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

Good story

Narrator was trying to be too posh and it came off too stiff in parts. Also a bit much on the "mixed relationships". There is such a thing as too much sharing.

Distracting narration

The story is interesting, but I did get distracted by the narrators style of reading. Overall it was ok.

Perfect

Loved this book just as much if not more than Churchill's Secretary. Ready for book 3!

Excellent Read

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

Yes. I would suggest this book. It is entertaining and well read.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Princess Elizabeth's Spy?

The entire book. It kept me guessing throughout.

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

She was excellent. I took it on a cruise and was amazed that it continued to keep my attention throughout.

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

The Adventures of Maggie Hope.

Any additional comments?

I look forward to her next book. Did Maggie ever discover that John was alive in German etc.

Nice follow up from first Maggie Hope

Where does Princess Elizabeth's Spy rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

A good compelling, if somewhat unbelievable story.

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

In some ways this reminds me of Maisie Dobbs books, although I do think that Jacqueline Winspear is a somewhat better writer.

Which scene was your favorite?

I think the evolving relationship with her father is a compelling part of the story.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I like listening peacemeal

Any additional comments?

Although it stretches believability a bit, the characters are clearly well formed and described and I would like her to write another.

Good story; awful narrator

Whoever Susan Duerden is, she has no future as a book narrator - she reads in a monotonous and twee fashion that is more suitable to announcing the bus schedules for British Rail than reading a fast-paced and well plotted book.

I really enjoy the 1920s-30s-40s female-centric mysteries (Maisie Dobbs; Lady Georgiana etc.) (that all seem to be written by American women BTW) and quite enjoyed the first book of the Maggie Hope series, read by a different narrator, so was looking forward to the next book. That narrator wasn`t wonderful but she wasn`t completely horrible.

Unfortunately, despite it being a good read, full of bright characters and strong plot, the narration put me off so thoroughly that I abandoned listening to it and checked the book out of the library.

Good series partially ruined by narrator

I can’t believe no one could coach this narrator to give up the singsong narration. Dialogue was fine, story and characters intriguing if Maggie a bit unbelievable.

A good series

The books in this series are quite enjoyable if you can get past the horrible narration. Try increasing the speed, it helped me.

Just off the Mark

I have read all the Maisie Dobbs novels. Jacqueline Winspear's writing is for me more sophisticated and her plots more believable.
I find Maggie Hope novels entertaining, but somewhat lacking and a bit beyond belief.

Character Growth, intrigue, storytelling

Lovely growth of characters, beautiful storytelling and intrigue. Great twist at the end. Better reading than the last one. This story has captivated me.