she knew belong in the second or third.
This one takes place in 1930 -- so it is considerably after the Great War. Nonetheless, two of her three cases involve that war's Listenedaftermath and she must travel to old battlefields. The author, whose grandfather was seriously injured in the Battle of the Somme, also travels to those battlefields.
I found the final scene, on the anniversary of Armistice Day, to be exceptionally moving.
Some reviewers complain that she spends too much time on the character's attire, Maisie's MG, buildings and furnishing, but in the interview she commented that she uses those detail to "anchor" the scenes in time.
Listened to this time. The woman who narrates her books has a pleasant voice easy to listen to, I had firest read it more than ten years ago and really didn't remember it, so it was a pleasant "new" read..
She was stuck in a traffic jam in London when Maisie walked up out of the underground and appeared to Winspear almost fully realized. There were scenes that came to her while she was writing the first book, that she knew belong in the second or third.
This one takes place in 1930 -- so it is considerably after the Great War. Nonetheless, two of her three cases involve that war's Listenedaftermath and she must travel to old battlefields. The author, whose grandfather was seriously injured in the Battle of the Somme, also travels to those battlefields.
I found the final scene, on the anniversary of Armistice Day, to be exceptionally moving.
Some reviewers complain that she spends too much time on the character's attire, Maisie's MG, buildings and furnishing, but in the interview she commented that she uses those detail to "anchor" the scenes in time.
Listened to this time. The woman who narrates her books has a pleasant voice easy to listen to, I had firest read it more than ten years ago and really didn't remember it, so it was a pleasant "new" read..
February 21, 2013
I picked this up on a whim because I thought I'd give Maisie Dobbs one more chance (I was really annoyed with the last book, but I really love historical mysteries and want to love this series). On the plus side, Maisie herself was a LOT less irritating and condescending this time around (in other words, I didn't want to punch her every five pages, like last time). Unfortunately, the new-age, woo bullshit is just utterly pervasive in this one, with Maurice babbling on philosophically to distraction, and so I have to give up on this series. The actual mysteries in these books are interesting, as they are tied to post-WWI England, but the meditation/woo/sensing-"hands"-on-backs nonsense just utterly ruins this for me.
August 12, 2017
I tried.
I was miffed in the previous book which felt poorly planned. I was hoping this one was better, but it ended up being a book I loved to hate. Aside from the "solve by aura" approach, how every case has to do with her tragic past, and the clunky integration of spiritualism, I lost it with Maise. I get it, Dobbs, you were in a war 20 years ago. That is basically the only detail about your character. So maybe get a hobby or a cat and move on?
On the ground was a used band-aid. "I was a nurse...once," Maisie whispers as a single tear crawls down her cheek. She remembered the War, and will continue to remember it every 30 pages or so.
By the third book in her series, I'm sure Winspear has assembled her fan base. That just doesn't include me.
I was miffed in the previous book which felt poorly planned. I was hoping this one was better, but it ended up being a book I loved to hate. Aside from the "solve by aura" approach, how every case has to do with her tragic past, and the clunky integration of spiritualism, I lost it with Maise. I get it, Dobbs, you were in a war 20 years ago. That is basically the only detail about your character. So maybe get a hobby or a cat and move on?
On the ground was a used band-aid. "I was a nurse...once," Maisie whispers as a single tear crawls down her cheek. She remembered the War, and will continue to remember it every 30 pages or so.
By the third book in her series, I'm sure Winspear has assembled her fan base. That just doesn't include me.
April 24, 2021
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!
March 20, 2023
YOUTUBE / INSTAGRAM
Esta tercera parte de Maisie Dobbs sigue en la línea de los anteriores:
-Una protagonista detective muy poco convencional con unos métodos de investigación de lo más peculiares. No obstante, creo que esta investigación sí se guía un poco menos por ese instinto, por ese pálpito medio místico que la caracteriza y distingue. Y creo que eso a mí me ha gustado más, que sea un poco menos mística y más racional (aunque siga siendo teniendo esa esencia, claro).
Por otro lado, a veces me da la sensación de que la autora retiene demasiada información, con lo cual el lector lo tiene más difícil que en otros libros. De repente te presenta la solución a una parte de la trama y en muchas ocasiones esa solución viene propiciada por una corazonada de Maisie más que por una pista a disposición del lector.
-Las consecuencias de la Primera Guerra Mundial siguen siendo muy relevantes, como en los libros anteriores y, estoy segura, en los siguientes. Siempre vemos, desde un ángulo u otro, los daños colaterales que persisten aún tras el final del conflicto y lo mucho que sigue alterando y condicionando la vida de las personas. Me gusta ver cómo el enfoque cambia en cada libro para ofrecerte diferentes perspectivas de los afectados, además de la de la propia Maisie, que fue enfermera en Francia durante la guerra. En esta ocasión, el caso es doblemente personal para Maisie porque regresa a Francia y por cierta persona implicada en una de los dos investigaciones paralelas que lleva a cabo nuestra detective.
Y confieso que esta temática de la guerra me hace replantearme si seguir con la saga, al menos, por el momento. No me malinterpretéis, es un tema importantísimo y relevante, pero es un tema tan serio y trascendental que no sé si me conviene en este momento, en el que uso la lectura principalmente como vía de escape y que necesito que sea sobre todo fuente de felicidad. Estos libros son cozy mystery, pero no dejan esa sensación de corazón calentito o ligereza que me gusta a mí. Ya digo, por el tema que tratan. Está genial tener variedad y entiendo por qué a otras personas les están fascinando, pero creo que quizás no sean tan ideales para mí.
Esta tercera parte de Maisie Dobbs sigue en la línea de los anteriores:
-Una protagonista detective muy poco convencional con unos métodos de investigación de lo más peculiares. No obstante, creo que esta investigación sí se guía un poco menos por ese instinto, por ese pálpito medio místico que la caracteriza y distingue. Y creo que eso a mí me ha gustado más, que sea un poco menos mística y más racional (aunque siga siendo teniendo esa esencia, claro).
Por otro lado, a veces me da la sensación de que la autora retiene demasiada información, con lo cual el lector lo tiene más difícil que en otros libros. De repente te presenta la solución a una parte de la trama y en muchas ocasiones esa solución viene propiciada por una corazonada de Maisie más que por una pista a disposición del lector.
-Las consecuencias de la Primera Guerra Mundial siguen siendo muy relevantes, como en los libros anteriores y, estoy segura, en los siguientes. Siempre vemos, desde un ángulo u otro, los daños colaterales que persisten aún tras el final del conflicto y lo mucho que sigue alterando y condicionando la vida de las personas. Me gusta ver cómo el enfoque cambia en cada libro para ofrecerte diferentes perspectivas de los afectados, además de la de la propia Maisie, que fue enfermera en Francia durante la guerra. En esta ocasión, el caso es doblemente personal para Maisie porque regresa a Francia y por cierta persona implicada en una de los dos investigaciones paralelas que lleva a cabo nuestra detective.
Y confieso que esta temática de la guerra me hace replantearme si seguir con la saga, al menos, por el momento. No me malinterpretéis, es un tema importantísimo y relevante, pero es un tema tan serio y trascendental que no sé si me conviene en este momento, en el que uso la lectura principalmente como vía de escape y que necesito que sea sobre todo fuente de felicidad. Estos libros son cozy mystery, pero no dejan esa sensación de corazón calentito o ligereza que me gusta a mí. Ya digo, por el tema que tratan. Está genial tener variedad y entiendo por qué a otras personas les están fascinando, pero creo que quizás no sean tan ideales para mí.
July 31, 2024
2024 Review
I've had much to grieve in the five years since I first read this book, and this book remains cathartic for me--comforting without being easy.
2019 Review
A deeper installment into the Maisie Dobbs series. One thing I appreciate about Winspear is her grasp of the legacy of war on individuals, communities, and societies. This volume has more catharsis than the first two, and yet provides a solid foundation for future stories.
