Book Review: Pardonable Lies by Jacqueline Winspear

By Angela Youngman Mar 12, 2006, 0:27 GMT

Set in 1930, this is the third in a critically acclaimed mystery series featuring Maisie Dobbs, a former maid who became a WWI nurse and then a psychologist/private investigator. Respected barrister Sir Cecil Lawton felt no particular affection for his son Ralph, but his wife, Agnes, was devastated when they received a report that Ralph\'s plane was shot down during the war. Despite all information to the contrary, Lady Agnes ...more

Another in the engaging series focusing on Maisie Dobbs. Based in London during the roaring Twenties; Maisie is still struggling to come to terms with life after the First World War when so many of her friends - as well as her own fiance - died or were seriously injured. Now she is asked to revisit those traumatic times so to find out whether Ralph Lawton is really dead.

His father believes it - but needs proof. To make matters harder, her best friend is seeking her help to find out what happened to her brother, lost during the war. To find answers, Maisie has to return to the battlefields of Northern France where she once served as a nurse. She has to exorcise her own ghosts even as she hunts for truth. Nothing is as it seems - especially when she finds that the secret services were involved in the lives of both young men. And of course - someone is trying to kill her. Is it linked to one of those cases or does it go much further back than that? Gentle, almost Miss Marplish in its style; it makes compelling reading.

Maisie Dobbs is a fascinating heroine. Still struggling with her own background while trying to make a life for herself in a man's world; Maisie works hard to solve mysteries that at first seem simple; yet become very complex.

Nice gentle reading, good for relaxing with. Once started, you cannot put it down!