PARDONABLE LIES

Winspear's elegant historical mystery features Maisie Dobbs, a dark horse heroine of indomitable spirit, who is able to cross class lines in 1930s' London. 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. Descriptions of body language are unsurpassed. Orlagh Cassidy's narration creates a unique voice for each character, which also projects the character's class. She is able to keep Maisie's accent unique and change it slightly as she interacts with a plethora of supporting characters. Her description of starting Maisie's MG anchors this novel in time; her description of Armistice Day makes clear the waste of war. K.A.T. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine [Published: DEC 05/ JAN 06]