Pardonable Lies

A Maisie Dobbs Novel

By: Jacqueline Winspear

Narrated by: Orlaugh Cassidy

Length: 10 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

In the third novel of this best-selling 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.

Don't miss other titles in the Maisie Dobbs series.

©2005 Jacqueline Winspear (P)2005 Audio Renaissance, LLC

Critic reviews

"Agatha-winner Winspear's engrossing third Maisie Dobbs novel maintains the high quality of its predecessors....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." (Publishers Weekly)

Such suspense! Great Masie Dobbs novel

This book was more dramatic than the previous books, though in a good way! The interview with the author at the end of the audiobook was very enlightening

The books just keep getting better!

This book, which features 3 seemingly unconnected cases, gives new insight into the pain left by World War I even more than 10 years after the armistice. In it, Maisie works to discover the ultimate fate of two different men killed in the war, leading her to have to take a journey back to France, a place she has avoided since being severely wounded in a bombing of aid station where she had been a nurse and where the doctor she loved was given severe brain damage.

The cases force Maisie to face her past in a way she has avoided heretofore. In writing about this, Winspear pays meticulous attention to details of the era, making it come alive and revealing details of the cost of war that exist even 10 or more years later. For example, we are treated to views of the reconstruction of France. We see the grass and crops growing over former battlefields, disguising the locations of specific battle sites, while also we spot the detritus of war, shells and remnants of other machinery of war, on the sides of the roads, uncovered by farmers as they have worked the earth.

The mystery stories are very interesting, with the third case being the arrest of a young girl for murder. The insertion of the Secret Intelligence Service just serves to add further intrigue.

This book is one which I highly recommend. And the insightful interview with the author at the end of the book just adds value to this audio book!

Better Readers

Where does Pardonable Lies rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I like the Masie Dobbs series, but the previous books I enjoyed more. This reader was too breathy.

Excellent Series.

Love this series. Love seeing Maisie work through to the truthful conclusion for her client. Of course, she always discovers something enlightening about herself. Absolutely recommend the Maisie Dobbs books.

Not a fan of this narrator

Would you consider the audio edition of Pardonable Lies to be better than the print version?

As much as I enjoy this series, I will be reading the rest of the Maisie Dobbs books instead of listening to them. I loved Rita Barrington, the narrator of the first in the series. But Orlaugh Cassidy is completely grating - overdone, and overacted. Cassidy makes Maisie come across as arrogant and haughty. Her reading of the dialogue between Maisie and Priscilla is like nails on a chalkboard.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

This is an unusual mystery in that it is more character driven than plot driven. I am as interested in seeing how the characters interact than how the story ultimately ends.

Poignant, beautiful story set just after WW1.

This is much more than a detective story. Interwoven within a complex and well-crafted plotline is the emotional healing from trauma, in post-WW1 in England and France. Powerful.

Third Time’s the Charm

I listened to the first 2 Maisie Dobbs books and admit I nearly dropped the series. I found Maisie a little too perfect and some of the characters a little too much if caricatures — however, I’m glad I kept going because this one was great! And it’s a different and, in my opinion, better narrator. Will definitely keep reading Maisie Dobbs!

hooked

Hooked on these WW1 historical novels. interesting and complicated. Like a winding road in the mountains with lots of switchbacks. A delightful journey.

Heavy

Rather dismal, if touching. This book focuses on the terrible (emotional and economic) wounds and scars of “The Great War.” More detail than I remember from the prior books, and I felt it dragged the story down in spite of the multiple mysteries involved. I did enjoy the growth of various characters (including Maisie) and their relationships. The ending was thorough and satisfying. The narrator mispronounced names, words, and her accents weren’t good (French-ie, cockney, or cultured, no greater nuances than that). However, her diction was good and I could always tell who was talking.

love the development of Maisey

wonderful read. liked the narrator, unlike the 2nd novel. the 1st narrator was the best so far.