Susan Elia MacNeal

Coco Channel calls!

Maggie is home, safe at last with John Sterling, her ex-fiancé. But that relationship’s put on hold when she’s called into the Special Operations Executive by Kim Philby, head of the Iberian Section of MI6
The writings on the wall for Germany. The allies are pushing through. Europe’s already been carved up at the Tehran Conference.
The German Generals want to negotiate a seperate peace with Churchill. Coco Channel is calling in markers for her lover, Nazi, Baron Hans Günther von Dincklage. Coco has asked for “Paige Kelly” that is Maggie, to be the conduit. Maggie owes her! The meeting will take place in so called neutral Spain in Madrid, a hotbed of spies—Fascists, Nazis, and Communists as well as the Americans and Brits.
Maggie though has been tasked by something even more dangerous. She’s to assassinate the scientist, Weber Heisenberg, who is believed to be working on an Atomic Bomb. Maggie however decides that if Germans are not in the race she won’t kill him. Don’t forget Maggie was a brilliant mathematician before the war. First she must somehow meet and talk protons and heavy water with Herr Heisenberg, trying to discover his progress thus far.
Coco meanwhile has a letter from the Generals for Maggie to personally handover to Churchill.
However the handover becomes complicated when Maggie’s associate, Agent Connor Sullivan, is poisoned.
There’s danger everywhere and Maggie has no idea who’s behind it. A game of cat and mouse ensues. Maggie’s life is in the balance.
A fitting end to a highly explosive series. I was captured not only by the action but intrigued by the names dropped throughout the story. Kim Philby, Antony Blunt! Hmm!

A Random House-Ballantine ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.… (altro)

Mother Daughter Traitor Spy is another historical fiction set during World War II, which is an insanely saturated market, yet there are so many stories that can be gleamed from this terrifying era in history, which is why I am always giving new novels in this genre a chance.

The novel started out promising but as it went on, I became quite bored and picking it up became more of a chore and less of a joy. I’m not sure if it was because I felt like I’ve read this narrative before or what, but it was a real struggle to trudge through it. There were certain parts that felt overly drawn out and a little too detailed whereas the ending felt incredibly rushed so there were definitely some pacing issues. I also never felt like it got deep enough and wish there could’ve been more substance than just surface level, especially when it comes to Veronica and her mother, Vi.

The thing that really kept me reading was the fact that this tale is based on a true story. This story seems so far-fetched, but it actually happened! I know that there was, and sadly still is, a lot of antisemitism that persists and I will never understand it. The ignorance is so frustrating and sadly, just like Veronica says in the novel, “We can’t dismiss it, because underneath that rage is fear—and below that, pain. Letting go of the rage means facing the fear and the pain. And that’s not going to happen any time soon—if ever.”

Though there were moments that I had to trudge through I do not regret reading Mother Daughter Traitor Spy, but I also think there was room for improvement that could’ve made this novel go from good to great.

*I have voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book which I received from the publisher through NetGalley. All views and opinions expressed are completely honest, and my own.… (altro)

It's always sad to see a favorite series end, but-- to be honest-- Susan Elia MacNeal's excellent Maggie Hope series had no choice. People in Maggie's line of work had notoriously short shelf lives. With everything she was being asked to do, her number was going to be up sooner rather than later. And what better way for her career to end than in this pedal-to-the-medal thrill ride, The Last Hope?

I have enjoyed every second of Maggie's service in World War II. She's grown from a bright yet naive young woman to a brave, resourceful agent for British Intelligence. In The Last Hope, Maggie finds herself in a moral dilemma facing betrayal and personal danger, and every step she took felt right to this reader.

As usual with one of MacNeal's books, I felt right at home in the setting and time period, aided a great deal by the little details that the author added to the story. I'd often wondered how Londoners navigated bombed-out streets during the blackouts, and MacNeal mentions the "curbs painted phosphorescent white to glow in the dark." In addition, you simply have to have a bon-mot by the incomparable Winston Churchill. Once again, the man made me laugh when he said that the British "ambassador was descended from a long line of maiden aunts." I also enjoyed seeing Madrid in wartime. Maggie found it quite a change to be in a neutral country, and so did I.

In The Last Hope, a character asks Maggie, "Will I ever read about you?" to which Maggie replies, "Not if I do my job well." One of the things I am most grateful to Susan Elia MacNeal for is bringing to light just what so many incredibly brave women did in service to their country during World War II. Thank you, Susan. You took splendid care of Maggie, and I look forward to your new stories.

(Review copy courtesy of the publisher and Net Galley)… (altro)