I was counting down the days for this book's release, and I was not disappointed! Our favorite spy, Maggie Hope, is brilliant in her performance. The other people are also flawlessly true to their characters. There is so much to be admired. It was an, âI'll just read one more page, one more chapter, oh heck, the rest of the book!â kind of book. The ending left me gasping! I can't wait a whole year for the next book. It will probably kill me! Brava Ms. MacNeal! Your books are definitely worth waiting for!
This is a great read that was nominated for the Agatha Award. Maggie Hope, an awesome heroine, is a trained spy who travels to France to search for a missing operative, Erica Calvert, and her half sister, Elise. She finds both and becomes involved in a mission to help determine whether or not Normandy is an approprlate landing site for invasion. The story keeps the reader reading and reading to see what will happen next. Maggie encounters Sarah and Hugh, also operatives whose mission is to determine which German car manufacturers are making weapons for the Nazis so they can be bombed. However, their mission fails and both they and Maggie are arrested. She is arrested and imprisoned by finds a way to escape and help Sarah as well. Fast moving and very well written, one of my favorites created by this author.
Excellent series, excellent book. I've been enjoying Maggie Hope's journeys and this is my favorite so far.
I highly recommend
I highly recommend
I've been a fan of Susan Elia MacNeal's World War II-era Maggie Hope series since the first, Mr. Churchill's Secretary-- and it's almost impossible to believe that was seven "installments" ago! In each book, Maggie has grown from a woman with a talent for mathematics and thinking on her feet to an agent who not only trains new recruits but does dangerous undercover work herself. The entire series is a homage to the incredible sacrifices that so many (sometimes nameless) people made in the name of freedom during World War II. In MacNeal's capable hands, this series is both enlightening and highly entertaining.
I'm also happy to say that in The Paris Spy, everything comes together with a sizzle; it's MacNeal's best book yet. Occupied Paris comes to life in all its swastika-drenched angst, and the excellent pacing just never lets up. There are some surprising characters who do not behave as one would expect, and there is danger from so many different angles that it's almost impossible to see how on earth Maggie can pull everything together. It's not all derring-do and razzmatazz in The Paris Spy, however. Bad things happen to good people and the things that agents must do change them both inside and out.
This is a perfect book-- and a perfect series-- for fans of historical mysteries featuring strong female characters. (Think Bess Crawford or Maisie Dobbs.) But... if you ever find yourself with a code to crack or the Gestapo closing in, put your money on Maggie. She'll get the job done.
I'm also happy to say that in The Paris Spy, everything comes together with a sizzle; it's MacNeal's best book yet. Occupied Paris comes to life in all its swastika-drenched angst, and the excellent pacing just never lets up. There are some surprising characters who do not behave as one would expect, and there is danger from so many different angles that it's almost impossible to see how on earth Maggie can pull everything together. It's not all derring-do and razzmatazz in The Paris Spy, however. Bad things happen to good people and the things that agents must do change them both inside and out.
This is a perfect book-- and a perfect series-- for fans of historical mysteries featuring strong female characters. (Think Bess Crawford or Maisie Dobbs.) But... if you ever find yourself with a code to crack or the Gestapo closing in, put your money on Maggie. She'll get the job done.
I thought this was the best Maggie Hope book so far in the series. Exciting, suspenseful, some tense moments that made you just want to keep reading. And the ending was shocking. Can't wait to read the next one and find out what happens! Here Maggie is in Occupied Paris as a spy, looking for her sister and looking for another missing spy who has taken soil samples for the Normandy invasion. There are double agents and Nazis and Coco Chanel. Very good book.
The Paris Spy by Susan Elia MacNeal is the seventh novel in A Maggie Hope Mystery series. Maggie Hope is in agent with SOEâSpecial Operations Executive. She is in occupied Paris waiting for the documents she needs to start her assignment. Maggie wants to find her missing half-sister, Elise Hess and fellow spy, Erica Calvert. Erica had been sent to get soil samples England needs to plan its invasion. They know that Erica was captured, but they do not know where she hid the samples she obtained. Maggie is curious how the enemy discovered that Erica was an agentâcould there be a mole in their department. Maggie assumes the identity of Paige Kelly and checks into The Ritz. She did not count, though, on meeting inquisitive Coco Chanel. Maggie will need to work carefully and strategically to get the intel she needs, find her sister, discover what happened to Erica, retrieve the missing samples and get herself out of France. Join Maggie on her latest mission in The Paris Spy!
The Paris Spy is well-researched and contains good writing. I liked the addition of Coco Chanel. I did find the pace to be slow (good for my insomnia, but not for reading). There is a significant amount of historical detail which makes an accurate book, but, in fiction, can make a boring book. At times, it felt like I was reading a nonfiction novel instead of fiction. Maggie is portrayed as a strong female character (most of the time), which I really appreciate. There are not enough strong, female role models in cozy mysteries. My rating for The Paris Spy is 3 out of 5 stars. The guilty party (the mole) was easily identifiable. I was hoping it would be more of a challenge. Maggie not being an experienced spy showed in this story. She always seemed to be on edge and scared (I can understand the feeling, but she is a spyâalbeit an inexperienced oneâand should be careful in public). I was surprised that she was not captured by the Germans the first day. I had a difficult time wading through The Paris Spy and the ending was dissatisfying. History is one of my favorite subjects (especially WWII), but The Paris Spy missed the mark for me. I felt the author missed a great opportunity with this novel. I have decided not to continue with this series.
The Paris Spy is well-researched and contains good writing. I liked the addition of Coco Chanel. I did find the pace to be slow (good for my insomnia, but not for reading). There is a significant amount of historical detail which makes an accurate book, but, in fiction, can make a boring book. At times, it felt like I was reading a nonfiction novel instead of fiction. Maggie is portrayed as a strong female character (most of the time), which I really appreciate. There are not enough strong, female role models in cozy mysteries. My rating for The Paris Spy is 3 out of 5 stars. The guilty party (the mole) was easily identifiable. I was hoping it would be more of a challenge. Maggie not being an experienced spy showed in this story. She always seemed to be on edge and scared (I can understand the feeling, but she is a spyâalbeit an inexperienced oneâand should be careful in public). I was surprised that she was not captured by the Germans the first day. I had a difficult time wading through The Paris Spy and the ending was dissatisfying. History is one of my favorite subjects (especially WWII), but The Paris Spy missed the mark for me. I felt the author missed a great opportunity with this novel. I have decided not to continue with this series.
1942 finds Maggie Hope in Paris, working undercover for the Special Operations Executive. She is involved in a deadly game of wits with the Nazis as well as searching for her half sister Elise.
