Mr. Churchill's Secretary

A Maggie Hope Mystery

By: Susan Elia MacNeal

Narrated by: Donada Peters

Length: 9 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

BARRY AWARD WINNER • Heralding the arrival of a brilliant new heroine, Mr. Churchill’s Secretary captures the drama of an era of unprecedented challenge—and the greatness that rose to meet it.

“With any luck, the adventures of red-haired super-sleuth Maggie Hope will go on forever. . . . Taut, well-plotted, and suspenseful, this is a wartime mystery to sink your teeth into.” —Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Rose Code

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 daring 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 spectacularly crafted novel.

©2012 Susan Elia Macneal (P)2012 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“This wonderful debut is intelligent, richly detailed, and filled with suspense.” (Stefanie Pintoff)

“A terrific read.... Chock full of fascinating period details and real people including Winston Churchill, MacNeal’s fast-paced thriller gives a glimpse of the struggles, tensions, and dangers of life on the home front during World War II.” (Rhys Bowen, author of Royal Blood and winner of the Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity awards)

“Think early Ken Follett, amp it up with a whip-smart young American not averse to red lipstick and vintage cocktails, season it with espionage during the London Blitz, and you’ve got a heart-pounding, atmospheric debut. I loved it.” (Cara Black, author of Murder in Passy)

Cozy Spy during the Battle of Britain

Overall, really enjoyed this, though I thought the ending (and some of the other parts) went on too long.
The Hits:
-the narration is superb and helped me keep track of a large cast of characters.
- loved the insight into daily life in London when there was no certainty Hitler would be defeated. The conditions were grim and it was a good reminder to me that people can survive a bleak time.
- I enjoyed a lot of the ancillary characters, Maggie's friends especially.
- If you enjoy cozy mysteries in a historical setting, this would almost certainly be a hit.
The Misses for me:
- Maggie is a bit preachy and also a bit too perfect. I expected to enjoy her character more.
- This was the third thing I'd consumed lately that used the idea of a female typist as a way to understand Churchill (also the Crown and Darkest Hour). It just seemed a cliché at this point.
- I thought her family mystery wrapped up too neatly and happily to be plausible.

Unfortunately the Future Doesn’t Sound

This story and its characters reminded us a little of The Ms Fisher Mysteries from Australian tv. The novel, with a crew of appealing characters, left us wanting more. Unfortunately, we will probably not forge ahead with the series based on reviews of the new narrator.

Just ok

Entertaining but no competition for Maisie Dobbs but I did like the accurate historical detail.

Another excellent story of women and war

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I love stories about the World Wars and especially, the role of women. This wove real history and fiction seamlessly. It had me guessing (wrongly) as to who the culprits were and just when I thought it was about to tie all the ends neatly, a knotty problem arose. The narration was fabulous. I have always enjoyed anything by this narrator and she once again delivered a strong, interesting performance without outlandish accents or intonations.

Very Slow to Start

I understand the author may setting the scene for future books but thus took far too long to get started. Then when it did start it was almost finished.

Mr Church's Secretary

Excellent story... A little espionage, a little romance, history interesting with lots of plot twists.

Even better than the hype

This book has shown up on my recommended list many many times, but I could never bring myself to buy it. I assumed (note that word choice) that it would be formulaic - nothing more than the same old story warmed up. I freely admit that I was wrong. Sure, there are some tropes and unsurprising elements, but what story doesn’t have a bit of that these days? This book was fantastic. It took an old idea and made it new. There were unexpected twists, an entire nation of characters, and a lovely mix of humor and humanity. The pace is excellent and the plot well developed. In short, this book is everything the marketing department says that it is. If you like Agent Carter, you will love this book.

Narration threw me off.

I enjoyed the story but the narrator was so bad at what should have been a Boston accent that I couldn’t ever warm to the character. No one in Boston, or anywhere in the US sounds anything like that. It made the story unbelievable.

Slow to start, but the ending made me excited for more!

I had trouble keeping with the story at the beginning. In part the reader struggled to bring the various characters to life, however once the puzzle pieces started falling into place in the storyline I was hooked. Hopefully, now that the cast of characters has been set, the next books will be even more engaging.

1940, London, and a brilliant young woman in mathematics taking a typing position for Mr. Churchill at 10 Downing ...

Imagine all those lining up on a slot machine ... surely lighter than the reality would been unto shorting out an an assassination on the old man himself ... but it was a warm read in this lighter fictional mode. This young woman was through and through human and used her analytical side surprising men off the road left and right in her true valor ... her logic and code ... her new coworkers knew only of her typing. Foiling a Churchill assassination on her first week of work would have dropped on my heels to the carpet. I read much of Winston and this book tries to get in at least ten or so of his greatest quotes. I must say I wonder if people know exactly what he said and exactly where and to whom. But, none the less ‘Never Give In’ does nicely in almost any room in the house. I think Winston went yay on the extraterrestrial vote as he knew ... he was one.