Pardonable Lies ~ Jacqueline Winspear

Genre: Adult Fiction/Mystery
Publisher: Picador
384 pages
ISBN: 9780312426217
Source: Book store

The emotional and physical fallout from World War One had hardly the concrete closure it can hold, today. The absence of technological identification, digital records or micro chips made it a bit open ended in the days after the conflict ended. Because of the confusion, so many families of all backgrounds, were left wondering if their loved ones could still be alive and well after the dust cleared.

Cecil Lawson’s wife went to her death-bed, begging of her husband to ensure that their son, Ralph , be found as she was sure that the reports were wrong.Though he is convinced that his, fairly estranged, son, went down in a fiery flame, he feels his duty to his deceased darling holds enough weight to call on Maisie for answers.

As the case begins to take shape, Maisie reconnects with her old Girton pal, Pris, who also needs a little Maisie moxie in a similar, ahem, field. Through psychics, psychos, small towns and big secrets, Pardonable Lies is a whirlwind of a story that, I’ll admit to loving the most of the three I’ve read, thus far.

The ideas behind this story are incredibly more complex than the, what I can only describe as surface, issues of the previous two books. Class, identity, family secrets and sinister struggles for power are all things I hold dear to my heart when it comes to my favorite things to read.

I loved the re-entrance of Priscilla, though, Billy had less of a role in this story. Hopefully we’ll see more of him in the next few. I will say that I’m a little guarded about reading the next volume as I’ve heard it’s a bit luke-warm. It seems to take on a completely new subject but one that I love more than war: art! Stay tuned!