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Maggie Hope #4
The Prime Minister's Secret Agent
For fans of Jacqueline Winspear, Charles Todd, and Anne Perry, The Prime Minister's Secret Agent is a gripping new mystery featuring intrepid spy and code breaker Maggie Hope. And this time, the fallout of a deadly plot comes straight to her own front door.
World War II rages on across Europe, but Maggie Hope has finally found a moment of rest on the pastoral coast of western Scotland. Home from an undercover mission in Berlin, she settles down to teach at her old spy training camp, and to heal from scars on both her body and heart. Yet instead of enjoying the quieter pace of life, Maggie is quickly drawn into another web of danger and intrigue. When three ballerinas fall strangely ill in Glasgow--including one of Maggie's dearest friends--Maggie partners with MI-5 to uncover the truth behind their unusual symptoms. What she finds points to a series of poisonings that may expose shocking government secrets and put countless British lives at stake. But it's the fight brewing in the Pacific that will forever change the course of the war--and indelibly shape Maggie's fate.
World War II rages on across Europe, but Maggie Hope has finally found a moment of rest on the pastoral coast of western Scotland. Home from an undercover mission in Berlin, she settles down to teach at her old spy training camp, and to heal from scars on both her body and heart. Yet instead of enjoying the quieter pace of life, Maggie is quickly drawn into another web of danger and intrigue. When three ballerinas fall strangely ill in Glasgow--including one of Maggie's dearest friends--Maggie partners with MI-5 to uncover the truth behind their unusual symptoms. What she finds points to a series of poisonings that may expose shocking government secrets and put countless British lives at stake. But it's the fight brewing in the Pacific that will forever change the course of the war--and indelibly shape Maggie's fate.
320 pages, ebook
First published June 3, 2014
1013 people are currently reading
6754 people want to read
About the author
Susan Elia MacNeal
20 books3,371 followersSusan Elia MacNeal is the author of The New York Times, Washington Post, Publishers Weekly and USA Today-bestselling Maggie Hope mystery series, starting with the Edgar Award-nominated and Barry Award-winning MR. CHURCHILL'S SECRETARY, which is now in its 23nd printing. MOTHER DAUGHTER TRAITOR SPY, her first stand-alone novel, comes out September 20, 2022.
Her books have been nominated for the Edgar, the Macavity, the ITW Thriller, the Barry, the Dilys, the Sue Federer Historical Fiction, and the Bruce Alexander Historical Fiction awards. The Maggie Hope series is sold world-wide in English, and has also been translated into Czech, Japanese, Mandarin, Cantonese, Turkish, Italian, Russian, Portuguese, and Bulgarian.. Warner Bros. has the TV rights.
Susan graduated from Nardin Academy in Buffalo New York, and also cum laude and with honors in English from Wellesley College. She cross-registered for courses at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and attended the Radcliffe Publishing Course at Harvard University.
Her first job was as the assistant to novelist John Irving in Vermont. She then worked as an editorial assistant at Random House, assistant editor at Viking Penguin, and associate editor and staff writer at Dance Magazine in New York City. As a freelance writer, she wrote two non-fiction books and for the publications of New York City Ballet.
Susan is married and lives with her husband, Noel MacNeal, a television performer, writer and director, and their son in Park Slope, Brooklyn.
Her books have been nominated for the Edgar, the Macavity, the ITW Thriller, the Barry, the Dilys, the Sue Federer Historical Fiction, and the Bruce Alexander Historical Fiction awards. The Maggie Hope series is sold world-wide in English, and has also been translated into Czech, Japanese, Mandarin, Cantonese, Turkish, Italian, Russian, Portuguese, and Bulgarian.. Warner Bros. has the TV rights.
Susan graduated from Nardin Academy in Buffalo New York, and also cum laude and with honors in English from Wellesley College. She cross-registered for courses at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and attended the Radcliffe Publishing Course at Harvard University.
Her first job was as the assistant to novelist John Irving in Vermont. She then worked as an editorial assistant at Random House, assistant editor at Viking Penguin, and associate editor and staff writer at Dance Magazine in New York City. As a freelance writer, she wrote two non-fiction books and for the publications of New York City Ballet.
Susan is married and lives with her husband, Noel MacNeal, a television performer, writer and director, and their son in Park Slope, Brooklyn.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 929 reviews
July 20, 2017
The Prime Minister’s Secret Agent by Susan Elia MacNeal is a 2014 Bantam publication.
Another thrilling adventure for Maggie Hope!
I was a little hard on Maggie in the last chapter of this series, but upon further reflection, I think, in reality, Maggie’s character would have gone through some transformations considering all that had transpired, but I did miss the old Maggie, and hoped she would get her mojo back soon.
This fourth installment finds Maggie coaching at the spy training camp in Scotland, giving herself a much needed reprieve and a chance to work through some of her heavier issues.
But, of course, Maggie always manages to find herself involved in some manner of intrigue. In this case her old friend, Sarah, has fallen gravely ill, while two other ballerinas in her troupe have died from the same mysterious malady. Foul play is suspected, meaning Maggie must discover what is plaguing her friend before it's too late.
Meanwhile, there are twists galore as Clara Hess awaits execution, amid rumblings of an attack by the Japanese on Pearl Harbor.
Whew! There is a lot going on in this story and I loved every minute of it!! This installment gives Maggie something, and someone, other than herself to focus on, so that gradually, she begins to regain her equilibrium.
The mystery involving Sarah mysterious illness provided pulse pounding suspense, and the Clara Hess performance was absolutely riveting.
I especially enjoyed the way a certain feline helped raise Maggie’s spirits and get her head back in the game.
The author also explores some disturbing conspiracy theories that have been floating around for years concerning how much the US knew about an imminent attack on Pearl Harbor.
Overall, I was very pleased with this chapter of the series and was relieved to see the old black dog gave Maggie a bit of peace and that her fighting spirit is back with a vengeance.
I’m very much looking forward to the next book in the series!
4 stars
Another thrilling adventure for Maggie Hope!
I was a little hard on Maggie in the last chapter of this series, but upon further reflection, I think, in reality, Maggie’s character would have gone through some transformations considering all that had transpired, but I did miss the old Maggie, and hoped she would get her mojo back soon.
This fourth installment finds Maggie coaching at the spy training camp in Scotland, giving herself a much needed reprieve and a chance to work through some of her heavier issues.
But, of course, Maggie always manages to find herself involved in some manner of intrigue. In this case her old friend, Sarah, has fallen gravely ill, while two other ballerinas in her troupe have died from the same mysterious malady. Foul play is suspected, meaning Maggie must discover what is plaguing her friend before it's too late.
Meanwhile, there are twists galore as Clara Hess awaits execution, amid rumblings of an attack by the Japanese on Pearl Harbor.
Whew! There is a lot going on in this story and I loved every minute of it!! This installment gives Maggie something, and someone, other than herself to focus on, so that gradually, she begins to regain her equilibrium.
The mystery involving Sarah mysterious illness provided pulse pounding suspense, and the Clara Hess performance was absolutely riveting.
I especially enjoyed the way a certain feline helped raise Maggie’s spirits and get her head back in the game.
The author also explores some disturbing conspiracy theories that have been floating around for years concerning how much the US knew about an imminent attack on Pearl Harbor.
Overall, I was very pleased with this chapter of the series and was relieved to see the old black dog gave Maggie a bit of peace and that her fighting spirit is back with a vengeance.
I’m very much looking forward to the next book in the series!
4 stars
June 28, 2014
2.5 out of 5 stars.
Because it is impossible to go into The Prime Minister’s Secret Agent without high expectations after the way book three ended, I would like to advise readers to curb their enthusiasm. Book number four of this series had problems, and I think a great deal of the disappointment I received from it can be blamed on the way it was designed.
