Pardonable Lies

Winspear's elegant historical mystery features Maisie Dobbs, a dark horse heroine of indomitable spirit, who is able to cross class lines in 1930s' London. Winspear excels in depicting trauma, the kind of long-term grief that characters, particularly her restrained Britons, express only in a gesture or a word. Descriptions of body language are unsurpassed. Orlagh Cassidy's narration creates a unique voice for each character, which also projects the character's class. She is able to keep Maisie's accent unique and change it slightly as she interacts with a plethora of supporting characters. Her description of starting Maisie's MG anchors this novel in time; her description of Armistice Day makes clear the waste of war. K.A.T. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine

Starred review from July 25, 2005
Agatha-winner Winspear's engrossing third Maisie Dobbs novel maintains the high quality of its predecessors, Maisie Dobbs
(2003) and Birds of a Feather
(2004). In late 1930, the London "psychologist and investigator" gets involved in three cases: proving the innocence of a 13-year-old farm girl, Avril Jarvis, accused of murder; undertaking a search for Sir Cecil Lawton's only son, a pilot shot down behind enemy lines in WWI, whose body was never recovered; and looking into the circumstances of the death of her university friend Priscilla Evernden Partridge's brother in France during the war. Maisie must go back to the region where, 13 years earlier, she served as a nurse, and confront her memories of mud, blood and loss. Filled with convincing characters, this is a complex tale of healing, of truth and half-truth, of long-held secrets, some, perhaps, to be held forever. Winspear writes seamlessly, enriching the whole with vivid details of English life on a variety of social levels. Agent, Amy Rennert.
(Aug.)

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This is the third book in the Maisie Dobbs series, which is set in England after WWI. It is always a pleasure to listen to an author read when the performance is of high quality, and Jacqueline Winspear's efforts in blending historical fact, mystery, and romance from Maisie's point of view help us to appreciate all those who have not only survived war, but also made attempts to physically and emotionally rebuild their lives. Winspear smoothly communicates the seriousness of Maisie's challenges and conveys her hopes for the reconciliation of her life choices while she simultaneously works to resolve her clients' cases. S.K.P. (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine