Princess Elizabeth's Spy (Maggie Hope #2)

Author: Susan Elia MacNeal
Goodreads Rating: 4.15
My Rating: 4.5 Stars
Pages: 384
Reviewed By: Nicole

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.

I sort of bullied my way onto this tour because I got a copy of this book at BEA signed by Susan. I got the first Maggie Hope in a giveaway from Goodreads, and I am so glad for that because it made me fall in love with this series. Thank you to TLC Tours for letting me be a part of this tour!

I adored the first book in this series and it only makes sense for the second book to be even better than the first. These books have everything that you could want in a spy novel, between the secret codes and covert meetings, the adventure that Maggie embarks upon is even more thrilling than the first.

I adored how we got to see the cast of people from the last book, and while this is the second in a series, readers don't have to worry about feeling lost. The format of the second book, hints at events of the first book, but also explains what you missed if you were a new reader. I think thats one of the best things about certain book series, that they're written knowing new readers can pick up any book in the series.

One of the great things about this book was the strength of Maggie as she faced so many trials including the loss of a loved one (but I won't tell you who that was!). She was so strong as she faced the rejection of her father and the tasks involved with taking care of two  princesses. 

As a historian, I really appreciated MacNeal's attention to detail and her research into the time period was wonderful. Even just by including little details about the code breakers and people listening in on the communications between the German UBoats. I also appreciated the continued mentioning of the rations that were needed. 

All the other things that I loved about this book, you'll have to wait to find out more about it by reading this book!