After the trouble she faced in Berlin I had been eagerly anticipating my return to Maggie. I knew she was damaged after her experiences and choices, and I was pleased with this character development because it meant that she had begun to realize that her rash actions held consequences not only for herself, but for those around her. So, to heal from her ordeal Maggie has gone to Scotland to be an instructor for agents-in-training; she is hard on her recruits and she is hard on herself. Eventually she is invited to see her friend, Sarah, perform a ballet in Edinburgh, where Sarah soon falls ill -- along with two other women of the ballet -- with mysterious symptoms. The mystery of the illness and who is responsible for the exposure seemed like something more suited for a novella than a full-length novel. To me, it came off as more a side adventure to give the main character something to do while the author focused upon other things.
Which brings me to the largest problem I had with The Prime Minister’s Secret Agent: Maggie is on the peripheral vision of all the other action in the book. There was a storyline with her mother that was odd and that ended even stranger. And, most importantly, there was the storyline of the United States finally becoming involved in World War II. This “involvement” storyline, however, did not translate well; it was more of a history reenactment of the collapse of negotiations between the US and Japan, and the attack on Pearl Harbor. This heavy dose of history was interwoven throughout the book; unfortunately, it came off bland and cumbersome because Maggie had no position here.
The final fifteen percent of the novel was where I began to finally enjoy myself, as it returned to what makes this series work. Maggie has once again become an active participant in the war effort along with Churchill, John, and David; the next book should give her something to do, so I will look forward to it while simultaneously hoping that the structure of this story will not be revisited.
(I received a copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The expected publication date is July 1, 2014.)
Because it is impossible to go into The Prime Minister’s Secret Agent without high expectations after the way book three ended, I would like to advise readers to curb their enthusiasm. Book number four of this series had problems, and I think a great deal of the disappointment I received from it can be blamed on the way it was designed.
After the trouble she faced in Berlin I had been eagerly anticipating my return to Maggie. I knew she was damaged after her experiences and choices, and I was pleased with this character development because it meant that she had begun to realize that her rash actions held consequences not only for herself, but for those around her. So, to heal from her ordeal Maggie has gone to Scotland to be an instructor for agents-in-training; she is hard on her recruits and she is hard on herself. Eventually she is invited to see her friend, Sarah, perform a ballet in Edinburgh, where Sarah soon falls ill -- along with two other women of the ballet -- with mysterious symptoms. The mystery of the illness and who is responsible for the exposure seemed like something more suited for a novella than a full-length novel. To me, it came off as more a side adventure to give the main character something to do while the author focused upon other things.
Which brings me to the largest problem I had with The Prime Minister’s Secret Agent: Maggie is on the peripheral vision of all the other action in the book. There was a storyline with her mother that was odd and that ended even stranger. And, most importantly, there was the storyline of the United States finally becoming involved in World War II. This “involvement” storyline, however, did not translate well; it was more of a history reenactment of the collapse of negotiations between the US and Japan, and the attack on Pearl Harbor. This heavy dose of history was interwoven throughout the book; unfortunately, it came off bland and cumbersome because Maggie had no position here.
The final fifteen percent of the novel was where I began to finally enjoy myself, as it returned to what makes this series work. Maggie has once again become an active participant in the war effort along with Churchill, John, and David; the next book should give her something to do, so I will look forward to it while simultaneously hoping that the structure of this story will not be revisited.
(I received a copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The expected publication date is July 1, 2014.)
July 17, 2014
Initial Thoughts: What an interesting read - I really had difficulty putting the book down. This is the first time I've read anything by Susan Elia MacNeal and it certainly won't be my last. I loved the backdrop of WWII to the story of Maggie Hope, a spy and trainer in the SOE. Maggie is a capable agent, haunted by the events of the previous books (which I must find and read) and I loved reading about her.
The Review:
Funny, a few days after I read this book, I watched an episode of The Bletchley Circle. For those of you who are unfamiliar with that series, it is the story of four women who worked at Bletchley Park during WWII. Interestingly enough, there were some parallels with that episode and this book, especially on the topic of biological warfare.
Disclosure - I haven't had the opportunity to read the earlier books in this series so I jumped into this book not knowing anything about Maggie's background. I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly I was able to enjoy this book. I didn't feel like I missed much although I will definitely go back to the earlier books just because I enjoy this author's writing style.
What caught my attention at first was the inclusion of Commander Ian Fleming discussing spycraft with another character at the beginning of the book. Yes, that Ian Fleming. The man that wrote the James Bone novels. And - get this- he drank a martini, shaken, not stirred. Awesome!
I think I liked this book because I am a sucker for books about women during WWII. Any book which portrays the contribution of women to the war effort is a must read for me. I loved how the author set her story against the historical events leading up to the attacks on Pearl Harbor. But this is not only a historical book - there's also a whodunit murder mystery, too. Nicely done.
As mentioned above, there are several story lines in this book. The story revolves around Maggie Hope who is in Arisaig, Scotland teaching field operatives. She's a tough teacher and rarely calls here students by name. I liked Maggie's character. She's tough, she's bright, and she perseveres. Maggie also has bouts of depression which she seems to hold off through most of the book. The secondary story also revolves around Maggie as she goes off to watch her friend Sarah perform at the ballet. When a ballerina dies, Sarah is accused of murder. Maggie investigates the murder with the tenacity of today's CSI agents. Yet another story line involves the impending attacks on Pearl Harbor and how message intercepts gave the exact dates of the attacks. I was fascinated by the work of the cryptographers who essentially decoded the messages by hand. Imagine doing that today.
The Prime Minister's Secret Agent was an enthralling read. I literally read it in one sitting - I just couldn't put it down. I can't wait to go back to read the earlier books in the series. If you enjoy books about women during WWII, then this may be the book for you.
Thank you to Edelweiss and Bantam Books for a review copy of this book.
July 17, 2014 - The Prime Minister's Secret Agent is featured this month as our Jumble Your Genres Reading Challenge Book: Adult on Badass Book Reviews. Check it out! This challenge is hosted by Lovin' Los Libros.
The Review:
Funny, a few days after I read this book, I watched an episode of The Bletchley Circle. For those of you who are unfamiliar with that series, it is the story of four women who worked at Bletchley Park during WWII. Interestingly enough, there were some parallels with that episode and this book, especially on the topic of biological warfare.
Disclosure - I haven't had the opportunity to read the earlier books in this series so I jumped into this book not knowing anything about Maggie's background. I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly I was able to enjoy this book. I didn't feel like I missed much although I will definitely go back to the earlier books just because I enjoy this author's writing style.
What caught my attention at first was the inclusion of Commander Ian Fleming discussing spycraft with another character at the beginning of the book. Yes, that Ian Fleming. The man that wrote the James Bone novels. And - get this- he drank a martini, shaken, not stirred. Awesome!
I think I liked this book because I am a sucker for books about women during WWII. Any book which portrays the contribution of women to the war effort is a must read for me. I loved how the author set her story against the historical events leading up to the attacks on Pearl Harbor. But this is not only a historical book - there's also a whodunit murder mystery, too. Nicely done.
As mentioned above, there are several story lines in this book. The story revolves around Maggie Hope who is in Arisaig, Scotland teaching field operatives. She's a tough teacher and rarely calls here students by name. I liked Maggie's character. She's tough, she's bright, and she perseveres. Maggie also has bouts of depression which she seems to hold off through most of the book. The secondary story also revolves around Maggie as she goes off to watch her friend Sarah perform at the ballet. When a ballerina dies, Sarah is accused of murder. Maggie investigates the murder with the tenacity of today's CSI agents. Yet another story line involves the impending attacks on Pearl Harbor and how message intercepts gave the exact dates of the attacks. I was fascinated by the work of the cryptographers who essentially decoded the messages by hand. Imagine doing that today.
The Prime Minister's Secret Agent was an enthralling read. I literally read it in one sitting - I just couldn't put it down. I can't wait to go back to read the earlier books in the series. If you enjoy books about women during WWII, then this may be the book for you.
