The King's Justice (Maggie Hope #9)

The King's Justice by Susan Elia MacNeal is her ninth book in the Maggie Hope series - an historical mystery / espionage series lead by a wonderful character. 

Maggie has had many jobs since she moved to London - from secretary to Mr. Churchill, to espionage work, to helping Scotland Yard catch a sequential murderer. Now she just wants a break. 

Of course her idea of a break from that previous work is to join a bomb disposal unit. Her role being defusing the UXBs before they can explode. 

The man from Scotland Yard has other ideas. He wants her help, and to get her away from the UXBs. She can choose her case - either a new sequential killer who is putting human bones in suitcases in the Thames, or the theft of a Stradivarius violin. 

MacNeal's series is one of my favorite in any genre. This and Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs are equally the best of historical mystery.  

MacNeal, Susan Elia. (2020). The King's Justice. New York: Bantam Books.

The Prisoner in the Castle (Maggie Hope #8)

The Prisoner in the Castle by Susan Elia MacNeal is the eighth book in her Maggie Hope series - an espionage / mystery series set in WWII.

Maggie Hope has done a lot for the war effort - from helping to break codes to being dropped into France during Nazi occupation. But someone thinks she knows too much.

After being drugged, Maggie finds herself on an island off of Scotland. She is there with other British soldiers and spies in what amounts to a fancy prison. No one knows when they will be released - an almost no one knows where they are.

When there is a murder, all of the are suspects. And the bodies drop in the Agatha Christie style mystery, other people are starting to wonder where Maggie Hope is hiding. In fact, she is need to testify in a major criminal case in London - without her a serial killer may go free.

MacNeal has created a wonderful character, set in one of history's most interesting times. This is a must-read series.

MacNeal, Susan Elia. (2018). The Prisoner in the Castle. New York:Bsntam.

The Paris Spy (Maggie Hope 7)

The Paris Spy by Susan Elia MacNeal is the seventh book in her Maggie Hope series of mystery / espionage historical fiction.

Maggie has gotten herself to Paris - in the midst of the Nazi occupation. It is not only a dangerous place to be anyone at the time, but she must avoid an SS officer who would recognize her as a British spy. But she felt she had to go to look for her half-sister.

Sarah and Hugh are also in Paris, their cover a ballerina and her husband who plays in the orchestra. Their task is to find the report and samples of another spy - the information that will determine on which beach the Allied invasion will take place.

MacNeal is a master of making tension in her readers. Each page is both wonderfully written and crafted, and on the edge of discovery by the Nazis.

If you are a fan of historical fiction, this is a must-read series.

MacNeal, Susan Elia. (2017). The Paris Spy. New York: Bantam Books.

The Queen's Accomplice (Maggie Hope #6)

The Queen's Accomplice by Susan Elia MacNeal is the sixth book in her Maggie Hope series - a historical mystery, espionage series set during World War II.

England 1942. In London the Blitz has paused but the blackout continue. It is starting to seem like someone is taking advantage of the darkness and the transience of women working for the war effort. Someone is killing ATS women.

Maggie Hope is currently assigned to the SOE (Special Operations Executive) office overseeing spies in France. She is under appreciated and her expertise is being ignored by those in power - who have never been undercover - when she is borrowed by MI-5. Maggie is tasked to work with DCI Durgin at Scotland Yard. to find the man responsible for killing SOE recruits. A man the media has dubbed the Blackout Beast.

MacNeal has created a great character in Maggie Hope. The books are a wonderful mixture of historical, mystery, suspense and espionage as we follow Maggie's time in the war. This novel reads like a fiction version of Devil in the White City.

MacNeal, Susan Elia. (2016). The Queen's Accomplice. New York: Bantam Books.

Mrs. Roosevelt's Confidant (Maggie Hope #5)

Mrs. Roosevelt's Confidant by Susan Elia MacNeal is the fifth book in her Maggie Hope series - about a spy during World War II.


Maggie is traveling to the United States as Prime Minster Churchill's secretary, though she has been promoted far beyond typing confidential memos. Mr. Churchill is on his way to meet President Roosevelt to insure the US military support of the Allies in Europe.

The day they arrive at the White House, one of Mrs. Roosevelt's staff members fails to come to work. By the end of the day with no call, Mrs. Roosevelt decides to check on the woman. Maggie Hope accompanies her to the apartment only to find the secretary dead of an apparent suicide.

While US involvement in WWII is assured by the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt still needs support of the Congress. Racial tension over the death sentence of a black farmer is the main debate around D.C. and may affect how southern officials will vote - especially if the President interferes with the sentence like his wife would life him to. Civil rights lawyer Andi Martin is leading the protests and public debate about a man, Wendell Cotton, who was convicted not by a jury of his peers, but by white sharecroppers who paid a tax to be a part of the jury.

