Pardonable lies, by Jacqueline Winspear

Having inadvertently read one of the engaging “Maisie Dobbs” series out of order, I am now going back to fill in some blanks. My admiration for the series has grown over time as Maisie herself grows. In this third outing, Maisie is engaged by a recently widowed man to find out whether or not his son, Ralph, really died during World War I. Although the father is himself fairly convinced of his missing son’s death, his late wife had refused to believe it true and it was her dying wish that he continue the search for a definitive answer. Meanwhile, Maisie’s good friend Priscilla, who lost three brothers in the war, finds that the youngest of them had a connection to the missing Ralph. These two stories, and Maisie’s mentor, Maurice’s, connection to them will try Maisie’s faith in Maurice. 359 pp.