I seem to have a knack for choosing
books from the middle of a series. I picked up Princess Elizabeth’s Spy
by Susan Elia MacNeal without spotting the bolded word return on the
back cover, only noting “World War II” and “Churchill” and “code-breaking,” which
were enough for me. I hesitated at the publisher’s note inside, where I
finally read closely enough to notice “brings back secret agent Maggie Hope,”
but I needed a book to read that night and decided to throw caution to the
wind.
I needn’t have worried, because
MacNeal provides enough background in this, book two of her Maggie Hope Mystery
series, for readers to be perfectly comfortable in Maggie’s world. (I did pick
up the audiobook version of the first story about midway through the second
just to fill in the gaps.)
Maggie is quite likeable, a
thoroughly modern woman in a world not yet ready to fully embrace her. She has
a degree in mathematics from Wellesley, and was set to pursue a graduate degree
from M.I.T. (because Princeton would not admit women), when her life took a
detour to London right as Britain entered the war. As this second volume
begins, Maggie is attempting to qualify for MI-5, but is instead selected to
protect Princess Elizabeth while posing as a maths tutor.
Overall, I enjoyed this story. MacNeal
has a wonderful way with descriptive language and attempts to engage multiple
senses. I found myself looking up perfumes the characters wore and wanting to
hear the songs described. I am not terrifically fond of her use of the
omniscient point-of-view. The multiple voices took me out of Maggie’s story,
especially a throwaway paragraph on a minor character’s background. I would
have liked a little more code-breaking and a more mysterious mystery. However,
it was a fun read and I look forward to the next chapter in Maggie’s journey,
due in the spring of 2013.
In the meantime, library lovers may
relate to those in this picture MacNeal recently posted on her blog.
Princess Elizabeth's Spy is due out October 16th.
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