The Last Hope by Susan Elia MacNeal

 

First Line from Prologue: July 1943. General Walter Friedrich Schellenberg, cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth, raced his black Mercedes coupe through the dense pine forest and then up the cobblestone drive to the gates of the looming castle.

 

Maggie Hope has come a long way since she was Mr. Churchill's secretary. She's learned espionage, sabotage, and reconnaissance, among other things. But now British Intelligence has ordered her to assassinate Werner Heisenberg, the physicist who may give Germany the atom bomb. Maggie is shaken to her core. How can the Allies even be sure that Germany does have the bomb? She travels to Madrid where Heisenberg is giving a lecture to gather more information.

Once in Madrid, Maggie finds her presence being requested at the British ambassador's by none other than French fashion designer, Coco Chanel. Maggie-- finally having the opportunity of a happily-ever-after of her own with John Sterling-- wants no part of being an assassin, but she knows what will happen if Germany has an atom bomb. Never have her professional and personal choices been more crucial. And... just what does Coco Chanel want with her?

~

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-metal 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. 

The Last Hope by Susan Elia MacNeal

eISBN: 9780593156995

Bantam Books © 2024

eBook, 304 pages

 

Historical Mystery, #11 Maggie Hope mystery

Rating: A

Source: Net Galley

Death Plans a Perfect Trip by Mary Jane Maffini

First Line: "You two are going the wrong way."

 

It's not unusual for bestselling author Esme Adams to dash off on spontaneous trips to Europe, but when she misses two of her scheduled phone calls with her daughter, professional organizer Charlotte Adams, Charlotte knows something is wrong. Esme has never missed a phone call before. Ever. 

 

Other people think Charlotte is worrying over nothing, but she can't get over the feeling that her mother is in danger. When Charlotte's home is ransacked and set ablaze, Charlotte needs a safe place to be, and she knows just what to do: get out of town, away from the people who are after her, and head to Europe to find her mother. 

As Charlotte follows clues in Paris, Lisbon, and Milan, she finds herself a major player in a very dangerous game of cat and mouse. She keeps narrowly missing her mother while simultaneously squeaking past the people who followed her from the U.S. And the more she searches, the more secrets about her mother's past and her own childhood are uncovered.

~

I've been a fan of Mary Jane Maffini's Charlotte Adams cozy series since I picked up the first book, Organize Your Corpses-- and it's not just because I love to organize things, too. I was sad when the series stopped at the fifth book, but I soon got caught up with a series that Maffini co-wrote with her daughter. When that series ended, I was left in limbo. Imagine my delight when I learned of Death Plans a Perfect Trip!

It was great to be reunited with Charlotte and her significant other, Jack, who runs a cycle shop called CYCotics (love that name). I also liked the fact that Maffini's book is edgier than the usual cozy, the danger more palpable and scarier, without actually "crossing the line." Charlotte and her mother's backstory is quite an interesting one, and I enjoyed watching all the bits and pieces Charlotte discovers coming together. The scenes set in places like Lisbon, Portugal made me feel as though I were walking the streets with Charlotte. As always in this series, rescue dachshunds Truffle and Sweet Marie make their adorable appearance, although they did have to be left behind when Charlotte traveled to Europe. 

If you're in need of a new cozy series and haven't made the acquaintance of Mary Jane Maffini's Charlotte Adams, I recommend that you do so. And if you get a chance, the cozy series she co-wrote with her daughter under the name Victoria Abbott is an absolute delight. (The first book in the Book Collector series is The Christie Curse.) You have some good reading ahead of you!

Death Plans a Perfect Trip by Mary Jane Maffini

eISBN: 971954717978

Beyond the Page Publishing © 2022

eBook, 308 pages

Cozy Mystery, #6 Charlotte Adams Professional Organizer mystery

Rating: A-

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

This Thing of Darkness by Harry Bingham

First Line: Rain.

Fiona Griffiths has been tasked with two things: passing her sergeant's exam with flying colors and logging evidence to help fill in for someone on medical leave. She couldn't be less concerned about her exam, and the monotony of evidence tracking is driving her around the bend. In desperation, she goes to her boss and is given a big stack of cold cases-- anything to keep her quiet.

But as Fiona goes through those cold case files, she begins to piece the tiniest of clues together. A marine engineer found hanged in a locked apartment. A security guard found dead at the base of a cliff in Wales. Artwork that's stolen and then mysteriously returned. What connects the three? Only Fiona believes they are connected, and in her usual inimitable style goes about piecing the facts together to prove that she's right. Her investigating is going to bring her right into the heart of darkness, and her journey is going to be the ultimate test of her mental toughness.

Whenever I see those "all-time favorite" book lists, I avoid them like the plague. I just don't feel like putting all the books that have touched me deeply into an organized and rated row. (Yes, it is a lot like asking a mother to name her favorite child.) However, if someone asked me to name the best mystery series being written today, without hesitation I would say Harry Bingham's Fiona Griffiths. To date, there are four books, and I have given all four the highest possible rating. I can't say that about any other author I've read.

Yes, the setting of Wales adds texture and richness to the books. Yes, the mysteries are some of the most intriguing you'll ever come across. Yes, the pacing draws you inevitably forward, faster and faster. You have to know what happens, and you have to know now. But the best and brightest thing about Harry Bingham's superb series is the main character, Fiona Griffths.

