Skip to main content

Pardonable Lies (Maisie Dobbs #3) by Jacqueline Winspear: A Book Review

Pardonable Lies (Maisie Dobbs #3)
Author: Jacqueline Winspear
Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery 
Publisher: Picador
Release Date: 2006
Pages: 384
Source: My State Public Library
 Synopsis: London 1930, psychologist investigator Maisie Dobbs must prove Sir Cedric's aviator son Ralph Lawton died when shot down in 1917. In former battlefields of France, she re-unites with Priscilla Evernden, one of whose three brothers lost in the War is somehow connected. The case tests Maisie's spiritual strength and her regard for mentor Maurice Blanche.

      My Review: Maisie Dobbs is hired by Sir Cedric to find evidence that his son, Ralph Lawton, has been killed in the war. The case leads her to France, where her best friend Priscilla also asks her to find her brother’s lost grave. As Maisie journeys to France, she finds that the two cases are connected. As she delves deeper into the mysteries surrounding these two lost soldiers, Maisie begins to question her mentor, Maurice, with whom she holds in the highest regard.

     The cases for Maisie were tough on Her emotionally. Maisie follows their trail to France, where it forced her to remember the horrors she experienced as a nurse in WWI. Thus, this storyline was very fascinating to me because while Maisie is tough on the outside, she is still a very vulnerable woman who is suffering from the effects of the war. Therefore, Maisie was a very relatable woman that I could connect to. There were some parts that I didn’t like about her. She seemed to be avoiding her boyfriend, who generally seemed very concerned for her. I didn’t like the way she treated him, for she was very mean to him. Maisie could also have been unforgiving at times. Still, despite these unfavorable aspects of her character, Maisie seemed more sympathetic.

      Overall, this book shows the trauma and after effects of WWI for all those involved. While Maisie was well-rounded, I would have liked more development of the supporting characters, such as Maurice and Andrew. I also thought the mysteries were predictable. However, I found Priscilla's to be more intriguing than Sir Cedric’s case. So far, these mysteries have been very compelling. The only thing that I don’t like about the series is how she solves the cases. She doesn’t solve them through logic, but through spiritualism. It feels very modern to me and a very lazy form of writing for Maisie to use her imagination of what happened to solve the cases. Despite this concern, I can’t wait to read the fourth book in the Maisie Dobbs series, Messenger of Truth. 
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars


 

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Guest Post: The Ladies-in-Waiting: Lady Isabel Baynton by Alexandra Walsh

    Today's guest writer is Alexandra Walsh. She is the author of The Catherine Howard Conspiracy , which is a historical thriller surrounding the infamous Tudor queen. In this guest post, Mrs. Walsh discusses the life of Catherine's lady-in-waiting, Isabel Baynton. This post will be sure to fascinate fans of Tudor era. If you enjoy her post, please pick up a copy of The Catherine Howard Conspiracy ! Thank you, Mrs. Walsh! The Ladies-in-Waiting – Lady Isabel Baynton by Alexandra Walsh     One of the most enjoyable things about writing an historical novel is discovering the tiny details that make the period real on the page. While I was researching The Catherine Howard Conspiracy , I spent a great deal of time hunting out the life stories of the women who surrounded the young queen in order to create a group of realistic friends and confidants.       There are some well-known names linked with Catherine and her downfall: Lady Jane Boleyn,...
Post a Comment
Read more

Guest Post by Aleksey Linetskiy: The Women Behind the Klondike Story

       Today's guest writer is Aleksey Linetskiy. He is the co-author of Finch and Hawk:   The Klondike Letters , which is a unique yearly subscription in which the reader reads a story by mail. In this guest post, he introduces us to a few historical women of the Klondike era. Some of these women are Alice Freeman, Flora Shaw, and Helen Dare. Thank you, Mr. Linetskiy! The Women Behind the Klondike Story        Before we began writing Finch and Hawk: The Klondike Letters , my partner, Alona Umansky, and I spent a great deal of time researching the Klondike Gold Rush. We were interested in finding the stories of people who maybe didn’t become rich and famous but still went through the experience of a great stampede.  As we were reading the newspapers of the time and firsthand accounts, it became very clear to us that we wanted to tell at least part of the story through the women’s eyes. There were so many incredible women who underto...
3 comments
Read more

Daughter of Rome by Tessa Afshar: A Book Review

Daughter of Rome Author: Tessa Afshar Genre: Historical Fiction, Christian, Biblical Fiction, Romance Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers Release Date: 2020 Pages: 416 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis : A woman with a devastating secret. A man bent on proving his worth. A chance encounter that catapults them into the heart of history.      When the daughter of a prominent Roman general meets a disinherited Jewish immigrant, neither one can dream of God’s plan to transform them into the most influential couple of the early church. Nor can they anticipate the mountains that will threaten to bury them. Their courtship unwittingly shadowed by murder and betrayal, Priscilla and Aquila slowly work to build a community of believers, while their lives grow increasingly complicated thanks to a shaggy dog, a mysterious runaway, and a ruthless foe desperate for love. But when they’re banished from their home by a capricious emperor, th...
Post a Comment
Read more