The Prime Minister's Secret Agent
A Maggie Hope Mystery
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4.3 • 125 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • 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.
Praise for The Prime Minister’s Secret Agent
“[A] stellar series . . . [Susan Elia] MacNeal has written an impeccably researched, wonderfully engaging story.”—Minneapolis Star Tribune
“A treat for WWII buffs and mystery lovers alike.”—Booklist
“[MacNeal] seamlessly mixes fact and fiction.”—Publishers Weekly
“Splendid . . . riveting . . . The research is complete and fascinating. . . . The scenes are so detailed that readers will feel as if they are next to the characters and listening to them speaking.”—RT Book Reviews (Top Pick)
“Fans of Jacqueline Winspear and Charles Todd will feast on this riveting series chronicling Britain’s own ‘Greatest Generation.’ MacNeal’s research and gift for dialogue shine through on every page, transporting the reader to Churchill’s inner circle. The Prime Minister’s Secret Agent is both top-drawer historical fiction and mystery in its finest hour.”—Julia Spencer-Fleming, New York Times bestselling author of Through the Evil Days
Praise for Susan Elia MacNeal’s Maggie Hope mysteries
“You’ll be [Maggie Hope’s] loyal subject, ready to follow her wherever she goes.”—O: The Oprah Magazine
“A heart-pounding novel peopled with fully drawn real and fictional characters . . . provides the thrills that readers have come to expect from MacNeal.”—Richmond Times-Dispatch, on His Majesty’s Hope
“With false starts, double agents, and red herrings . . . MacNeal provides a vivid view of life both above and below stairs at Windsor Castle.”—Publishers Weekly, on Princess Elizabeth’s Spy
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Set in 1941, MacNeal's fine fourth Maggie Hope mystery finds Maggie teaching at a training camp for spies in Scotland. Traumatized by her experiences in Berlin in 2013's His Majesty's Hope, she pushes the recruits hard, desperate for some peace of her own. Getting a close friend off a murder charge and helping to investigate the death of two ballet dancers bring her some respite. She also learns more about the war effort and the difficulty of fighting a "clean" war than she ever wanted to know. MacNeal focuses on the moral price of war, whose costs affect everyone from Maggie to Winston Churchill. She seamlessly mixes fact and fiction in the buildup to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The book's weakest link is Maggie's mother, the imprisoned German spy Clara Hess, who's scheduled for execution. With the emergence of multiple personalities, Clara comes across as a plot device, not a character.
Customer Reviews
Inaccurate and poorly edited
A decent read, not up to her prior work. The historical inaccuracies and poor research are very distracting. US naval ranks are constantly misidentified with a sailors rank described as a private and a four star Admiral as a Rear Admiral. Churchill on the night of a Pearl Harbor proclaims Britain lost the Prince of Wales the day before. He refers to Singapore and Malaysia as taken by the Japanese weeks before Pearl Harbor. These are but a few of the incorrect historical and factual background found throughout this work of fiction. Actually, the errors are inexcusable. A decent editor who wasn't sleeping at the switch would never have betrayed an author by printing this. Professionally weak.