ARC Review: His Majesty’s Hope by Susan Elia MacNeal
Author: Susan Elia MacNeal
Title: His Majesty’s Hope
Release: May 14, 2013
Reviewer: Noa
Source: PublisherPurchase: | Book Depository
World War II has finally come home to Britain, but it takes more than nightly air raids to rattle intrepid spy and expert code breaker Maggie Hope. After serving as a secret agent to protect Princess Elizabeth at Windsor Castle, Maggie is now an elite member of the Special Operations Executive—a black ops organization designed to aid the British effort abroad—and her first assignment sends her straight into Nazi-controlled Berlin, the very heart of the German war machine.
Relying on her quick wit and keen instincts, Maggie infiltrates the highest level of Berlin society, gathering information to pass on to London headquarters. But the secrets she unveils will expose a darker, more dangerous side of the war—and of her own past.
*Possible Spoilers For Previous Books*
His Majesty’s Hope is the third installment in MacNeal’s Maggie Hope series which continues to grow from strength to strength.
It’s 1941 and Maggie Hope has finally gotten what she has dreamed of – the opportunity to serve in the SEO and become the first female British agent to be dropped into Germany behind enemy lines. But as in so many cases, be careful what you wish for…
If Maggie’s original mission wasn’t difficult enough, it seems that the people in charge have a hidden agenda – get Clara Hess, a senior German agent and someone who shares a history with Maggie on board as a double agent – they just don’t share that with Maggie.
Maggie’s first taste of Berlin is a study in contrasts – life going on as if the war isn’t happening alongside the horrors of the Nazi regime. Where evenings at the opera go side by side with the Nuremberg laws.
And meanwhile, another plot is unfolded through the eyes of Elise Hess – a nurse at a Berlin hospital and daughter of Clara Hess… Yes, that Clara Hess.
For those of you who are like me and have been waiting to find out what happened to Maggie’s first love John – this installment includes quite a bit of drama on that side.
In His Majesty’s Hope, MacNeal takes this series to a completely new level and really, if I could I would give it six stars. I literally read this book in one nail-biting sitting and had to take a few days to process when I was done. This book is such a game changer for Maggie both on a personal and professional level and MacNeal has Maggie take the reader with her every step of the way.
I did feel that His Majesty’s Hope was a darker story than the previous books in the series and by the end of it we see a darker Maggie, one who has done battle and who still has many demons to fight.
On a personal level, this book also serves as a very important reminder. As a grandchild of Holocaust survivors I have grown up with stories of the horrors of WWII and its consequences. Yet I often feel that people who don’t have that personal connection don’t realize just how horrific the Nazis were. So many times people have told me that I need to put the events of 70 years ago behind me. That it could never happen again… I suppose ignorance is bliss.
Using one of the Nazis’ plans to “Arianize” the world in her story, MacNeal emphasizes how people can be brought to believe that something completely inhuman is rational, and how by simply remaining silent the world continues to allow horrors and injustices to be inflicted. And I thank her from the bottom of my heart for doing so.
By the end of His Majesty’s Hope, everything in Maggie’s life is turned upside down and there is no way of knowing what the future (and the author) have planned next. This is definitely a turning point in the series and I can’t wait to take that next turn with Maggie and see what’s coming next.
Superbly done Ms. MacNeal.