At one time Fiona suffered from Cotard's syndrome, a rare mental illness in which an afflicted person holds the delusion that they are dead, either figuratively or literally. Fiona is one of the brightest people you'll ever run across, but Cotard's syndrome has colored every aspect of her life, and most especially in the way she interacts with other people. As can be seen in This Thing of Darkness, Fiona now has two superior officers who--though they may not really understand her-- can see her almost limitless potential as an investigator. To the best of their ability, they are now trying to groom her for bigger and better things. Will Fiona cooperate? Your guess is as good as mine.

I will warn you that this book does contain scenes of torture, and they do involve Fiona. They are tough to deal with but not impossible because we see these scenes through Fiona's eyes... those eyes that do not see the world as we do. There are also scenes of humor that bring needed warmth and laughter to the book, as when Fiona and Inspector Watkins conduct an interview together.

As different as Fiona is, she can also be very familiar. When she says, "Just when I see a barrier saying Do Not Cross, I have an almost overwhelming impulse to cross it," I understand because I've felt the same way many times.

Harry Bingham is the first writer who's been able to write scenes that take place on board ship that made me seasick, so be forewarned. He also made me nervous about a purchase Fiona made-- an uneasy foreshadowing of what's to come in book five, The Dead House? Unfortunately I'll just have to wait and see.

If you haven't read any of the books in this series, I urge you to do so, and you need to start with the very first book, Talking to the Dead.  If you do that, Fiona will make sense-- and then you will be as hopelessly hooked as I am. Fiona Griffiths is as wild and wonderful in her own way as Stieg Larsson's Lisbeth Salander is in hers. I can't recommend Fiona-- or this entire series-- highly enough.
  

This Thing of Darkness by Harry Bingham

eISBN: 2940152156331
Sheep Street Books © 2015
eBook, 576 pages

Police Procedural, #4 Fiona Griffiths mystery
Rating: A+
Source: Purchased from Amazon.


 

Princess Elizabeth's Spy by Susan Elia MacNeal

First Line: The midday summer sun in Lisbon was dazzling and harsh.

Adolph Hitler is determined to conquer England, and a plot is set in motion to get King George VI and his family out of the way so the much more amenable Duke and Duchess of Windsor can assume the throne. In the mean time Maggie Hope, recently promoted to MI-5 from Winston Churchill's secretarial pool, has washed out of the physical part of her training in Scotland. Sent back to London, she is dismayed when she learns that she's to go to Windsor Castle to be the math tutor to fourteen-year-old Princess Elizabeth-- until she's told of both the plot and the fact that the young royal's life may very well be in danger.

Her first day in Windsor Castle doesn't bode well. The place is war-time austere with many of its furnishings and treasures packed away for safekeeping. The castle is huge, cold, damp and drafty with endless corridors that make getting lost easy. When Maggie finally finds the dining room that evening, she's given a dressing-down because she isn't properly attired, and the ladies-in-waiting who have the rooms closest to hers are a gossiping, judgmental lot.

Fortunately the princesses are much easier to deal with, and Maggie does find a person or two with whom to become friends. She's going to need all the help she can get because hardly any time passes at all before it's very clear that someone does mean the royal family harm. Maggie needs every bit of her quick wits to protect her young charge.

I really enjoyed the first Maggie Hope mystery, Mr. Churchill's Secretary, but this second book in the series grabbed me by the eyeglasses and wouldn't let me go until I'd turned the last page. Maggie still has her math smarts and quick mind for codes as well as her spirit. When standing her ground with her MI-5 superior or giving the dragon in the Windsor Castle dining room a piece of her mind or even when she tells her new handler what a waste of space he is, it's hard not to cheer aloud for a young woman who refuses to be treated as anything less than an equal.

It was just as much fun to read about Maggie and her interactions with the young princesses: Margaret theatrical and a typical younger sister, and Elizabeth, serious and conscious of her future role in life, yet still a teenager writing letters to a certain young man serving in the Royal Navy-- Prince Philip of Greece.

MacNeal has the knack of using real-life people as characters in her books and making them every bit as interesting as her fictional characters. There's nothing wooden or dusty or historical about Churchill or King George or the young princesses. Touring the corridors and dungeons of Windsor Castle is a treat, and so is seeing the ancient residence decked out for Christmas, but the best part of the book is the ending. Not everything about it is completely plausible, but it's so much fun that I don't really care. I refuse to say anything more except that I'd love to have Queen Elizabeth read Princess Elizabeth's Spy and let us know her thoughts about it!

The last chapter of the book sets up the third book in this series perfectly, and I can't wait until it's published. Maggie Hope has shown herself to be one smart woman. When told she's a washout on the physical part of her training, she incorporates running and other strengthening exercises into her daily routine. However, she is a young woman, and-- unless it has something to do with codes and cyphers-- she tends to think with her heart instead of her head. Will she have learned anything after protecting Princess Elizabeth? Only time (and the next book) will tell!

Princess Elizabeth's Spy by Susan Elia MacNeal

ISBN: 9780553593624

Bantam Books © 2012

Paperback, 384 pages

Historical Mystery, #2 Maggie Hope mystery
Rating: A+
Source: the author