Monday, November 12, 2012

TLC Book Tours Book Review: Princess Elizabeth's Spy


Author: Susan Elia MacNeal
Title: Princess Elizabeth's Spy
Publisher: Bantam
Publish Date: Oct 16, 2012
Buy: Amazon
Review Copy Provided By: TLC Book Tours & the publisher
Book Blurb: Susan Elia MacNeal introduced the remarkable Maggie Hope in her acclaimed debut, Mr. Churchill’s Secretary. Now Maggie returns to protect Britain’s beloved royals against an international plot—one that could change the course of history. As World War II sweeps the continent and England steels itself against German attack, Maggie Hope, former secretary to Prime Minister Winston Churchill, completes her training to become a spy for MI-5. Spirited, strong-willed, and possessing one of the sharpest minds in government for mathematics and code-breaking, she fully expects to be sent abroad to gather intelligence for the British front. Instead, to her great disappointment, she is dispatched to go undercover at Windsor Castle, where she will tutor the young Princess Elizabeth in math. Yet castle life quickly proves more dangerous—and deadly—than Maggie ever expected. The upstairs-downstairs world at Windsor is thrown into disarray by a shocking murder, which draws Maggie into a vast conspiracy that places the entire royal family in peril. And as she races to save England from a most disturbing fate, Maggie realizes that a quick wit is her best defense, and that the smallest clues can unravel the biggest secrets, even within her own family.

Review: I've been reading a lot of pre WWII cozy mysteries. Just a few days ago I posted the review for Elegy For Eddie and now there's Princess Elizabeth's Spy.

This book is fabulous.

I really loved the author's attention to detail in the historical aspect of the story. It was great to get a picture of Queen Elizabeth II in the days when she was just Princess Elizabeth.

It is a historical novel of intrigue that touches on the cozy side, but Maggie Hope is a little more than your typical cozy mystery heroine. She wants to work for the MI-5. She's a brilliant woman. She knows math and  code-breaking.

There are 2 murders fairly quickly on that keep the story flowing as well as the intrigue that surrounds Maggie's father. There's also a little bit of a romance that tries to brew between Maggie and her handler Hugh, once she starts to become acclimated to the fact her fiancee perished in the war, when his plane went down.

When reading this book, I felt like I was with the royal family.  Even though this book is fictional, I feel the author portrayed the family well. I loved the interaction between Elizabeth and Margaret. It can't be easy writing about people that are still alive! It makes me wonder what Queen Elizabeth thinks of this novel!

I can't wait til spring when the next book in the series comes out!

Rating: 5 flowers



1 comments:

Heather J. @ TLC Book Tours said...

I'm so glad you enjoyed this on! I've been meaning to start this series for a while ... it looks SO GOOD.

Thanks for being on the tour.

 
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