Thank you to Edelweiss and Bantam Books for a review copy of this book.
July 17, 2014 - The Prime Minister's Secret Agent is featured this month as our Jumble Your Genres Reading Challenge Book: Adult on Badass Book Reviews. Check it out! This challenge is hosted by Lovin' Los Libros.
May 31, 2014
Whenever I get a new Maggie Hope book everything else in my life drops by the wayside while I turn my back on the world to read. The series is moving slowly through the WWII years, this is the fourth book and it’s just getting to Pearl Harbor, but that is no criticism because the details of the changing circumstances and moods of the time are fascinating, and the story plots within the books race along.
With her determined personality and a knack for codes, languages, and mathematics Maggie has come a long way since the first book where she worked as one of Winston Churchill's secretaries, and she’s become one of my favorite characters. Her brains, perseverance, and good intentions coexist with human emotions, physical limitations, and flaws in judgment so she’s no superhero, which I find a lot more interesting.
In the last book Maggie parachuted into Germany where she worked undercover as a spy, encountering her Nazi mother for the first time since she was a baby. The harrowing things she discovered and had to do mean Maggie is grappling with depression and what we would now label PTSD as this book opens, but overall The Prime Minister’s Secret Agent isn’t quite as unsettling as its predecessor. Maggie has been staying at a remote estate in Scotland training spies to undertake missions like her own, but when she’s forced to take some R & R in Edinburgh because her emotional state is interfering with her work, the trip is anything but restful. The friend Maggie went to visit gets caught in a deadly scheme, and to save her Maggie forces her way into an MI-5 operation that involves murder, ballet, and biological weapons.
The books in this series always have several interconnected plot-lines, which this time around involve Maggie’s Nazi mother, who’s now a prisoner in the Tower of London awaiting execution, Winston Churchill, who’s hoping the Americans will finally join the war effort, and various Japanese and American officials, who are supposed to be trying to prevent war. Ian Fleming (debonair) and J. Edgar Hoover (cantankerous) have cameo appearances. This is a work of fiction of course, but I’ve learned a lot of history from the series because author Susan Elia MacNeal has thoroughly researched the era. She lists her sources in an appendix at the end of each book, and she always makes clear where her stories incorporate historical fact and where some artistic license is in use--something I greatly appreciate.
With her determined personality and a knack for codes, languages, and mathematics Maggie has come a long way since the first book where she worked as one of Winston Churchill's secretaries, and she’s become one of my favorite characters. Her brains, perseverance, and good intentions coexist with human emotions, physical limitations, and flaws in judgment so she’s no superhero, which I find a lot more interesting.
In the last book Maggie parachuted into Germany where she worked undercover as a spy, encountering her Nazi mother for the first time since she was a baby. The harrowing things she discovered and had to do mean Maggie is grappling with depression and what we would now label PTSD as this book opens, but overall The Prime Minister’s Secret Agent isn’t quite as unsettling as its predecessor. Maggie has been staying at a remote estate in Scotland training spies to undertake missions like her own, but when she’s forced to take some R & R in Edinburgh because her emotional state is interfering with her work, the trip is anything but restful. The friend Maggie went to visit gets caught in a deadly scheme, and to save her Maggie forces her way into an MI-5 operation that involves murder, ballet, and biological weapons.
The books in this series always have several interconnected plot-lines, which this time around involve Maggie’s Nazi mother, who’s now a prisoner in the Tower of London awaiting execution, Winston Churchill, who’s hoping the Americans will finally join the war effort, and various Japanese and American officials, who are supposed to be trying to prevent war. Ian Fleming (debonair) and J. Edgar Hoover (cantankerous) have cameo appearances. This is a work of fiction of course, but I’ve learned a lot of history from the series because author Susan Elia MacNeal has thoroughly researched the era. She lists her sources in an appendix at the end of each book, and she always makes clear where her stories incorporate historical fact and where some artistic license is in use--something I greatly appreciate.
January 30, 2024
Book 4
Another one of my go-to series. Historical fiction is my everything, and this series gives me the history and so much more!!
The characters are very well developed and engaging throughout the story.
Another one of my go-to series. Historical fiction is my everything, and this series gives me the history and so much more!!
The characters are very well developed and engaging throughout the story.
July 24, 2022
“This feline does more for the war effort than you do! He acts as a hot-water bottle and saves fuel and power!”
✮ ✮ ✮
Until now, this series has been five stars for me. I feel like every series has that one book, that is almost an “in between” book, one that doesn’t have as much going on, not as much drama, etc. For me, this is that book. I felt that Susan Elia MacNeal used book four as a book to give the main character a “breather” as such, and to link together the movement between books 3 and 5. Nothing substantial happened in my opinion, except Pearl Harbour, and with the exception of setting a few things up for the next book.
I fully expect Maggie Hope to come back swinging in the next book, because as I said this is one of my favourite series. I love Maggie Hope, our dearest, damaged, super spy!
Recommend the series to anyone who loves historical fiction!
✮ ✮ ✮
Until now, this series has been five stars for me. I feel like every series has that one book, that is almost an “in between” book, one that doesn’t have as much going on, not as much drama, etc. For me, this is that book. I felt that Susan Elia MacNeal used book four as a book to give the main character a “breather” as such, and to link together the movement between books 3 and 5. Nothing substantial happened in my opinion, except Pearl Harbour, and with the exception of setting a few things up for the next book.
I fully expect Maggie Hope to come back swinging in the next book, because as I said this is one of my favourite series. I love Maggie Hope, our dearest, damaged, super spy!
Recommend the series to anyone who loves historical fiction!
January 4, 2026
I really enjoyed this one. I love how MacNeal weaves many storylines together. The mystery in this is cleared up quickly but that is necessary to build up the plot towards the real crisis of Pearl Harbor and how that affects Maggie, the other characters, and the course of the war. I haven’t read anything about Pearl Harbor except the very basics so that was quite interesting. How much did Roosevelt know? It’s a mystery that I’ve never thought of before. I really enjoyed Maggie’s time in Scotland, her work with Mark, her healing journey, and her friendship with Sarah. I hope we keep following Sarah because I love her character and its future potential. It was fun to have a crossover character (real life person) in this with Dusan Popov, a double agent for the British. I’m learning about him in Ben Macintyre’s ‘Double Cross’ too. I’m worried about Elise though!!
July 20, 2023
#4 in the Maggie Hope Mystery Series.
The fun about historical fiction is that it weaves in real people, with known situations and circumstances....along with speculation about what could have really happened.
What can we learn about the insider manipulations of war through this cozy mystery?
Mystery Lovers: If you haven't read this series yet, I recommend it highly. 3.5 stars.
The fun about historical fiction is that it weaves in real people, with known situations and circumstances....along with speculation about what could have really happened.
What can we learn about the insider manipulations of war through this cozy mystery?
Mystery Lovers: If you haven't read this series yet, I recommend it highly. 3.5 stars.
May 16, 2018
This was the second novel set during WWII that I finished in as many days. This story focussed on three distinct plots: Maggie's recovery from her ordeal in Berlin and her subsequent investigation when her good friend and two of her colleagues fall mysteriously ill; the incarceration of Maggie's mother and the psychological examination that follows; and the disintegration of diplomatic relations between the US and Japan, with the result being that Japan eventually attacked Pearl Harbor.
I found all three plots to be interesting. None of them intersected, but each tale developed independently and I found them all engaging. While MacNeal always relies on historical events as major parts of her narrative, I found that she did so even more for this book, particularly the events leading up to the Pearl Harbor attack. Artistic license was employed, but the basic facts were true, an element of MacNeal's writing that I appreciate.
An enjoyable read and one that aptly leads to the next book in the series.
I found all three plots to be interesting. None of them intersected, but each tale developed independently and I found them all engaging. While MacNeal always relies on historical events as major parts of her narrative, I found that she did so even more for this book, particularly the events leading up to the Pearl Harbor attack. Artistic license was employed, but the basic facts were true, an element of MacNeal's writing that I appreciate.
