Mr Churchill's Secretary
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3.3 • 13 Ratings
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- £4.99
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- £4.99
Publisher Description
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 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 thrilling 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 beautifully crafted mystery.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A plucky heroine isn't enough to salvage a plot overly dependent on contrivances, as shown by MacNeal's debut set in 1940 London, the kickoff to a series. The murder of Diana Snyder, a secretary in Prime Minister Winston Churchill's office, creates a vacancy that American expat Maggie Hope agrees to fill, despite her umbrage at having been previously passed over for a more substantive position there. Maggie adjusts fairly quickly, even as the people of London strive to withstand both German bombs and IRA outrages. Since those behind Snyder's fatal stabbing as well as their motive are identified early on, the suspense mainly lies in whether Maggie will be able to use her intellect to foil a plot aimed at decapitating the British government. On several occasions, disaster is averted purely by chance, undermining efforts to credit Maggie with saving the day.
Customer Reviews
Entertaining plot, laced with predictable drama
What an interesting proposition this novel establishes in the form of our ‘Secretary’, Maggie Hope. Some of the historical insights are intriguing, and the opportunity for the plot to develop into something really compelling is tantalisingly close. But what entertainment this espionage thriller offers is limited by too many stereotypes and predictable villains, poorly researched and fancifully convenient scenarios, plus random passages of ‘Mills & Boon’ style prose that feel like padding and are not central to very much plot. Let’s hope the second instalment has more depth and less tropes, as this could be half-decent.