I briefly addressed this point in a brief post on Elizabeth Lowell's fourth book in the Donovan series, Midnight in Ruby Bayou.  I won't rehash my thoughts, but Lacey puts it pretty bluntly here.  And for this, I love her.

As stated before, I understand the need to shield loved ones from brutal knowledge.  But sometimes, when it DOES matter, maybe knowledge is more important than ignorance "for your own good".  Not everyone's a China doll; and sometimes knowing the truth could make the difference between life and death.

As a brief update, while I'm here:

I am really enjoying this book as much as it wanders around from place to place and person to person--I think I hardly noticed that the main conflict didn't even really start until about 60% into the book.  Well played, Ms. Lowell.  I remained entertained for the most part and continue to do so.

Also, it helps that with Lowell's hit-or-miss characters, Ian and Lacey certainly are an interesting pair--refreshingly fun and open would be the right description.  I really like them A LOT.