An enjoyable read and one that aptly leads to the next book in the series.
June 17, 2014
I've yet to be disappointed with this series. Each time I pick up one of the books I'm compelled to finish as quickly as possible, and as with the previous books, there's no glorifying war or the spy trade here. Killing, or being responsible for deaths, is *hard* and the debates as to what is "necessary" can be endless. Even those with training or years of experience will suffer repercussions. But that doesn't make for a serious book, or one which is hard to read. On the contrary, these difficult topics are masterfully woven into the plot, inseparable from the characters themselves who are full of life, emotions, and great sayings. (Check out David's thoughts on Lord of the Rings and children!)
I'm not an expert on WWII, but aside from a couple of minor errors (which I only noticed because I know Edinburgh) it certainly seems relatively accurate, making this an easy way to explore issues surrounding the war while enjoying some intrigue, personal conflicts and philosophical discussions.
Oh yes, and characters you really care about, who can be emotional, wrong, weak, independent, or flawed, making them seem like people you actually know. It's hard to go wrong with a combination like this.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I'm not an expert on WWII, but aside from a couple of minor errors (which I only noticed because I know Edinburgh) it certainly seems relatively accurate, making this an easy way to explore issues surrounding the war while enjoying some intrigue, personal conflicts and philosophical discussions.
Oh yes, and characters you really care about, who can be emotional, wrong, weak, independent, or flawed, making them seem like people you actually know. It's hard to go wrong with a combination like this.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
October 1, 2025
Good job with the title; it sounds five times more exciting than it is. This novel curiously lacks an identity; it is primarily a link between the previous novel (where Maggie risks everything on a secret mission to Nazi Germany) and the next. Maggie is engaged in training other spies at a spy school in Scotland; she sees a dead sheep infected with some horrible disease; later, her friend Sarah has the same disease. From this she figures out Britain has a secret program to weaponize anthrax. Well, not so secret; she uses her skills to verify the existence of the program. (Basically, in what would be the second-most secret program in the war effort, she picks a padlock and finds all the info in unprotected filing cabinets.) Did Britain have an anthrax bio-weapon program in 1941? Probably not, but if they did, it was much better run and with better security than this superficial take. The other aspect of this novel is the looming attack on Pearl Harbor. Perhaps for British readers this is new and interesting material. But readers who have seen either of the popular movies or read any of the many historical accounts, it's a simplistic rehash with made-up details that couldn't possibly have happened: British wonks, aware of the naval air success in destroying the Italian navy at Taranto, and having decoded German communications requesting details of Pearl Harbor, leap to the unlikely conclusion that the Japanese intend to destroy the US Pacific fleet at anchor. This is 20/20 hindsight at its most ridiculous: [at the time] there was no way the Japanese could cross the Pacific without being detected. They wouldn't dare. A substantial cadre within the US navy still believed the heavily-armored and well-armed battleships (such as Arizona, Oklahoma, California, West Virginia, Nevada) were impervious to air attack. A general failure to accept the power of new weapons (carrier-based planes) coupled with arrogance led to the disgraceful failure at Pearl Harbor. But it was NOT caused by a failure to heed specific, prescient warnings from Winston Churchill and his minions.
January 30, 2021
This is book 4 of Maggie Hope and I really enjoyed it. I love the way the series is rolling through WW 2 and all these different aspects of it: Bletchley Park, Pearl Harbor, London Blitz, the Royal Family, FDR, all these different players and pieces (and many more I'm not mentioning).
My friend and I are sharing the series. We buy the paperbacks and then both read them. She's currently got book 5, so as soon as she's done then I'll start it. I look forward to seeing how the series progresses and where it ends up!
My friend and I are sharing the series. We buy the paperbacks and then both read them. She's currently got book 5, so as soon as she's done then I'll start it. I look forward to seeing how the series progresses and where it ends up!
May 12, 2017
In this fourth entry in the Maggie Hope mystery series, we find cryptoanalyst Maggie at Arisaig House, in Scotland, working as a trainer for her fellow agents. She is suffering from what we now recognize as PTSD as a result of her time in Berlin (ref. "His Majesty's Hope," the previous novel). Her early-morning wanderings provide the first clue about what's happening around her when she sees a dead sheep covered in unusual blisters in the loch; not all is normal in the Highlands.
In the mean while, Maggie's mother, the Nazi spy Clara Hess, is being held in London pending execution ... and is showing signs of multiple personality disorder ... or is she? Not even her doctor can say for sure whether the professional actress is pretending or it's the real thing.
And for the other major plot point, we have the Japanese planning their attack on Pearl Harbor, with glimpses into the diplomatic process and some speculation as to how it failed.
The series is peopled with characters both fictional and non-fictional (then-SOE agent Ian Fleming, and Prime Minister Winston Churchill, just to name two), and keeps the reader's attention. Whether it's a death at a performance of the Vic-Wells ballet (at which point Maggie's knowledge of the rather obscure science/tradition of floriography comes into play), or the blithe lifestyle of the commanders at Pearl Harbor, there is always something to keep the plot moving at a good pace as well.
Author Susan Elia MacNeal has created a family of delightful characters to care about, and puts them in plots that keep us turning pages well into the night. I can't wait for the next one.
In the mean while, Maggie's mother, the Nazi spy Clara Hess, is being held in London pending execution ... and is showing signs of multiple personality disorder ... or is she? Not even her doctor can say for sure whether the professional actress is pretending or it's the real thing.
And for the other major plot point, we have the Japanese planning their attack on Pearl Harbor, with glimpses into the diplomatic process and some speculation as to how it failed.
The series is peopled with characters both fictional and non-fictional (then-SOE agent Ian Fleming, and Prime Minister Winston Churchill, just to name two), and keeps the reader's attention. Whether it's a death at a performance of the Vic-Wells ballet (at which point Maggie's knowledge of the rather obscure science/tradition of floriography comes into play), or the blithe lifestyle of the commanders at Pearl Harbor, there is always something to keep the plot moving at a good pace as well.
Author Susan Elia MacNeal has created a family of delightful characters to care about, and puts them in plots that keep us turning pages well into the night. I can't wait for the next one.
June 14, 2021
World War II rages on across Europe, but Maggie Hope has finally found a moment of rest on the pastoral coast of western Scotland. Home from an undercover mission in Berlin, she settles down to teach at her old spy training camp, and to heal from scars on both her body and heart. Yet instead of enjoying the quieter pace of life, Maggie is quickly drawn into another web of danger and intrigue. When three ballerinas fall strangely ill in Glasgow—including one of Maggie’s dearest friends—Maggie partners with MI-5 to uncover the truth behind their unusual symptoms. What she finds points to a series of poisonings that may expose shocking government secrets and put countless British lives at stake. But it’s the fight brewing in the Pacific that will forever change the course of the war—and indelibly shape Maggie’s fate.
This is my second Maggie Hope book (I know it's a series and not reading them in order but I have received them for free) and I have enjoyed them. I feel you don't need to read them in order but it def helps if you do.
I love mysteries so it has that as well as romance as well as history. Recommend reading this if you love one or all three subjects.
This is my second Maggie Hope book (I know it's a series and not reading them in order but I have received them for free) and I have enjoyed them. I feel you don't need to read them in order but it def helps if you do.
I love mysteries so it has that as well as romance as well as history. Recommend reading this if you love one or all three subjects.
November 7, 2016
My #1 disappointment with this book was its brevity. There is little plot development or character development; MacNeal flits from one locale to the next, offering only teasers. I hope she isn't heading down the path that so many authors are these days, cranking out shorter and shorter works, calling them "novellas" but which are, increasingly, short enough to be deemed short stories. This book is, in my opinion, just filler between Books #3 and #5, a huge disappointment after her last. I hope next time around MacNeal puts more time and effort into her writing.