MacNeal captures the time period, December 1941, and seamlessly weaves a mystery into the politics of the time. Over two weeks beloved characters from the series add a new dimension to this wonderful historical series - the addition of the United States into the war. Fans of mystery, history, or just great writing will love this series - and the great protagonists whose stories guide it.

MacNeal, Susan Elia. (2015). Mrs. Roosevelt's Confidante. New York: Bantam Books.

The Prime Minister's Secret Agent (Maggie Hope #4)

The Prime Minister's Secret Agent by Susan Elia MacNeal is the fourth book in her Maggie Hope series.

After working her way from the Prime Minster's typist to a spy who was dropped in Germany, Maggie Hope is back in the UK and recovering from her mission. She has been teaching potential spies in Scotland. And spending a lot of time by herself trying to come to terms with what she did in Germany.

When Maggie gets an invitation to see her friend Sarah in the ballet in Edinburgh she decides she would be terrible company. But after a training incident her old teacher sends her to Edinburgh anyway. And it is a good thing he did - three of the ballerinas are ill, including Sarah.

While Maggie talks her way into an investigation, forces in Japan plan an attack on the United States - who have still declined to join the war.

MacNeal has created a great character in Maggie Hope. Set in a full time in our history, the Maggie Hope series is filled with espionage, adventure, friendship and hope. MacNeal is a master. Start reading the series today!

MacNeal, Susan Elia. (2014). The Prime Minister's Secret Agent. New York: Bantam Books.

His Majesty's Hope (Maggie Hope #3)

His Majesty's Hope by Susan Elia MacNeal is the third book in her Maggie Hope series. Maggie is a code breaker and mathematician in 1940s London during WWII.

Britain is under attack by the Nazis. Almost nightly air raids has been causing havoc in London. Maggie Hope has been able to miss a lot of the bombing by being at Windsor castle for the last couple of months. But now her country needs her more than ever. She is going back to school to finish her training to be a spy.

Maggie will be working for the SOE, or Special Operations Executive), also known as Churchill's private army. She will be trained to be dropped into Germany. Her training combined with her quick thinking and intelligence may be enough to keep her alive for the mission.

But when Maggie sees an opportunity to get more information for Britain, she goes off of the mission and begins to infiltrate the highest levels of Berlin society.

MacNeal's character Maggie Hope is brilliant. She is a strong, smart woman in a male dominated world. Her adventures and well-written and will keep readers up all night to find out what happens next. Fans of Maisie Dobbs or Gabriel Allon should read these books along with everyone else!

MacNeal, Susan Elia. (2013). His Majesty's Hope. New York: Bantam Books.

Princess Elizabeth's Spy (Maggie Hope #2)

Princess Elizabeth's Spy by Susan Elia MacNeal is the second book in her Maggie Hope mystery series which takes place during World War II.

After successfully proving herself as one of Mr. Churchill's secretaries, Maggie Hope is being trained to use her brain more to its potential. As a mathematician she could do more than take dictation, she has a flair for breaking codes. And she is fluent in German and French.

Now Maggie is training to be a spy. She is hoping for an assignment in Europe, but those in charge have another idea for her. Maggie is to be undercover at Windsor Castle - teaching Princess Elizabeth maths. At the same time she is to keep her eyes and ears open. As the heir to the throne, Elizabeth is a very likely target of the Nazis.

Maggie is a great character and a woman not willing to let the men of the time talk down to her. She is a brilliant mathematician and good with puzzles. And she will need all of her skills to find the threat at the castle before it is too late.

MacNeal's series is a must read for any fans of historical fiction, mystery, England or just great books.

MacNeal, Susan Elia. (2012). Princess Elizabeth's Spy. New York: Bantam Books.

Mr. Churchill's Secretary (Maggie Hope #1)

Mr. Churchill's Secretary by Susan Elia MacNeal is the first book in her series set during WWII in London featuring Maggie Hope - a brilliant woman with a head for math, puzzles and codes.

Maggie Hope was upset when her Aunt Edith told her she had to postpone graduate school at MIT to sell her grandmother's house in England. She did not even know she had a grandmother. The only family she had ever known was the aunt who raised her after her parents were killed in an auto accident.

Now Maggie has made London her home. And though it is below her skill level, when a friend offers her a job as one of Prime Minister Churchill's secretaries, she takes it. With the war in Europe Maggie is thrown into the stream of information flowing through No. 10 Downing Street.

Capturing life in London during World War II, MacNeal has created a wonderful series. Maggie Hope is a strong, compelling character who readers will follow through anything MacNeal writes for her. The Maggie Hope series feels like a cross between Jacqueline Winspears' Maisie Dobbs and PBS's The Bletchley Circle. Great espionage; great historical fiction.

MacNeal, Susan Elia. (2012). Mr. Churchill's Secretary. New York: Bantam Books.