All I can add is that Maisie Dobbs is a very enjoyable series.

maisie dobbs is a very likeable character, she got brains and emotions - this story, down memory lane, was a moving story, i really really loved it

4.25 stars
Pardonable Lies, by Jacqueline Winspear, is the third book in the Maisie Dobbs series and another enjoyable addition to these historical mysteries. I really enjoy Maisie and her clever, calm, calculating approach to solving crime. She is an independent, strong, intelligent woman, not prone to high emotions or whimsy, but a solid, kind-hearted, reasonable women with a clear conscience. I find her quite admirable, especially given the era in which she lived.

The mysteries are layered and at times, a challenge to follow, but always intriguing and not easy to solve. The setting is richly descriptive and plays a fundamental part in the stories. The history of the time is seamlessly woven into the fabric of the plot.

These stories may be somewhat dry to some, but I find them oddly comforting and I look forward to continuing on with Maisie and her adventures and watching her own personal story unfold.

I've now read seven of Winspear's Maisie Dobbs novels and, although I enjoyed all of them, this was one of the most satisfying.

Set in post WW1 Britain, Maisie was a battlefront nurse, injured during the war. The series takes us through her maturation and professional development as a psychologist and investigator. The strength of the series is the author's gift for recreating time and place. It doesn't take much imagination to stroll through post-war London and feel the pain of the families and the country that suffered so much in The Great War.

This book, the third in the series, really showcased Maisie's intelligence, sensitivity and rather inordinate sense of duty. She is one of those characters who is a bit too good to be true, but I know that as a reader I am totally swept into her universe.

Although they can be a little bit didactic at times (each book tends to include a social issue--this one was homosexuality), this series would be a wonderful way to introduce a young person into the study of history. The conflict in Europe; the development of the secret service; the lingering psychological damage on veterans; and a host of other topics are introduced seamlessly within these mystery stories. Well done, Ms. Winspear.

Excellent! Riveting mysteries, heartbreaking personal revelations, and a hopeful ending for all . . . With this book, I've finished my binge. I'm sad to say goodbye to Maisie but look forward to book 17 sometime next year!

Maisie Dobbs is such a likable character. She's strong, discerning, compassionate and yet haunted by her experiences of WWI. I thought I was reading book 2 in the series but this is #3. Happily they can be read out of order without feeling like I missed something. Jacqueline's writing style makes me want more. On on this detective kick. I've recently watched a batch of Miss Marple movies too. Maybe it's my car getting stolen that makes me crave the detective inside me to develop. Or that escaping into novels is my greatest source of comfort.

I've read about a third of this book and I just don't care anymore.

I can't warm to Maisie at all so far; after a promising first book, in vols 2-3 she seemed more like a cold-reader than a psychologist or investigator; all that changing her body posture to mimic the person she's talking to seems a lot like stage-mentalist manipulation after a while. She just seems very cold and self-involved; every case is really all about her, and here her shamanistic buddies basically tell her some wonderful force (she doesn't even know what or if she believes in) wants her to get over her traumas. I just wish she'd get over herself! And let's not even go into the woo-woo.
As for the mystery, I figured quite a lot of it out in the first third, and reading reviews and spoilers here tell me I was right. From about chapter 4, I had the strange impression I'd read it before, but know I haven't.
This book just isn't for me, and I wonder if I'm going to bother with any more of them. I keep reading comments that say "they get better, they get better" but my question is, when?

A wonderful addition to a thoroughly delightful and enjoyable series.

These are great books but this one didn’t capture my attention the way the first two did.

Maisie Dobbs is hired to help a man honor his late wife’s final wish, even though her new client seems more interested in fulfilling an obligation than in finding out what really happened to the son he lost in the war. The case takes Maisie back through her own past when she revisits her early spiritualist investigations, her old school friends, and the days she spent as a nurse in WWI era France.

It always takes me some time to settle in to the style of a new Maisie book. They have a very different feel than the other mysteries I read, both because of Maisie’s rich history and her unusual style of sleuthing. Like the other books in the series so far, this one is very well fitted into its time period. The character development also continues to stand out.

And like the others, it involves a certain level of coincidence. The book fully acknowledges this and even works it into the character’s philosophy. I enjoy these stories enough to go with that, but it still leaves me a little uncomfortable. There are a few hints at a deeper significance to these connections, so I’ll be interested to see if that goes anywhere.

There’s no real spark between Maisie and this book’s potential love interest, especially when compared with the portrayal of Simon from the first book. Even if Maisie seemed fully ready for another serious relationship, it’s hard for me to imagine it happening with any of the men currently in her life.

In this installment we see Maisie at her most vulnerable yet, as the past she’s kept away for so long crashes down on her. Her work is wearing her out, she’s been confronted by her inability to plan fully for her own future, and someone’s trying to kill her.

She’s got a lot on her plate professionally, too. She’s been tasked with definitely determining fates of two men lost in war, which leads her deep into some of the more secret British efforts in WWI. Maisie has also been pulled into an investigation by the police, where a young girl has been charged with murder.

The mysticism in this one was a central theme, which I’m uncertain about? I know some might mind Maisie’s spirituality, but I find it interesting, and it usually doesn’t impact the investigations themselves more than any ol’ instinct. But here it was much bigger.

A lot of balancing was required to pull off and connect the various threads, and I think that was done superbly. The author also has a knack for challenging and bringing depth to the whole cast. This novel, more than the previous, illustrated the reality of the 1930s - with ongoing efforts to heal from the previous war, as well as the stirring unease.

Probably the most memorable moment of the book for me was when Maisie idly overheard a hungover crew debating a certain Austrian’s new book and whether he will or won’t be good for Germany. Just innocent lunch conversation, with no inkling of the repercussions. Makes you wonder about your everyday, right?

El tercer libro de la serie, de lo más entretenido me ha gustado bastante y me ha tenido enganchada desde el principio a fin.

En esta entrega vamos conociendo un poco más de Massie Dobbs, que va cerrando heridas del pasado y haciendo las paces consigo misma.

En esta entrega se desarrollan 3 investigaciones, las cuales le llevará a viajar a Francia.