We see a few familiar faces in Book 3, but just in passing. We're told repeatedly that Maggie suffers from nightmares of her time in Germany, mainly about shooting the German boy and the death of the young theologian turned freedom fighter. Maggie is plagued with Churchill's "black dog" of depression. (He was actually not the first person to use this metaphor, btw; Martin Luther did, some 400 years earlier.) Maggie's depression is understandable, and today she'd probably be diagnosed with PTSD. If she weren't affected in some way, I'd have thrown the book out the window in disbelief.
Frankly, I think Maggie's half-sister had a lot more to be depressed about, and showed more spirit and strength. Maggie was not the one living with a narcissistic, Nazi mother every day, living in a repressive society, and seeing death and suffering on a daily basis. I think she'd find Maggie's life a cakewalk in comparison. No, she has not had to shoot anyone (yet) as Maggie had, but she did something far more dangerous in my opinion: She sneaked onto a bus to see where it was taking the disabled children, and despite the horror of learning their fate, had the presence of mind to make it back without being caught, then persevere and get proof of the atrocity. But that was Book 2; back to Book 3.
Maggie has her independence, her own flat in London, a satisfying career, friends in high places, is beautiful (or so we're reminded repeatedly), and has not one, but two men in love with her. Her only flaw was being unathletic. But being the Ubermensch that she is (her mother's daughter?), our heroine overcomes her weakness and becomes a veritable Amazon, able to run up and down mountains. (Next she'll be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.)
If she is so smart, why don't we see more examples? There is the one odd discussion early in Chapter 1 of running vs. walking in the rain, but it feels so contrived that I can picture the author with a checklist, ticking off "obligatory example of Maggie's superior brain," in a hurry to get it out of the way so she doesn't have to think about it again for the rest of the book. It just makes Maggie look obnoxious.
Maggie admits to being stalked by the same "black dog" of depression as Churchill. But if she were so depressed, wouldn't you think that she would have sought help before this? Or that Frain, or her father--someone--would have gotten her help? She is ordered to take a holiday only when her friend Sarah happens to visit Edinburgh and has mysteriously contracted anthrax. Not even one day off the farm (figuratively speaking), the change of scenery restores our heroine to her former intrepid self, and voila--she charges in once again to save the day. How fortunate that Maggie just happens to be in town! But she is clearly not 100% herself, because she fails to connect the dots between the symptoms of anthrax and the dead sheep she discovered the week before. Having gone to such a prestigious college, Maggie should be no stranger to science, so why don't the sores on the dead sheep raise a red flag in her mind sooner?
The physical symptoms MacNeal ascribes to cutaneous anthrax aren't entirely correct, either. I thought that she was supposed to be so serious about her research? I was able to learn from a single Web search that cutaneous anthrax is the mildest form of anthrax, "seldom fatal with appropriate treatment." (Granted, "appropriate treatment" today means antibiotics, which were not widely available at the time.) But still: The primary symptom of cutaneous exposure is reportedly swollen lymph glands, yet none of the women exhibited this symptom. Don't you think at least one of the ballerinas, who perform with bared necks and shoulders, would have exhibited this symptom? Or that someone would have noticed the stricken girl's black sores _before_ she died? And speaking of the black sores... (grimace)
The other symptom of cutaneous anthrax is supposed to be "a raised, itchy bump resembling an insect bite" (not one of these women felt itchy?) "that quickly develops into a painless sore with a black center" (per the Mayo Clinic website). This doesn't sound like the hideous, Bubonic Plague-like sores MacNeal describes. Artistic license?
Maggie is close enough to observe the dead sheep not once, but twice, and the first time at close range. She has nary a scrape or sliver from scrambling across mountains of gorse on a daily basis, and magically eludes inhaling the deadly spores while downwind of the soldiers' windborn experiment. She blithely dumpster-dives in sheer stockings and pumps while her male colleague stands aside. Does she WANT to die? When she doesn't find the anthrax-containing bouquet in the trash, she just forgets about it, so we are supposed to as well, not giving the public's risk a 2nd thought. All I can say is, for such a smart chick, she can be incredibly stupid at times.
As far as plot device goes, yes, it's interesting that the Brits were developing biochemical weapons then, but that should have come as no surprise to someone as knowledgeable as Maggie. The horrors of mustard gas were widely known; thousands were killed and maimed 2 decades earlier in WW1.
MacNeal attempts to juggle 4 separate plotlines simultaneously and the result is a mediocre, unsatisfying mush. Interestingly, the more sympathetic characters are the individual Japanese: the reluctant admiral in Japan, Japan's weary ambassador in Washington, DC, and the young Japanese American in Scotland whose family in California was sent to an internment camp. So despite the book's brevity, MacNeal at least takes the time to give some of her characters more than comic book dimension. Her Churchill tells Maggie at one point that it would be wrong to confuse the Nazis with the German people in general. Amen to that.
Yet MacNeal's Clara Hess borders on farcical, even more over-the-top than before. It wasn't enough that she suddenly reappeared from the grave in Book 2 and just happened to be a top Nazi official. She was also an opera singer, looked like Garbo, was rich, married to a famous orchestra conductor, and even had a 2nd, implausibly normal daughter. The addition in Book 3 of a supposed split personality, the 11th hour revelation that she and Frain were lovers, and the fact that he helps her escape at the end are too much. This is the guy who keeps telling Clara's doctor that she is duping him, first with her supposed catatonic state then a split personality. The doc was pretty stupid, you must admit, to give a notorious war criminal something to use to kill herself--or him. But of course, men are ever known to fall for a beautiful woman, and Clara is that, despite her increasingly 2-tone haircolor. (Meow.)
For all of MacNeal's championing of women, why does she resort to stereotype and cast not just one, but two older women as villains? Not just Clara, but the over-the-hill wife as well, whose "dress gaps between buttons" (double-meow), who poisons her philandering husband's svelte young lover out of revenge. He gets off scot-free, of course, free to seek greener pastures, while the wife rots in prison. Men being men, they can't help themselves, right? Methinks the author protests not enough.
Well, maybe MacNeal doesn't let men completely off the hook. She points out that Maggie's former fiance was a cad to criticize Mags for moving on after his reported death. Churchill used Maggie, too. The author lists the numerous mistakes made by American leaders that led to the attack on Pearl Harbor: Hoover ignored vital intelligence out of prejudice; officials in DC had grown soft and lazy; military leaders fought petty turf battles with other branches and ignored warnings from their staff. Unlike leaders in England who'd learned to utilize all the talent and brainpower they could, male or female, American leaders still condescendingly called women "Honey" and ordered them to fetch coffee. The matter of the international dateline snafu piqued my interest and I wonder why MacNeal didn't include that in her notes at the end? Surely I'm not the only reader curious to know if that was true. It certainly has the ring of truth, but it would have been nice to have confirmation.
My favorite character has to be the cat "K" that utters "meh" instead of "meow." With a single syllable, he displays more personality than his owner. In the final analysis, "meh" pretty well sums up how I felt about this book, too.
We see a few familiar faces in Book 3, but just in passing. We're told repeatedly that Maggie suffers from nightmares of her time in Germany, mainly about shooting the German boy and the death of the young theologian turned freedom fighter. Maggie is plagued with Churchill's "black dog" of depression. (He was actually not the first person to use this metaphor, btw; Martin Luther did, some 400 years earlier.) Maggie's depression is understandable, and today she'd probably be diagnosed with PTSD. If she weren't affected in some way, I'd have thrown the book out the window in disbelief.
Frankly, I think Maggie's half-sister had a lot more to be depressed about, and showed more spirit and strength. Maggie was not the one living with a narcissistic, Nazi mother every day, living in a repressive society, and seeing death and suffering on a daily basis. I think she'd find Maggie's life a cakewalk in comparison. No, she has not had to shoot anyone (yet) as Maggie had, but she did something far more dangerous in my opinion: She sneaked onto a bus to see where it was taking the disabled children, and despite the horror of learning their fate, had the presence of mind to make it back without being caught, then persevere and get proof of the atrocity. But that was Book 2; back to Book 3.
