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Praise for PARDONABLE LIES
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“A sleuth to treasure.”
--Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review
"An intriguing mystery about the fates of people who fought in World War I. . . . Maisie's most assured outing to date. As has been the case in all three books in this series, the mood and atmosphere of the period ring with authenticity, and the class tension that underlies many of Maisie's dealings lends the narrative extra sparkle."
--David Lazarus, San Francisco Chronicle
(Also listed in the SF Chronicle as one of 10 “Gift Books for the Holidays”)
"Her books are less whodunits than why-dunits, more P.D. James than Agatha Christie. Although the plots center on solving murders, the crimes are rooted in the turmoil and enormous social changes created by the First World War."
--USA Today
“A detective series to savor.”
--Johanna McGeary, Time
“For readers yearning for the calm and insightful intelligence of a main character like P.D. James’s Cordelia Gray, Maisie Dobbs is spot on.”
--Hallie Ephron, Boston Globe
“A thrilling mystery that will enthrall fans of Jacqueline Winspear’s heroine and likely win her new ones . . . It’s a tricky walk, to engage readers with a remarkable character, then hook them with a well-plotted mystery . . . Winspear’s follow-through is fantastic, taking readers places they know they’ll go in different, understated ways.”
--Ron Bernas, Detroit Free Press
“Fantastic. Think of Miss Marple, younger, prettier and not tied to St. Mary Mead . . . There are no coincidences, smart bits of female intuition or any other tricks. I couldn’t put the book down and rushed out right away to get the other two. Maisie Dobbs is a joy.”
--Margaret Cannon, Toronto Globe and Mail
"Agatha-winner Winspear’s engrossing third Maisie Dobbs novel maintains the high quality of its predecessors . . . Filled with convincing, multifaceted 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, enriching the whole with vivid details of English life on a variety of social levels."
--Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Who would have thought it? A prim 1930s gumshoe is one of the freshest, most modern heroines in recent memory. With the third installment in author Jacqueline Winspear’s mystery series, Maisie Dobbs takes her place in the upper echelon of literary female detectives, right next to Kinsey Milhone and Kay Scarpetta . . . Rich with historical detail and packing several interwoven mysteries for Maisie to untangle, Pardonable Lies is as stylish as a whodunit gets.”
--Amy Scribner, Bookpage
“Fans of Miss Marple and Precious Ramotswe are sure to embrace Maisie, a pitch-perfect blend of compassion and panache.”
--Allison Block, Booklist (starred review)
“Will thoroughly delight existing fans and should garner her new ones . . . Winspear carefully crafts each sentence, building toward a thrilling and emotional conclusion . . . Highly recommended.”
--Library Journal (starred review)
“Jacqueline Winspear has opened the eyes of many American readers to a forgotten world . . . Pardonable Lies, the third Maisie Dobbs book, goes beyond this kind of late “Upstairs, Downstairs” domestic drama to present psychologically sound mysteries with very real characters . . . Winspear excels in depicting trauma, the kind of long-term grief that characters, particularly her restrained Britons, express only in a gesture or a word.”
--Clea Simon, Boston Globe
“The third in an excellent series . . . Winspear again treats us to a story broad in scope and rich in detail and suspense.”
--Patti Eby, Orange County Register
“Jacqueline Winspear’s historical mysteries prove exactly what this subgenre can achieve, offering a prism of the past and a mirror of the future . . . Winspear’s first two novels have garnered numerous awards and even more nominations because of her graceful writing, involving plots and an intelligent heroine. She follows that path again in Pardonable Lies . . . Fascinating. Winspear expertly builds Pardonable Lies to a crescendo, illustrating why these two men mattered when so many were lost.”
--Oline H. Cogdill, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
“Maisie is immediately captivating…What’s really good, though, is the writing and the way Winspear thinks about things. Dobbs ponders the mysteries of life as well as the mysteries she is hired to solve . . . For a supposedly mere detective novel, the book is surprisingly eloquent, even moving.”
