The Last Hope

A Maggie Hope Mystery, Book 12

By: Susan Elia MacNeal

Narrated by: Susan Duerden

Length: 9 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

All will be revealed in this no-holds-barred finale of the New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award-nominated Maggie Hope series as the intrepid spy teams up with fashion designer—and possible double agent—Coco Chanel to bring down the physicist behind Nazi Germany’s nuclear program.

“Intrepid Maggie Hope’s high-stakes mission is fraught with danger and moral questions. . . . A heartfelt story.”—Cara Black, New York Times bestselling author of Three Hours in Paris

Maggie Hope has come a long way since she was Mr. Churchill’s secretary. In the face of tremendous danger, she’s learned espionage, sabotage, and reconnaissance. But things are different now that she has so much to lose, including the possibility of a family with John Sterling, the man who’s long held her heart.

British Intelligence has ordered Maggie to assassinate Werner Heisenberg, the physicist who may deliver a world-ending fission bomb for Germany. She’s shaken. An assassination is unlike anything she has ever done. How can the Allies even be sure Nazi Germany has a bomb? Determined to gather more information, Maggie travels to Madrid, where Heisenberg is visiting for a lecture.

At the same time, couturier Coco Chanel, a spy in her own right with ambiguous loyalties, has requested a mysterious meeting with the British ambassador in Madrid—and has requested Maggie join them. As the two play a dangerous game of cat and mouse, Maggie tries to get a better understanding of Heisenberg, but is faced with betrayal and a threat more terrifying than losing her own life.

Maggie desperately wants to find her happily-ever-after, but as the war reaches a fever pitch, the stakes keep rising. Now, more than ever, the choices she makes will reverberate around the globe, touching everyone she loves—with fateful implications for the future of the free world.

©2024 Susan Elia MacNeal (P)2024 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Susan Elia MacNeal is masterful in her final, thrilling Maggie Hope adventure!”—Lynda Cohen Loigman, bestselling author of The Wartime Sisters

“Susan Elia MacNeal has done it again, bringing us one final heart-stopping and stylish adventure.”—Tara Moss, #1 internationally bestselling author of The War Widow

“An impeccably researched spy thriller with heart, The Last Hope will have readers turning the pages long into the night.”—Brenda Janowitz, author of The Audrey Hepburn Estate

Leave them wanting more

As always, Susan Elia MacNeal’s Maggie Hope provides history, a bit of romance, and chills/thrills. I loved this book and looked forward to resolutions and hopefully a happy ending. Alas, as in war and life, closure is never easy and so it is with The Last Hope. I was left with questions unanswered and a feeling of uneasiness as the final chapter came to a close. It was almost like MacNeal was setting up the next book while making clear that this was the final story for Maggie Hope. It is always hard for authors and readers at the end a series. I wish the readers had the opportunity to send Maggie off into a clearer future.

Horrible narration. Sounds like AI.... yuck

I cannot get into this book because of the narrator. I play3d with the speed and it did not improve.

Maggie Hope has done ir again

I love these MacNeal books about WWII because I learn about spies and the tolls that kind of life took on the spies. The books are well researched but told through the eyes of a fictional spy Maggie Hope. It is best to start with Book 1 to meet the other characters as Maggie does.

the End of the Series?

This was an amazing whirlwind, taking Maggie Hope back to Europe - this time to Spain and Portugal. We encounter spies on all sides of the global conflict as Maggie interacts once again with Coco Chanel and a famous matador.
Sadly, this is the end of the series, even though I wish the author would consider giving us just one more- to show what Peter has Maggie work on back in London... I will keep my fingers crossed.

Based on fact. Interesting and well written and performed.

A suspenseful and satisfying read.

The author‘s research appears to be very thorough and the story holds together very well.