Maggie has her independence, her own flat in London, a satisfying career, friends in high places, is beautiful (or so we're reminded repeatedly), and has not one, but two men in love with her. Her only flaw was being unathletic. But being the Ubermensch that she is (her mother's daughter?), our heroine overcomes her weakness and becomes a veritable Amazon, able to run up and down mountains. (Next she'll be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.)
If she is so smart, why don't we see more examples? There is the one odd discussion early in Chapter 1 of running vs. walking in the rain, but it feels so contrived that I can picture the author with a checklist, ticking off "obligatory example of Maggie's superior brain," in a hurry to get it out of the way so she doesn't have to think about it again for the rest of the book. It just makes Maggie look obnoxious.
Maggie admits to being stalked by the same "black dog" of depression as Churchill. But if she were so depressed, wouldn't you think that she would have sought help before this? Or that Frain, or her father--someone--would have gotten her help? She is ordered to take a holiday only when her friend Sarah happens to visit Edinburgh and has mysteriously contracted anthrax. Not even one day off the farm (figuratively speaking), the change of scenery restores our heroine to her former intrepid self, and voila--she charges in once again to save the day. How fortunate that Maggie just happens to be in town! But she is clearly not 100% herself, because she fails to connect the dots between the symptoms of anthrax and the dead sheep she discovered the week before. Having gone to such a prestigious college, Maggie should be no stranger to science, so why don't the sores on the dead sheep raise a red flag in her mind sooner?
The physical symptoms MacNeal ascribes to cutaneous anthrax aren't entirely correct, either. I thought that she was supposed to be so serious about her research? I was able to learn from a single Web search that cutaneous anthrax is the mildest form of anthrax, "seldom fatal with appropriate treatment." (Granted, "appropriate treatment" today means antibiotics, which were not widely available at the time.) But still: The primary symptom of cutaneous exposure is reportedly swollen lymph glands, yet none of the women exhibited this symptom. Don't you think at least one of the ballerinas, who perform with bared necks and shoulders, would have exhibited this symptom? Or that someone would have noticed the stricken girl's black sores _before_ she died? And speaking of the black sores... (grimace)
The other symptom of cutaneous anthrax is supposed to be "a raised, itchy bump resembling an insect bite" (not one of these women felt itchy?) "that quickly develops into a painless sore with a black center" (per the Mayo Clinic website). This doesn't sound like the hideous, Bubonic Plague-like sores MacNeal describes. Artistic license?
Maggie is close enough to observe the dead sheep not once, but twice, and the first time at close range. She has nary a scrape or sliver from scrambling across mountains of gorse on a daily basis, and magically eludes inhaling the deadly spores while downwind of the soldiers' windborn experiment. She blithely dumpster-dives in sheer stockings and pumps while her male colleague stands aside. Does she WANT to die? When she doesn't find the anthrax-containing bouquet in the trash, she just forgets about it, so we are supposed to as well, not giving the public's risk a 2nd thought. All I can say is, for such a smart chick, she can be incredibly stupid at times.
As far as plot device goes, yes, it's interesting that the Brits were developing biochemical weapons then, but that should have come as no surprise to someone as knowledgeable as Maggie. The horrors of mustard gas were widely known; thousands were killed and maimed 2 decades earlier in WW1.
MacNeal attempts to juggle 4 separate plotlines simultaneously and the result is a mediocre, unsatisfying mush. Interestingly, the more sympathetic characters are the individual Japanese: the reluctant admiral in Japan, Japan's weary ambassador in Washington, DC, and the young Japanese American in Scotland whose family in California was sent to an internment camp. So despite the book's brevity, MacNeal at least takes the time to give some of her characters more than comic book dimension. Her Churchill tells Maggie at one point that it would be wrong to confuse the Nazis with the German people in general. Amen to that.
Yet MacNeal's Clara Hess borders on farcical, even more over-the-top than before. It wasn't enough that she suddenly reappeared from the grave in Book 2 and just happened to be a top Nazi official. She was also an opera singer, looked like Garbo, was rich, married to a famous orchestra conductor, and even had a 2nd, implausibly normal daughter. The addition in Book 3 of a supposed split personality, the 11th hour revelation that she and Frain were lovers, and the fact that he helps her escape at the end are too much. This is the guy who keeps telling Clara's doctor that she is duping him, first with her supposed catatonic state then a split personality. The doc was pretty stupid, you must admit, to give a notorious war criminal something to use to kill herself--or him. But of course, men are ever known to fall for a beautiful woman, and Clara is that, despite her increasingly 2-tone haircolor. (Meow.)
For all of MacNeal's championing of women, why does she resort to stereotype and cast not just one, but two older women as villains? Not just Clara, but the over-the-hill wife as well, whose "dress gaps between buttons" (double-meow), who poisons her philandering husband's svelte young lover out of revenge. He gets off scot-free, of course, free to seek greener pastures, while the wife rots in prison. Men being men, they can't help themselves, right? Methinks the author protests not enough.
Well, maybe MacNeal doesn't let men completely off the hook. She points out that Maggie's former fiance was a cad to criticize Mags for moving on after his reported death. Churchill used Maggie, too. The author lists the numerous mistakes made by American leaders that led to the attack on Pearl Harbor: Hoover ignored vital intelligence out of prejudice; officials in DC had grown soft and lazy; military leaders fought petty turf battles with other branches and ignored warnings from their staff. Unlike leaders in England who'd learned to utilize all the talent and brainpower they could, male or female, American leaders still condescendingly called women "Honey" and ordered them to fetch coffee. The matter of the international dateline snafu piqued my interest and I wonder why MacNeal didn't include that in her notes at the end? Surely I'm not the only reader curious to know if that was true. It certainly has the ring of truth, but it would have been nice to have confirmation.
My favorite character has to be the cat "K" that utters "meh" instead of "meow." With a single syllable, he displays more personality than his owner. In the final analysis, "meh" pretty well sums up how I felt about this book, too.
June 16, 2015
The Prime Minister's Secret Agent is the fourth in a series. (I have not read the earlier books.) Maggie Hope is a secret agent for the British government and in this installment she has returned to British soil after extremely difficult assignments in Europe. She is damaged and hardly knows what to do with herself. Small bits of what happened are revealed, enough to allow entry into this episode, but so much is unsaid.
This entry is a tantalizing mix of historical fiction and fact as Britain continues fighting Axis powers essentially on it's own in Europe. Meanwhile, in alternating sections, we follow the steps toward December 7th in Pearl Harbor, all the diplomatic maneuvering and guessing, etc with the Japanese and American military and diplomatic corps. And Maggie is fighting her personal demons at a school for new recruits in Scotland.
This is really a good book, showing evidence of much research. Two caveats, however: firstly, it may be almost over-loaded with events and information; and secondly, I don't recommend that a casual reader such as myself enter the series in the middle. There is much explanation along the way, but so much background simply is in the earlier books.
My rating would be 3.5* if permitted. There is much that is very good here, but start with the first book!
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.
This entry is a tantalizing mix of historical fiction and fact as Britain continues fighting Axis powers essentially on it's own in Europe. Meanwhile, in alternating sections, we follow the steps toward December 7th in Pearl Harbor, all the diplomatic maneuvering and guessing, etc with the Japanese and American military and diplomatic corps. And Maggie is fighting her personal demons at a school for new recruits in Scotland.
This is really a good book, showing evidence of much research. Two caveats, however: firstly, it may be almost over-loaded with events and information; and secondly, I don't recommend that a casual reader such as myself enter the series in the middle. There is much explanation along the way, but so much background simply is in the earlier books.
My rating would be 3.5* if permitted. There is much that is very good here, but start with the first book!
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.
