The Paris Spy / MacNeal

This book is #7 in the historical series featuring Maggie Hope, agent for the UK during WWII. More than the other books in the series, you must have read the earlier books to understand what's going on. Significantly, you need to remember that she has a half-sister in France and the events that occurred in one of the previous books with her. It had been a while since I read whichever of the books featured these events (I think it was book 3), so there was a lot of "What, oh, yeah, I remember something about that" moments.
A strong point for the book was the historical background provided. I liked that there was more about the SOE (Special Operations Executive) and its position within British intelligence, and details of how agents passed on information. Apparently, there were coded messages within radio programs for spies stationed abroad to get information. At the end of this book, there is a few pages of historical notes. The SOE is detailed, and who she modeled the characters on, and a bibliography for more information. I think these historical notes could have been longer for me, I still had questions about some things that came up. For instance, Cocoa Chanel is a character in this novel. She has a German lover and says several Nazi sympathizing things in the book. Was she a Nazi? Maggie Hope did not express any surprise or concerns about Cocoa Chanel, and I think she would have. She wouldn't have known the definitive answer about Chanel’s sympathies, but she would have wondered about this famous person's trustworthiness. There have been several books written about Cocoa Chanel during WWII; she was an anti-semite and took advantage of the Nazi's "Aryanization" of property laws (i.e. theft), did have a German lover, and may have been a Nazi spy. Winston Churchill (a friend before the war) intervened post WWII to keep her from being shot as a traitor. She spent years hiding in Switzerland after the war. The book introduced some historical information I didn’t know before and is spurring me on to more research, which is wonderful.
As a novel, I found the book entertaining. It didn’t resonate as soundly as the first book, that’s for sure. I seem to enjoy the Maggie Hope books set in Britain the more than the ones in other places, and they have more details about daily life during WWII. This book was a bit sketchy on daily life in Paris. Still, it was a very good book, and I’ll definitely continue reading the series.

Thanks to netgalley.com for providing me with an advance copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Amazing!! Definitely my favorite Maggie Hope book so far, and I was stunned to learn in the afterword that some of the most shocking plot twists in this novel were based on true events.

We find Maggie in occupied France trying to locate her sister, but when an SOE agent goes missing, it becomes apparent that there's a mole putting all British agents in mortal peril.

I'm also glad it looks like there will be another installment. I'm not sure how Maggie is going to get out of this one.

I loved the Paris setting and reading about Maggie and the other spies working with the Resistance movement. Maggie is such an enjoyable character who shows many admirable traits. I enjoyed the book and it delivered a few "cringe" moments, lots of suspense, and a sense of how devastating things were under Nazi occupation. An engaging story for all who read historical fiction!

The Paris Spy is the next installment of the Maggie Hope series by Susan Elia MacNeal. For fans of the series, this installment will not disappoint. I will say, though, that the cliff hanger endings seem to be escalating from book to book so I hope readers won't be looking for a tidy resolution just yet!

In this book, as the title suggests, Maggie arrives in France where she tries to accomplish her mission and find her half sister. There are a number of new characters introduced, from mysterious new contacts in the network of spies to Coco Channel to a Nazi officer whose loyalties are not fully clear. The descriptions of Paris under Nazi occupation were very interesting, with details noted about what doors different people could use to enter and exit and the subtle ways the French chose to resist the occupation.

The story is engaging as always and I found myself up half the night so I could find out what happened to Maggie and her friends. Fans of the Maisie Dobbs or Bess Crawford series will enjoy this series as well. This is historical mystery fiction writing with an engaging female lead at its best. I would suggest that new readers of this series start with the first book, Mr. Churchill’s Secretary.

I will keep my fingers that the next book in this series comes out soon!

As the Second World War progresses, accurate intelligence becomes even more crucial as Churchill tries to plan an invasion, but one question remains: How far will each side go?

Darker than the earlier books, there's far more danger for Maggie and the other spies as they try to get this key information to Churchill, navigating Paris society with its insiders and betrayers, risking everything.

I'm always impressed by the details MacNeal finds, and the way she can weave them into the story. Many day-to-day details of the German Occupation of France were new to me, from their housing arrangements to the impact on fashion, but MacNeal's descriptions and Maggie's impressions brought it all into sharp focus. Most incredibly, <spoiler>even the ghost army </spoiler> was real! Unfortunately the hard decisions were real too. I have great respect for Churchill as a leader; I know I couldn't have done it.

MacNeal gives readers and fans another breathtakingly dangerous glimpse into Paris during the WWII occupation. The complexity of loyalties and the difficulties of day-to-day living while under the watch of the Gestapo are well described and put in the context of Maggie's life, friends, and family. MacNeal vividly describes what we now know about spy infiltration and betrayal in both the ranks and the higher echelons of power. This series has everything going for it. Highly recommend.

Thank you to Net Galley, Random House and Susan Elia MacNeal for the pleasure of reading The Paris Spy, a Maggie Hope mystery. This book is well worth the wait and Maggie takes us on another edge of my seat adventure. Trust no one!

This is a perfectly serviceable formulaic spy story: pretty girl, holds to her moral compass, betrayals, nasty business, and, in the end, incompetence that undermines the heroic efforts and a theory of sacrifice for the greater good that undoubtedly will reverberate throughout the rest of the series. This was he first I've read in that series. There's little to distinguish this book from similar stories, yet it reads well and should appeal to those who like the equivalent of 'cozy' mysteries in their spy novels.

I was delighted to have the opportunity to read the latest Maggie Hope book, The Paris Spy. The book was a great read, although I was not happy that it ended with a cliffhanger. I don’t like investing my time into a book and not have a proper ending (and need to wait a year or so to read more). That said, I enjoyed reading more about Maggie and her colleagues and learning more about that period of time. Clearly, the author thoroughly researched that era and wanted to pass on her knowledge. There were a few events in the book which seemed far-fetched, but they didn’t detract from the book. I’m sure readers of the previous books will enjoy this one. I would recommend that the books be read in order to fully appreciate the series.

The Paris Spy picks up where The Queen's Apprentice ends. Maggie is in Paris, with two objectives; to find a missing SOE operative and to find her sister. While Maggie is in Paris, so are her friends Hugh and Sarah, themselves also with created identities, undercover. Paris is under Nazi control, and the SOE agents cross paths with many high-ranking officials, as well as with Paris socialites (ie. Coco Chanel). All face extreme danger and the evils of the Nazi regime. As the book closes, we're left with another cliff hanger, wondering what Maggie will do next.

This book has some tough scenes, but they are representative of events that would have taken place in this era. The research that the author put into this book is evident. There are vivid descriptions of Paris in that era, and the author also relates some of her research notes at the end of the book.

I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this via NetGalley. But, I will keep my pre-order in place to add this to my bookshelf.

This review will be published online at the publication date.

This is a fascinating book set during World War II and will make you feel as if you are in Paris along with Maggie during that dangerous time. This book, and the entire series, gives readers a true sense of what it was like to in that time and place and how courageous the men and especially the women had to be. Maggie is a feisty and resourceful heroine who always keeps her wits about her, despite the situations in which she is placed. The story is exciting and suspenseful and kept me enthralled all the way through. I am a huge fan of the Maggie Hope series and waiting eagerly for her next adventure.