Reviews

Pardonable Lies by Jacqueline Winspear

ell_jay_em7's review against another edition

5.0

I love Maisie Dobbs! This is the mystery genre at its most tender, compassionate, and wise. I'm always deeply moved by these stories.

alidottie's review against another edition

4.0

4.5 stars
I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I loved all the mysteries each solved as the story continued. It was so much more satisfying than one mystery that is wrapped up amounted before you finish the book. Those mysteries always feel so abrupt and so it was delightful to enjoy this style.

chaz_dickens's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious sad tense fast-paced

4.5

danileighta's review against another edition

4.0

I continue to love this series. This book was unique thus far in that Maisie showed much more emotion, breaking down upon returning to the site where she was injured in France. This came at the end of the book, and honestly just in time, as I was starting to feel the.... disconnectedness of Maisie Dobbs. She's such a great character in so many ways. She is brave, intelligent, curious, contemplative, and kind, but she shows very little of herself in this series so far. She is generous with her descriptions of OTHERS, but not so much with her own internal landscape. I hope that deepened sense of who she is continues as the series progresses. There is also a surprise with her mentor, Maurice, that was an interesting twist that, again, I hope is explored a bit more.

baronvonwaffle's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful informative mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

thebrainlair's review against another edition

4.0

Ended up switching to book on this one because the audio was abridged. This one was so very sad. When Maisie goes to the cemetery of the casualty site where she was stationed - tears. I still had a few questions, mainly about Arvil Jarvis' past and the doctors who'd looked at her. Wonder if we'll learn more about that in later books. Still enjoying this series very much.

melissa_who_reads's review against another edition

4.0

Am enjoying this series quite a bit. The serious end deals with the aftermath of war -- which is quite profound after a disaster of a war like World War 1. Even more than 10 years later, the war is still having consequences for those still living -- and fresh wounds are opened up, grief is relived. Maisie is hired to confirm the death of a lawyer's son -- and though it is leading her to re-open some of her own fears and scars from the war, she continues, having traded her work for the lawyer's agreement to defend a fourteen-year-old accused of murdering her "uncle," a pimp who was prostituting her out. Meanwhile, her old school friend Priscilla asks her to look into the death of Pris' eldest brother, about which she knows nothing. The cases intertwine, the secret intelligence service is involved, and there is a spiritualist element involved. Maisie's life is in danger, and her bonds to her mentor are strained and tested.

kitdunsmore's review against another edition

4.0

Another Maisie Dobbs' mystery that has you wondering as much about how the investigion is going to affect the "detective" as it does about what really happened. This episode is particularly emotional and does an excellent job of conveying the colossal waste of war by showing how everyone struggles to heal afterwards.

mnstucki's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

4.0

My favorite Maisie Dobbs novel so far! A little more detective work, a little less woo-woo than the previous two books. Multiple mysteries running alongside each other makes this book move along at a good clip.

michelleloretta's review against another edition

3.0

I keep reading these because I love the setting (London in the 1930s) and the characters. Easy to dig into and a nice palate cleanser from other intense books. The mysteries are well-assembled.