February 18, 2014
Maggie Hope is back. After the terrible events of her last mission in Berlin, she's spending time as an instructor at a training facility in Scotland. She's suffering from depression and PTSD and is basically going through the motions. In the meantime, the day of the Pearl Harbor attack is approaching and the ramp up in the espionage efforts of everyone, British, American and Japanese is on full display.
After the heavy action Maggie faced in the last book in this WWII spy series, I was ready for her to have a little bit of down time. But there's so much going on that has little direct impact on her, that she became almost beside the point. There are also chapters devoted to what is happening with Clara Hess, being held prisoner in the Tower of London. But very little of Maggie. She does solve a murder, but it happens within the space of a few chapters midway through the book. To all else she's fairly peripheral.
The lack of Maggie aside, I read this in one sitting. I love the time period and the focus on life in Britain during the war and how it changed the people who experienced it. And it's always nice to catch up with MacNeal's cast of characters, including the irascible Winston Churchill. I just hope that Maggie Hope's next adventure will have a little more of Maggie.
After the heavy action Maggie faced in the last book in this WWII spy series, I was ready for her to have a little bit of down time. But there's so much going on that has little direct impact on her, that she became almost beside the point. There are also chapters devoted to what is happening with Clara Hess, being held prisoner in the Tower of London. But very little of Maggie. She does solve a murder, but it happens within the space of a few chapters midway through the book. To all else she's fairly peripheral.
The lack of Maggie aside, I read this in one sitting. I love the time period and the focus on life in Britain during the war and how it changed the people who experienced it. And it's always nice to catch up with MacNeal's cast of characters, including the irascible Winston Churchill. I just hope that Maggie Hope's next adventure will have a little more of Maggie.
July 20, 2017
YAY! Our girl, Maggie, is back on track. I do see, now, why things evolved the way they did in the previous book and what brought our girl to this point. I also understand much better why she had to go through what she did. Patience, grasshopper. It all makes sense now. Onto the next book in this excellent series, "Mrs. Roosevelt's Confidant."
June 12, 2024
Maggie is training new spies at her old training camp on the west coast of Scotland. She's a mess mentally, and is harsh on the trainees. She also refuses to take time for herself, which is troublesome, as she's suffering from depression and trauma from her experience in Berlin (previous book).
Outside the camp, a dead sheep intrigues Maggie, as it has strange black markings on it, and the local vet is perplexed. While there, Maggie rescues an older ginger tabby cat that the vet was going to euthanize. Thank goodness, as this is the first break in the wall Maggie has erected between herself and everyone else.
At the same time, 1) the talks between the US and Japan are on the rocks and intelligence receives information that the Japanese are moving, and are aiming for Pearl Harbour.
2) Clara Hess, Maggie's mother, is under a doctor's care while she waits to be executed by the British government. She insists repeatedly that she must speak with Maggie, who categorically refuses.
Then, three ballerinas, including her friend Sarah, fall ill with an illness, and get strange black markings on them. Two die, and these are ruled as murder. Maggie finds purpose and focus, and with the initially standoffish and dismissive MI5 agent Mark Standish, begins an investigation into the murders, intent on locating the source of the what they figure is a poison.
It takes tremendous effort from both agents to solve the mystery, and what they find shocks Maggie. And then the Japanese attack Pearl Harbour, and Maggie's life takes another turn.
This was tense, and dismaying at times, as Maggie struggled with her trauma. But the cat and the investigation gave Maggie the drive and focus she needed to regain some of that energy and attitude she's displayed since book one. This was another exciting entry in this series, and on to the next book.
Outside the camp, a dead sheep intrigues Maggie, as it has strange black markings on it, and the local vet is perplexed. While there, Maggie rescues an older ginger tabby cat that the vet was going to euthanize. Thank goodness, as this is the first break in the wall Maggie has erected between herself and everyone else.
At the same time, 1) the talks between the US and Japan are on the rocks and intelligence receives information that the Japanese are moving, and are aiming for Pearl Harbour.
2) Clara Hess, Maggie's mother, is under a doctor's care while she waits to be executed by the British government. She insists repeatedly that she must speak with Maggie, who categorically refuses.
Then, three ballerinas, including her friend Sarah, fall ill with an illness, and get strange black markings on them. Two die, and these are ruled as murder. Maggie finds purpose and focus, and with the initially standoffish and dismissive MI5 agent Mark Standish, begins an investigation into the murders, intent on locating the source of the what they figure is a poison.
It takes tremendous effort from both agents to solve the mystery, and what they find shocks Maggie. And then the Japanese attack Pearl Harbour, and Maggie's life takes another turn.
This was tense, and dismaying at times, as Maggie struggled with her trauma. But the cat and the investigation gave Maggie the drive and focus she needed to regain some of that energy and attitude she's displayed since book one. This was another exciting entry in this series, and on to the next book.
June 18, 2017
Another good addition to the series. There wasn't a whole lot of action, this was more one of those series books that is necessary to start to bring plot lines together and set up the next books, but it was still enjoyable.
I did especially enjoy the take on historical events surrounding Pearl Harbour which chose to explore some conspiracy theories (such as Churchill being aware of the impending attack but not telling the Americans as he needed them in the war).
I did especially enjoy the take on historical events surrounding Pearl Harbour which chose to explore some conspiracy theories (such as Churchill being aware of the impending attack but not telling the Americans as he needed them in the war).
March 9, 2021
4.5 stars... It had a few slow parts, but I loved how they treated Maggie's PTSD. It's sad how that generation, encouraged 'keep your problems to yourself'. I often think of some of the older women I use to work for that told me they married, their beau before he went off to war, but the person that came back was not their spouse. I like how she grappled with the 'survivor syndrome'. It was a good, very interesting read!
January 28, 2016
Maggie Hope continues to be one of my favorite literary characters and I thoroughly enjoyed this installment of the series. I do think this would be better classified as a thriller/suspense type of book as the mystery piece of the novel usually isn't the sole aspect of the novel. While events transpired in London, the backdrop of this novel had to do with the events leading up to and the attack on Pearl Harbor. Susan Elia MacNeal does a great job of creating an enjoyable, somewhat lighter read than other WWII novels, while still peppering the novel with historical facts that allow the reader to learn something. One of my favorite series and I continue to recommend it!
November 18, 2016
It has been so long since I read the first three books in this series that it was helpful the author recaps the highlights that occurred in Maggie Hope's career as an agent for England during WWII. Maggie is an American but moves to England and receives her aunts home and decides to stay because the war has begun. This book seemed to move slower for me, though there were parts that kept my interest. It's not a bad series, but doesn't begin to measure up to jacquline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs series.
January 22, 2014
I've been honored to receive draft copies of Susan's books, and The Prime Minster's Secret Agent will be a stellar addition to the Maggie Hope series! WOW this is the most pulse-pounding installment yet, complete with swoon-worthy romance and all-over awesomeness! Release date set for July 1st...
April 4, 2018
Maggie Hope is miserable. She's still in shock from her last escapade in Berlin where she found her first love, found out that she has a half-sister and came face-to-face with the woman who gave birth to her, Clara Hess. She's no good to her employer and seeks to kill herself when something happens to one of her closest friends and she's determined to save her life. At the same time, the Japanese has bombed Pearl Harbor.
The author chooses to write about war fiction with the expertise of someone that experienced that era (even though we know she wasn't there). She has performed her research and intrigues the reader with what occurred during this period of unrest between the countries of Japan, Russia, Germany and the United States. Her characters are inspiring yet willing to risk their lives for their country and believe in what they are doing. As each book progresses, the heroine, Maggie Hope matures and becomes more capable of handling situations that come her way.
The author chooses to write about war fiction with the expertise of someone that experienced that era (even though we know she wasn't there). She has performed her research and intrigues the reader with what occurred during this period of unrest between the countries of Japan, Russia, Germany and the United States. Her characters are inspiring yet willing to risk their lives for their country and believe in what they are doing. As each book progresses, the heroine, Maggie Hope matures and becomes more capable of handling situations that come her way.
