Maggie Hope Series: Book 4
Publication Date: July 1, 2014
For fans of Jacqueline Winspear, Charles Todd, and Anne Perry comes a gripping mystery featuring intrepid spy and code breaker Maggie Hope. 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.
New York Times bestselling author Susan Elia MacNeal returns with book four in the Maggie Hope mystery series featuring our daring heroine, Maggie Hope, in The Prime Minister’s Secret Agent.
In book four of the Maggie Hope series, we see a different side of Maggie. Plagued with guilt and self-doubt from her recent trip to Berlin, we see a side of Maggie that is withdrawn, depressed, and stern. Readers watch as Maggie pulls herself out of the dark hole she’s crawled into and finally says goodbye to the metaphorical “black dog” that’s been holding her back when she accidentally uncovers yet another government secret that is causing the deaths of the people around her.
Historical fiction novels tend to be slower-paced. Authors in this genre take their time to set up the story, focus on the details, and bring the reader into what the characters are thinking and feeling. However, compared to Macneal’s previous novels, I found The Prime Minister’s Secret Agent a little sluggish.
One of the first things I look for when reviewing a book is how quickly and intensely I can immerse myself in the story. Unfortunately, in this novel, it took me about 100 pages before I felt fully engrossed, which is why I chose the 4-star review.
However, I did enjoy seeing Maggie take back her power. In book three, there were many things Maggie and others blamed her for, which I didn’t think was fair. However, in this book, Maggie owns up to her decisions and makes peace with her actions. I’m excited to see what Maggie does in book five.
Just when she thinks her days as a spy are behind her, Maggie Hope is thrust into yet another mystery of life and death in The Prime Minister’s Secret Agent.
Susan Elia MacNeal is the New York Times bestselling author of the Maggie Hope mysteries and Mother Daughter Traitor Spy. MacNeal won the Barry Award and an AudioFile Earphones award and has been nominated for the Edgar, Macavity, Agatha, Left Coast Crime, Dilys, ITW Thriller, and Nero awards. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband and son.
