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

Poor narration of a so-so story

There were likeable aspects of this book--I always enjoy reading about the time surrounding WWI and WWII in Britain. I also liked the mixture of real people (like Churchill, the King and his family, etc) with fictional characters. The story was ok. But I don't find Maggie to be an admirable heroine. She does a lot of good things, but at times she seems so foolish that it detracts from the author's attempt to create a strong female protagonist. Or possibly, it is the unpleasant voice of the narrator that causes that to be my reaction. Not sure. I'm not rushing to listen to more books in this series, though, in all likelihood.

Absolutely wonderful! Sequel is fantastic!

I was a bit hesitant to listen to the second book, with a new narrator, but I am so glad I did! The narration was wonderful, and the story was almost better than the original! Twists and turns, romances, happy and sad. And a thrilling cliffhanger. I cannot wait for Book #3 to come out!

Great idea, but I don’t get it

I love spy stories, especially those set during WWII. Of course Maggie’s plots are a bit fantastic , but then we are taking about fiction. What I don’t get is the constant harping on homosexuality. This one even included female homosexuality. It was completely unnecessary and in my opinion detracted from the story. A writer is entitled to write about whatever he or she wants but Audible has a responsibility to warn the listener ahead of time. My next complaint is about the narrator. She was dreadful. Maggie’s voice sounded like a 10 year old. The narration, as was mentioned by another listener, was so annoying as it seldom dropped at the end of a sentence. Fortunately I didn’t pay for this book. I think I will skip the other Maggie Hope books.

I wish I had read the reviews

I wish I had read the reviews when they pointed out the new narrator and her really annoying up-lilt at the end of every sentence of narrative. Same exact pitches every time- I could play them on a piano, over and over and over, every sentence. I wish I had read how she takes what had been a likeable character in the first book and makes her whiny and childish with a high-pitched voice. People said these things, but I liked the first book and was excited about the series. I found myself listening to silence on my commute the last couple of days, much preferable to this misery. I am returning it and checking out the book from the library to finish it.

Narration hurts the lovely book

Would you consider the audio edition of Princess Elizabeth's Spy to be better than the print version?

n/a

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

These are bang-up good stories - MacNeal even has me talking like a WWWII Brit these days!

How could the performance have been better?

However, I wish that before I purchased this book and the third in the series, that I had noticed that the narrator was not the excellent Wanda McCaddon from the first book in the series. This narrator ends most phrases and sentences with an upward lilt. It becomes quite annoying, quite quickly, and seriously affects my ability to enjoy the performance.

Like Listening to the News

How did the narrator detract from the book?

I was so excited to get the second installment in this series. And then...the narrator. I took me a few chapters to pinpoint what was bothering me about her and then I realized: It's as if she's reading the news. The odd phrasing, the overdone dramatic pitch of her voice.

Narration ruins it

I listened to the first in the series and loved it. This is a different narrator and she speaks as if everything she is saying is a question which makes it very difficult to follow. I’m two chapters in and already lost not due to the context of the story just simply because I keep losing my thought process trying to understand what she’s talking about. I wish they had use the same near raider that I became comfortable with as the voice of Maggie Hope

Terrible narration

I gave up on this title after an hour. It was like listening to the BBC nonstop, and was irritating, not entertaining. The narrator sounds like she’s reporting the conditions at the latest disaster or doing a documentary. I’ve listened to other stories via Audible, and have really enjoyed the dramatic readings of other narrators. Had this been the fist title I listened to, there would not have been a second. The voice for Maggie Hope is breathy and sounds like a simpering, flighty woman, not someone with a degree in mathematics and a strong head on her shoulders. Between that and the reporter voice, this was a bad experience. I bought this as the second story in the series because I enjoyed the first one. I see that the subsequent titles are also narrated by the same woman who did this one, which ends this series for me.

Horrible Narrator!

The story is great, but good luck getting through the reading.

It sounds like it was recorded one sentence at a time. The time between sentences is waaaaay too long. I expect the novel is actually an hour shorter than this recording would lead you to believe.

Mediocre story, poor narration

I purchased this because I’d listened to Mr. Churchills secretary and enjoyed it. This story was not nearly as good. And like other reviewers have said- the narration is distracting. The narrator has an odd inflection and cadence which further detracts from listening to the story.