August 15, 2020
Notes:
Low end of 3 Stars
- Narration by SD does not fit an American raised Brit or other accents.
- The "reasoning" for Maggie's mother's situation. Badly done.
- Churchill blowing bubbles in the bathtub. I'm sure it was suppose to be a tongue in cheek moment in a serious mini-scene but that's just another example how Churchill comes across as a dumb/unintelligent person in this series.
Low end of 3 Stars
- Narration by SD does not fit an American raised Brit or other accents.
- The "reasoning" for Maggie's mother's situation. Badly done.
- Churchill blowing bubbles in the bathtub. I'm sure it was suppose to be a tongue in cheek moment in a serious mini-scene but that's just another example how Churchill comes across as a dumb/unintelligent person in this series.
Read
August 7, 2021I am putting this book aside, perhaps for now. There have been many books I've read between this one and the previous in the series so I don't remember what was going on with Maggie. For the start of this book she is depressed and pretty unpleasant. While I'd like to give this book a fair shake I'm just not interested in reading more of this now. Maybe later I'll take it out from the library again.
January 10, 2024
I've been drawn into this series, though at the end of the last book I was beginning to get irritated with the main character. Thankfully, she turns things around in this book and I couldn't put it down. Set in WW2 as the US is drawn into the action, it includes quite a bit of action in the US including the race to decode - and get someone to pay attention to - the messages coming out of Japan preceding the attack on Pearl Harbor. Even knowing the outcome, it was compelling reading and kept hoping (foolishly), that someone would pay attention and disaster would be averted. Looking forward to the next installment as Maggie Hope is headed to the US as part of Churchill's staff to meet with FDR.
May 9, 2017
I haven't read the previous books in this series and this book doesn't work all that well as a stand-alone. I was kind of frustrated by it. It seems more like a coda to the previous book; too much time is spent resolving previous matters. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the historical setting and some of the characters. The author is good at conveying the sense of living in a time of desperation, when no one knew how things were going to turn out. I liked the set-up with Maggie teaching at the spy school in remote Scotland. She's a compelling character and clearly a lot of research went into this.
But there are too many plot strands and they don't cohere. Worst of all, the mystery gets short shrift in the midst of the lead up to Pearl Harbor, Maggie's crazy German spy mother, Maggie's depression, adopting a cat, Churchill fomenting, etc., etc. It was frustrating how little of the book is devoted to the actual mystery, not to mention the obviousness of the cause of death, if not who did it.
I think the author needs to pare down the number of plot elements and dig deeper into the mystery. This book would've been improved if it had just been about Maggie teaching at the school, dealing with her depression and coming out of it by solving the mystery. Instead we get a mish mash of a million other plots in a bunch of different locations unconnected to Maggie, just to tie it into Pearl Harbor and the US coming into the war, with the stupid Clara Hess character tacked on for...well, I have no idea why (see below).
Also she keeps introducing characters and then dropping them. There are repeatedly scenes where a new character is the main actor but we never see them again after that scene (for example, the scene where the double agent tries to give info to Hoover; the actor who's training at the spy school). You think something more is going to happen with them and it doesn't.
There was something about Maggie's depression that wasn't convincing. I don't know why. It seemed kind of superficial, or maybe it just didn't seem to fit the character, who seems very no-nonsense in the next book. Maybe the author needed to dig a little more deeply into Maggie's feelings. Just using the shorthand "the Black Dog" didn't seem adequate.
As in the book that comes after this one, the story revolving around Maggie's mother, Clara Hess, is the worst part. Clara belongs in another book. She's ridiculous and over-the-top. If you watched the recent FX show, Feud: Bette and Joan, I think Clara would fit in well in an early 60's horror melodrama. As Jack Warner from that show might say, hagsploitation anyone? If I read any more of these, I think I'm going to visualize her as Bette Davis played by Susan Sarandon. I hate her character. She's ridiculous. Get rid of her. Instead, the author implausibly has her escape every situation. Also there's no connection to Maggie at all. Why is her mother even in these books?
I'm not going to jump to read another book in this series, although I wouldn't mind reading the first one to see how this all gets started. Eventually. No time soon.
But there are too many plot strands and they don't cohere. Worst of all, the mystery gets short shrift in the midst of the lead up to Pearl Harbor, Maggie's crazy German spy mother, Maggie's depression, adopting a cat, Churchill fomenting, etc., etc. It was frustrating how little of the book is devoted to the actual mystery, not to mention the obviousness of the cause of death, if not who did it.
I think the author needs to pare down the number of plot elements and dig deeper into the mystery. This book would've been improved if it had just been about Maggie teaching at the school, dealing with her depression and coming out of it by solving the mystery. Instead we get a mish mash of a million other plots in a bunch of different locations unconnected to Maggie, just to tie it into Pearl Harbor and the US coming into the war, with the stupid Clara Hess character tacked on for...well, I have no idea why (see below).
Also she keeps introducing characters and then dropping them. There are repeatedly scenes where a new character is the main actor but we never see them again after that scene (for example, the scene where the double agent tries to give info to Hoover; the actor who's training at the spy school). You think something more is going to happen with them and it doesn't.
There was something about Maggie's depression that wasn't convincing. I don't know why. It seemed kind of superficial, or maybe it just didn't seem to fit the character, who seems very no-nonsense in the next book. Maybe the author needed to dig a little more deeply into Maggie's feelings. Just using the shorthand "the Black Dog" didn't seem adequate.
As in the book that comes after this one, the story revolving around Maggie's mother, Clara Hess, is the worst part. Clara belongs in another book. She's ridiculous and over-the-top. If you watched the recent FX show, Feud: Bette and Joan, I think Clara would fit in well in an early 60's horror melodrama. As Jack Warner from that show might say, hagsploitation anyone? If I read any more of these, I think I'm going to visualize her as Bette Davis played by Susan Sarandon. I hate her character. She's ridiculous. Get rid of her. Instead, the author implausibly has her escape every situation. Also there's no connection to Maggie at all. Why is her mother even in these books?
I'm not going to jump to read another book in this series, although I wouldn't mind reading the first one to see how this all gets started. Eventually. No time soon.
February 16, 2017
I struggle to write about this book. I quite liked Maggie Hope 1 - although it had a few factual mistakes - but the series has been sliding downwards since. This is the worst yet - strewn with factual errors and inaccuracies - sometimes to the point where I wonder if anyone actually proofread or fact checked it. I could write an essay on the mistakes in this. Seriously. And it worries me that people might be taking away a distorted view of WW2 from this.
Aside from the mistakes, this is also the weakest in terms of plot. Maggie doesn't really have a story arc in this at all - except for recovering from the events of the last book, and setting up plot for the next book. There's a lot of narrative about the run up to Pearl Harbor, which doesn't involve Maggie or any of her cohort, which feels like unnecessary padding.
So why am I still reading? Well I read these books as a way of channeling my anger. No. Seriously. When I'm having a bad day, I read one of these and it provides an outlet for my anger instead of yelling at my family and friends. It puzzles and perplexes me that this series has run to 6 books now, but as I still have two more to read, I know I have some more stress relief if I need it.
In spoilers below, a few of my problems.
Aside from the mistakes, this is also the weakest in terms of plot. Maggie doesn't really have a story arc in this at all - except for recovering from the events of the last book, and setting up plot for the next book. There's a lot of narrative about the run up to Pearl Harbor, which doesn't involve Maggie or any of her cohort, which feels like unnecessary padding.
So why am I still reading? Well I read these books as a way of channeling my anger. No. Seriously. When I'm having a bad day, I read one of these and it provides an outlet for my anger instead of yelling at my family and friends. It puzzles and perplexes me that this series has run to 6 books now, but as I still have two more to read, I know I have some more stress relief if I need it.
In spoilers below, a few of my problems.
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