The Maisie Dobbs series: Pardonable Lies / Messenger of Truth / An Incomplete Revenge

by Jacqueline Winspear

The Maisie Dobbs series books 3,4,5

Maisie Dobbs, the renowned psychologist and investigator, has taken on some diverse cases in her time. In Pardonable Lies, she receives an unusual request. She must prove that Sir Cecil Lawton’s son Ralph really is dead. In Messenger of Truth, when the death of a controversial artist is labelled an open and shut accidental death, Maisie accepts his sister’s appeal to discover the truth. In An Incomplete Revenge an apparently straightforward of assignment to investigate a potential land purchase becomes fraught with theft and arson, Maisie must draw upon all her skills of detection to solve an intriguing case.

Genres: Mystery

852 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 12, 2019

About the author

Jacqueline Winspear was born and raised in the county of Kent, England. Following higher education at the University of London’s Institute of Education, Jacqueline worked in academic publishing, in higher education and in marketing communications in the UK.

She emigrated to the United States in 1990, and while working in business and as a personal / professional coach, Jacqueline embarked upon a life-long dream to be a writer.

A regular contributor to journals covering international education, Jacqueline has published articles in women's magazines and has also recorded her essays for KQED radio in San Francisco. She currently divides her time between Ojai and the San Francisco Bay Area and is a regular visitor to the United Kingdom and Europe.

Jacqueline is the author of the New York Times bestsellers A Lesson in Secrets, The Mapping of Love and Death, Among the Mad, and An Incomplete Revenge, and other nationally bestselling Maisie Dobbs novels. She has won numerous awards for her work, including the Agatha, Alex,
and Macavity awards for the first book in the series, Maisie Dobbs, which was also nominated for the Edgar Award for best novel and was a New York Times
Notable Book.

Series:
* Maisie Dobbs

http://us.macmillan.com/author/jacque...

Reviews

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read leaves you guessing until the end.

[Adrienne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book because of the message of Spring, rebirth and new beginnings. Maisie is coming out of her breakdown and moving forward in a positive way. This case was sort of the first step as the "new" Maisie. It was entertaining and fun, but it really dragged sometimes. There were sections of the book that I really struggled to get through but ultimately I did have enough motivation to finish it.

I strongly dislike when the reader doesn't have the chance to solve the mystery along with the detective. I like to be able to pick up clues and discover them and hear the detective's take on them as well. We got the clues, the killer was someone I had in my top two possible candidates. But nothing built up to the "ah-ha" moment. The actions that Maisie took to reveal the identity of the killer was very poorly done, in my opinion. Maisie had a secret plan that would catch the criminal, but we didn't see her reasoning, we didn't see when she knew who it was, we didn't see her thought process in creating the trap. She had two very long conversations with Georgina and Stratton at critical moments when she asked them to take part in the trap. She kept the killer hidden from them and I was extremely irritated when it was hidden to the reader as well. Both of those convos were like Maisie gloating "I know the killer and you don't!! I'm such a great detective and you aren't! You're too emotional (Georgina) and logical (Stratton) to get it but I did!!!" Very, very upset at those two conversations.

There was also a huge amount of time spent on Maisie discovering her new self and solidifying and accepting her way of life and life choices. I enjoyed that, even though it wasn't part of the central mystery.

Spoiler: there was a conflict with the killer. The death itself wasn't a murder, it was an accident that ended up with a death. But when the killer came back to the "trap" he was so motivated as to want to burn the place down. That didn't seem to jive with the actions of an accidental death. I also thought setting that trap would catch a really motivated murderer, so Maisie was so sure that the killer would come to it. However, Maisie knew the identity of the killer, so the trap was a mislead to the reader, which I didn't appreciate. I understand that the art itself was so powerful that it was the real motivation for the "murder," the killer didn't want the art seen. However, it seemed so weak to base an entire book on, and the killer was out of jail in only months time because the death was an accident. It was just too reminiscent of the "it was just a dream" in some TV shows and movies.

Overall this was good and held my attention. I liked the parts about Maisie's growth and her life, and I will continue the series.

[Jana Schroeer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love listening to these audiobooks. The narrator is exceptional and I’m learning so much about 1920s-30s England. Perfect main character: Maisie Dobbs is intelligent, intuitive, compassionate and flawed.

[Paige Kuether · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the 4th I have read in the Maisie Dobbs mysteries and I think it is the best.

[Kerri · Rating 4 out of 5]

These mysteries have a wonderful mix of historical drama centered in post WW1 England, insight into the human psyche and a strong female character. I also really enjoy the audio narrator.

[Lynette Sykora · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like this series, good character development and story line set in post WWI. Like the realistic look at war's impact.