For fans of Jacqueline Winspear, Laurie R. King, and Anne Perry, captures the drama of an era of unprecedented challenge — and the greatness that rose to meet it.
London, 1940. Winston Churchill has just been sworn in, war rages across the Channel, and the threat of a Blitz looms larger by the day. But none of this deters Maggie Hope. She graduated at the top of her college class and possesses … Hope. She graduated at the top of her college class and possesses all the skills of the finest minds in British intelligence, but her gender qualifies her only to be the newest typist at No. 10 Downing Street. Her indefatigable spirit and remarkable gifts for codebreaking, though, rival those of even the highest men in government, and Maggie finds that working for the prime minister affords her a level of clearance she could never have imagined — and opportunities she will not let pass. In troubled, deadly times, with air-raid sirens sending multitudes underground, access to the War Rooms also exposes Maggie to the machinations of a menacing faction determined to do whatever it takes to change the course of history.
Ensnared in a web of spies, murder, and intrigue, Maggie must work quickly to balance her duty to King and Country with her chances for survival. And when she unravels a mystery that points toward her own family’s hidden secrets, she’ll discover that her quick wits are all that stand between an assassin’s murderous plan and Churchill himself.
In this daring debut, Susan Elia MacNeal blends meticulous research on the era, psychological insight into Winston Churchill, and the creation of a riveting main character, Maggie Hope, into a spectacularly crafted novel.
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learned about WW2 history….
Good plot with a believable protagonist.
Although the book-one-in-a-series burden of too many characters exists here, the writer handles it well, taking time to work out character backgrounds throughout the book instead of dumping them as each individual is introduced.
I liked the book immensely, but I won’t read any more in the series because of the ebook prices. I am sick of …
Maggie is a British subject who has been raised by her aunt, a professor at Wellesley College in Boston. She returns to England shortly before WWII starts to sell her late grandmother’s home that has been willed to her, but can’t find a buyer and stays. When the war begins, she invites several female friends to live with her and share rent, not …
I really liked this book. It has a good plot with just enough action to keep you interested.
Fun with bits of history interwoven.
One main plot but several sub plots continuing onto following books.
This was a good entertaining historical read. Insight into the life of Londoners during the blitz, and the sacrifices they made was certainly realistic and accurate.,
I love this author. She writes about real happenings of England during WW ll.
Excellent series! Looking forward to the next book in the series!
While I like some of the characters, and find the descriptions of wartime London interesting, the author keeps changing point of view within the chapter. I find this somewhat confusing…I keep forgetting who is who and what side they are on. at first I was going to put it aside, but I keep reading “‘just a little more.” I’ll probably finish it, …
This was a very interesting book. It was a mystery and romance. I like the way the author writes. I want to read Elizabeth’s spy next.
I waited along time for this book to come up free. I wanted to read the series in order. Just finished it, and I liked it but have read more tightly written books. If you like the WWII era like I do, you will enjoy reading this.
I loved it and am hooked on the series!
Great launch to a fascinating series of Historical Fiction.
I thoroughly enjoyed this WWII-era novel, and the authentic details the author wove into the plot. Very well done. Looking forward to finding other novels in this series.
Good writing, strong characters, and plenty of plot twists.
Uneven at times but Always Enjoyable
It’s just impossible to keep up with all the new books coming out. But I heard enough references to Mr. Churchill’s Secretary that it eventually made my to be read list. After all, I enjoy World War II history, so a novel set in London during that time would be very interesting. And it was.
Maggie Hope has …
I’m usually pretty iffy with historical fiction once it starts involving real-life historical figures as actual characters. So when I got this book I was a little nervous about how it would deal with actually having Churchill as a character in the book. I was pleased to see that, aside from the fictional secretary of Maggie Hope, the author was …
I had hopes but only got about two chapters into it. I consider myself a feminist, but the attitudes of the main character were terribly anachronistic for World War II. Story just didn’t right right.