Princess Elizabeth's Spy

A Maggie Hope Mystery

By: Susan Elia MacNeal

Narrated by: Susan Duerden

Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

Susan Elia MacNeal introduced the remarkable Maggie Hope in her acclaimed debut, Mr. Churchill's Secretary. Now Maggie returns to protect Britain's beloved royals against an international plot - one that could change the course of history.

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.

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

Storytelling at its best

Finally trying to catch up on Susan Elia MacNeal’s “Maggie Hope” series … The story is quite a good WWII yarn … characters you get attached too and look forward to seeing again … Susan Duerden is a great narrator giving life to each character… on to the third book in the series!

Not the Best Maggie Hope story

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I didn't like the voice of Maggie Hope. She sounded like a teenager.

What was most disappointing about Susan Elia MacNeal’s story?

I was disappointed that the character, Maggie Hope, seemed weak. She missed clues, did not keep her full attention on the Princess at a critical moment. Over all, she seemed like a different character from the Churchill's Secretary story.

Did Susan Duerden do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

She was ok with some of the characters, but Maggie Hope's voice did not fit the character.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No

Narrator is awful

I’ve already read this on Kindle, so I know the story, but I decided to listen to it on Audible, and boy am I sorry I did. The narrator for her first book was very good, but Susan Duerden’s narration is so over-affected, and Maggie’s voice is like Minny Mouse. What a waste of money.

Good book, Annoying narration

What did you love best about Princess Elizabeth's Spy?

I liked the historical setting, intricacy of plotting and nice writing.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The protagonist, Maggie Hope is interesting, but more minor characters and portrayals of historical characters are compelling and seemingly quite accurate.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The narrator has a lovely voice and accent, her French accent is usually good. However, she drops her voice at the end of every sentence. The monotonous inflection line is truly annoying. The narrator for the first volume in the series is much better. The narrator for this book and all further volumes in the series is Susan Duerden. I think they have made a mistake. I hope that she can change what feels like an ingrained inflection pattern - her voice is beautiful, but aargh!!!

Not every sentence is thriller movie tagline!!!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would, but the narrator drove me crazy. Every sentence she said was as if it was a tagline for a movie.

What didn’t you like about Susan Duerden’s performance?

She said every sentence with a downturn at the end, turning it into a movie tagline. Just imagine: "In 2014, there was an event. An event that changed... the world." Except for the entire book.

Simply Outstanding

What made the experience of listening to Princess Elizabeth's Spy the most enjoyable?

This was an enjoyable book read by an outstanding reader. Highly recommended.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Yes! Nice mixture of history and plot. It kept moving along without so many side stories. It kept me reading and enjoying. Some nice twists and turns than kept you listening and enjoying.

What does Susan Duerden bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Yes! Nice voices and be had to adjust to them. The story was so great who cares about the voice. She did a great job overall.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Yes The tile is good!!!

Any additional comments?

Great book. Must read and I will be reading book 2, 3 and 4.
Highly recommended!!!

Narrator voice is a HUGE distraction.

What did you like best about Princess Elizabeth's Spy? What did you like least?

This should be a pleasant light read, but the narration is so distracting that I almost had to stop listening.

What other book might you compare Princess Elizabeth's Spy to and why?

Pretty similar to the Rhys Bowen series.

What didn’t you like about Susan Duerden’s performance?

There are problems with the narration. The weird breathiness was the first thing that I noticed. It sounded like she was narrating a dream sequence. It wasn't long before I noticed the very strange cadence that marked every sentence of the third person narration. It was kind of like she was a BBC newsreader. Very strange and distracting to the point that I almost stopped listening. But I paid for the download and I felt compelled to finish. The other very annoying thing was her interpretation of Maggie's voice. There is a tendency for some British actors to make their Americans sound like idiots, but this one was over the top. It sounded much like the voice of the "Barbie" doll in the Toy Story animated movies. Maggie is a mathematics genius, not a bimbo. It made me laugh when she would say something technical, because it was so ridiculous to hear that voice citing math theory. I thought maybe I was being hard on Ms. Duerden, thinking she was directed to have her voice have the weird monotone, breathy cadence,so I went and listened to a sample of some of her other books. Unfortunately, they were the same. So, if I want to read the rest of the series, I will probably get the books from the library.

Did Princess Elizabeth's Spy inspire you to do anything?

Avoid Susan Duerden narrations.

The narrator was so distracting!

What did you love best about Princess Elizabeth's Spy?

I loved the first book and the narrator was fantastic. I should have taken a closer look at the reviews and just bought the second book instead of buying the audiobook. I am having a difficult time not being overwhelmingly distracted by Susan Duerden's manner of speaking. While I was listening to this audiobook, my 12 year old daughter walked in the house with no prior knowledge of this book or my opinion of the narrator and said "What's wrong with her voice? Why is she talking like that?" Wanda McCaddon, the narrator of the first book, does a terrific job of bringing Maggie Hope into my living room. The version of Maggie Hope I discovered in Book 2 seemed flighty, breathless, insecure, and overly "girlish." I don't believe that Maggie actually changed between Books 1 and 2, but it did illustrate to me how very different a character might seem depending on the narrator.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Susan Duerden?

Wanda McCaddon!

Reader Turns Main Character 2 Shrill Caricature

I really enjoyed the first installment in Susan Elia MacNeal's Maggie Hope series, and found that narrator, Wanda McCaddonm, perfectly suited to the story and the characters. I was really looking forward to listening to this second book in the series, but listening to the sample did give me pause. I did not like the narrator at all, but I told myself that I had so liked the first story, well, perhaps I would get past the new narrator and her annoying rendition of Maggie. Well, that never happened. Why oh why do they change narrators??? Susan Duerden did not read Maggie's character with her own voice, but a voice that was higher and much more shrill. At one point she says, "But I am smart." She does not sound like a mathematical genius or someone capable of being a spy, she sounded like a tween on puppy uppers...big time annoying. Whenever there are shouts of, "Cheers!" in this narration, believe me,they are shouted!

There is a lot of interesting stuff going on in the story, and though you can pretty easily see what is coming, there is enough humor, dread, tension anticipation, and even a teeny bit of romance, to keep it going, and it all would have been just so much more enjoyable with a different narrator I really don't like being so negative about anyone, but I literally found myself grimacing, when Maggie's character was speaking or thinking. I think that wanting to shove a sock in the main character's beak is not the effect the publishers should be striving for!!

Captivating Historic Novel

The Maggie Hope series set during the years leading up to and including World War II in England is interesting. it is so great to have a female protagonist who is smart, independent, and brave.