I've had much to grieve in the five years since I first read this book, and this book remains cathartic for me--comforting without being easy.
2019 Review
A deeper installment into the Maisie Dobbs series. One thing I appreciate about Winspear is her grasp of the legacy of war on individuals, communities, and societies. This volume has more catharsis than the first two, and yet provides a solid foundation for future stories.
January 20, 2023
Somehow I can't get sucked in by Maisie Dobbs, despite my wanting to because of the period settings for the mysteries.
This third one has a weary plot that rambles disjointedly on and then produces something extra that I can't get to grips with at the end. All in all a disappointment. I might just try another at a later date; there again, I might not!
This third one has a weary plot that rambles disjointedly on and then produces something extra that I can't get to grips with at the end. All in all a disappointment. I might just try another at a later date; there again, I might not!
December 6, 2017
Onvan : Pardonable Lies (Maisie Dobbs, #3) - Nevisande : Jacqueline Winspear - ISBN : 312426216 - ISBN13 : 9780312426217 - Dar 359 Safhe - Saal e Chap : 2005
August 2, 2016
My fifth Masie Dobbs novel and the best so far containing some fantastic and intricate plotting as Masie investigates two cases at the same time, with red herrings, secrets and intrigue. (I don’t want to say too much about the actual story as it would spoil the experience of it unravelling as you read.)
Although I can’t confirm the veracity of the historical context and information, Jacqueline Winspear, as always, seems to do a fantastic job of creating 1930’s England, with references not only to WWI, the fashions of the time and the look and feel of London, but to the political and cultural events of the time - here there are some poignant references to a guy called Adolf.
This novel in the series becomes very personal to Masie as she returns to France where she was stationed as a nurse and the scene in the graveyard is especially emotive. The role of psychics after the First World War is also part of the novel and brings up an element of all that death that I hadn’t given much prior thought to. I seem to never tire of reading about the fictional experiences of the major wars as a way of gaining insight into individual experiences, as I believe we should never forget those same, very real individuals, who lived through that time.
Many of the usual suspects are featured in this book; Maurice, Billy, Priscilla but others such as Masie’s father and Inspector Stratton play a more minor role. This is very much Masie’s book, opening up old wounds, testing friendships and providing a thrilling read.
Although I can’t confirm the veracity of the historical context and information, Jacqueline Winspear, as always, seems to do a fantastic job of creating 1930’s England, with references not only to WWI, the fashions of the time and the look and feel of London, but to the political and cultural events of the time - here there are some poignant references to a guy called Adolf.
This novel in the series becomes very personal to Masie as she returns to France where she was stationed as a nurse and the scene in the graveyard is especially emotive. The role of psychics after the First World War is also part of the novel and brings up an element of all that death that I hadn’t given much prior thought to. I seem to never tire of reading about the fictional experiences of the major wars as a way of gaining insight into individual experiences, as I believe we should never forget those same, very real individuals, who lived through that time.
Many of the usual suspects are featured in this book; Maurice, Billy, Priscilla but others such as Masie’s father and Inspector Stratton play a more minor role. This is very much Masie’s book, opening up old wounds, testing friendships and providing a thrilling read.
August 8, 2012
I have long intended to read this series, because it was recommended by a respected GR Friend.I was going to start with #1; but this book jumped out at me from the shelf in the library. How could I deny it a chance? (I hope that I don't regret starting at #3!)
********************************************
As I had feared, I think I should not have started with Book 3 of this series. I cannot say much about this novel because it did not move me. As most of my friends know, I do enjoy mysteries, but I would not classify this as a more compelling read.
One of my problems was that I did not gain much appreciation for Masie. She was too cool, emotionless and restrained. It would have been nice to see her become more invigorated by some of the events which surrounded her. I also felt that her sense of intuition was barely credible. This would include the final solution of one of the criminal activities in the story.
Winspear did impart a good sense of the period and the atmosphere rather well. Many times I lost the thread of the tale when she introduced another one of the many characters.
It was a fairly pleasant interlude reading Winspear's opus, but I wonder if I would feel differently if I returned to Episode #1?