--Sandy Bauers, Knight Ridder News Service
“A fine examination of a young woman making her way mid the economic and social dislocations of 1930s Britain . . . Strip away the genre’s trappings, and Pardonable Lies is a reflection, a meditation even, on how those of us who have experienced war carry with us the scars that can reopen in an instant.”
--Bill Peschel, The Patriot-News
“Throughout this well-written, interesting book Maisie displays both courage and sensitivity as she learns more about herself and others. Pardonable Lies is the third book in the Maisie Dobbs series, and this is a young woman worth getting to know.”
--Molly Adams, Mystery Scene
“A singular heroine . . . To give an idea of how much I liked Pardonable Lies, I immediately went to my local bookstore and ordered the first two in the series. Long live Maisie Dobbs!”
--Dianan Vickery, Mystery News
“If you haven’t read the Maisie Dobbs stories, you are missing a treat.”
--Martha Bone, Maysville Ledger Independent
“An unusual detective . . . Maisie Dobbs is a likable character who shows a lot of courage and intelligence. But she’s definitely not your grandmother’s kind of detective . . . The picture Winspear paints of England in the 1930s will captivate many and is one of the delights of this book.”
--Nancy Gilmore, Fredericksburg Free-Lance Star
Praise for MAISIE DOBBS
“Prepare to be astonished at the sensitivity and wisdom with which Maisie resolves her first professional assignment . . . Winspear takes her through her ordeal with great compassion -- and the promise of brighter days ahead.”
--Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review
“A startlingly original debut.”
--Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review (in a short review of Birds of a Feather)
“A quirky literary creation. If you cross-pollinated Vera Brittain’s classic World War I memoir, Testament of Youth, with Dorothy Sayers Harriet Vane mysteries and a dash of the old PBS series “Upstairs, Downstairs,” you’d approximate the peculiar range of topics and tones within this novel.”
--Maureen Corrigan, Fresh Air
"[Catches] the sorrow of a lost generation in the character of one exceptional woman."
--Chicago Tribune
"A winning character about whom readers will want to read more."
--The Associated Press
“Satisfying . . . We look forward to many more return visits to the world of Maisie Dobbs.”
--Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News
“[An] inspired debut novel, a delightful mix of mystery, war story and romance set in WWI-era England . . . [Winspear is] a new writer to watch.”
--Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“A poignant and compelling story that explores war’s lingering and insidious impact on its survivors.”
--Caroline Hallsworth, Library Journal (starred)
“The perfect heroine for this atmospheric mystery -- smart and self-reliant, but also vulnerable . . . wonderful debut . . . I hope Maisie is around for a long, long time.”
--Kristine Kaufman, Ponca City News
Praise for BIRDS OF A FEATHER
“In times of war, it has always fallen to women to bind up the wounded and bury the dead. The Great War is over but the women’s work is never done in Jacqueline Winspear’s haunting novels, set in England before and after World War I . . . What makes Maisie such a remarkable operative is the holistic philosophy that informs her humane methods . . . a heroine to cherish.”
--Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review
“As with Winspear’s first novel, Maisie Dobbs, much of the pleasure of being with Maisie lies in the underlying class conflict that permeates her world.”
--David Lazarus, San Francisco Chronicle
“In that novel [Maisie Dobbs] and now in its engrossing successor, Birds of a Feather, Maisie does what every detective does: she questions witnesses, tracks leads, gathers clues. Yet these works, best read together, are something more than conventional crime stories spiced with period detail . . . Birds of a Feather succeeds both as a suspenseful mystery and as a picture of a time and place . . . Maisie’s liveliness of mind, good sense, and kind nature make her a heroine a reader can enjoy spending time with, and make the next installment in the series something to anticipate with pleasure.”
--Judith Maas, Boston Globe
“Enhanced by elegant prose and a strong period flavor.”
--Kirkus
“The eponymous heroine of Winspear’s promising debut, Maisie Dobbs, continues to beguile in this chilling, suspenseful sequel . . . intelligent and absorbing.”
--Publishers Weekly
“Sinking into a novel this good is as satisfying as sinking into a good leather chair: we know we are in for the duration, and it feels right.”
--GraceAnne A. DeCandido, Booklist |
