Beginning ~ with a soulless room

"The young policewoman stood in the corner of the room.  Plain whitewashed walls, a heavy door, a wooden table with two chairs, and one small window with frosted glass rendered the room soulless."

Pardonable Lies ~ by Jacqueline Winspear, 2005, mystery (England)

In the third novel of this bestselling series, London investigator Maisie Dobbs faces grave danger as she returns to the site of her most painful WWI memories to resolve the mystery of a pilot's death.  A deathbed plea from his wife leads Sir Cecil Lawton to seek the aid of Maisie Dobbs, psychologist and investigator.  As Maisie soon learns, Agnes Lawton never accepted that her aviator son was killed in the Great War, a torment that led her not only to the edge of madness but to the doors of those who practice the dark arts and commune with the spirit world.  In accepting the assignment, Maisie finds her spiritual strength tested, as well as her regard for her mentor, Maurice Blanche.  The mission also brings her together once again with her college friend Priscilla Evernden, who served in France and who lost three brothers to the war ― one of whom, it turns out, had an intriguing connection to the missing Ralph Lawton.

Yes, I'll keep reading.  There are (so far) fifteen books in this series, which can be read separately as stand-alone novels.  This is the third, and all of the series are on the shelf in our little Crown Center library.

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