********************************************
As I had feared, I think I should not have started with Book 3 of this series. I cannot say much about this novel because it did not move me. As most of my friends know, I do enjoy mysteries, but I would not classify this as a more compelling read.
One of my problems was that I did not gain much appreciation for Masie. She was too cool, emotionless and restrained. It would have been nice to see her become more invigorated by some of the events which surrounded her. I also felt that her sense of intuition was barely credible. This would include the final solution of one of the criminal activities in the story.
Winspear did impart a good sense of the period and the atmosphere rather well. Many times I lost the thread of the tale when she introduced another one of the many characters.
It was a fairly pleasant interlude reading Winspear's opus, but I wonder if I would feel differently if I returned to Episode #1?
March 5, 2023
Con cada nueva entrega de la serie la calidad sube y sube. Me encanta Maisie!
January 7, 2026
I loved this!! The ending made me cry when Andrew reads the poem on November 11 with the crowd at the war memorial. Picking up this series again after reading Cynthia Harrod-Eagles’ WWI series has been serendipitous. I feel much more deeply how traumatizing WWI was for everyone; my context of the history is much broader and deeper. This novel explores it exquisitely with the various cases Maisie is involved in, her commission from her friend Priscilla, her friendship with her mentor, and Maisie’s own sustained griefs from the war. I love her friendship with Priscilla and how that whole situation worked out. I also love Maisie’s ongoing grief for her mother’s death. I have learned in my own life that grief is indeed ongoing—it becomes a kind of companion, sometimes more present and sometimes less. I love the exploration in this novel that we may heal from something hard and then as we grow and change, that hard thing may need more layers of healing and care. Such a humane novel. I love the title too and how the idea of lying is explored. I think Maisie had a lot of wisdom in her decisions. I’m definitely going to keep reading the series.
December 11, 2025
I read the 2nd book in this series last year and really enjoyed it (not realizing at the time is was a series). I enjoyed this, the 3rd, in the series as well. I will definitely be reading #4. I love the descriptions of the clothes women wore in this time period (the 30s). I don’t mind reading books that have violence but it is refreshing to read a mystery without swearing, gore, etc., just an old fashioned mystery. Like I mentioned in my review of book #2, these remind me of Masterpiece Mystery on PBS. Maise Dobbs had two cases to solve in this installment and also helped police with another case. Can’t wait to see what she’s up against next.
March 27, 2018
I have one chapter left and I literally don't care how it ends.
I meant to give up after the second book but thought the series would make a tolerable audiobook.
Except I can't stand Maisie.
The motivations for her behaviors make no sense in the context of her character; meanwhile she manages to always, always say and do the exact right thing.
I'm sick of hearing about how she folded her hands in her lap or picked up a cup with one hand and laid the other hand flat on the table or brushed her left hand slowly along her forehead and then leaned back…
I'm sick of "Maisie shook her head"—Google it, it's like 30 times per book.
And obviously the unexplained, even in the context of the world of the book, woo-woo is laughable.
#abandoned
I meant to give up after the second book but thought the series would make a tolerable audiobook.
Except I can't stand Maisie.
The motivations for her behaviors make no sense in the context of her character; meanwhile she manages to always, always say and do the exact right thing.
I'm sick of hearing about how she folded her hands in her lap or picked up a cup with one hand and laid the other hand flat on the table or brushed her left hand slowly along her forehead and then leaned back…
I'm sick of "Maisie shook her head"—Google it, it's like 30 times per book.
And obviously the unexplained, even in the context of the world of the book, woo-woo is laughable.
#abandoned
September 22, 2014
This is the third in the Maisie Dobbs series, which I am enjoying. They are a light and easy read, which is sometimes just what my mind needs!! I'm not overly interested in the Eastern mystical elements of Maisie Dobbs novels, but I enjoy reading about the inter-World-War period and it's always nice to read a book with a strong female main character - although Maisie is not as strong in this one, since she has to deal with some demons from the past which leave her rather vulnerable.
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