I tore through this series in the beginning of lockdown, so it feels only fitting that I read the last four years later. Maggie is one of my favorite historical heroines - nuanced, smart, brave, and engaging. I only wish more of the supporting cast had been included - it didn't FEEL like a finale. I selfishly wanted one more book to wrap things up.

Diffirant take on the world after 1930's What will you do during a war? Can you kill? How do you decide? Many questions ! Who do you trust and why, Can you trust anyone? Wow

The Last Hope: A Maggie Hope Mystery by Susan Elia MacNeal is the 11th book in this truly wonderful series.

I have read all eleven books, and have truly loved getting to see Maggie (pull yourself together Hope) Hope. To see her blossum from a young woman, naive of the world, become a force to be reckoned with, a source of hope, promise, and that at this time there were still good people, fighting for what was right.

I loved this murder/mystery full of intrigue, emotion, espionage, and surprises right and left. The ending definitely gives promise of an uplifting and inspiring future for Maggie, her family and friends, and the whole world. It truly left a smile on my face.

5/5 stars

Thank you NG and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Bantam for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication on 5/21/24.

Maggie is being sent to Spain on a dual assignment - first to pick up a letter from Coco Chanel and then to murder a scientist. Filled with Maggie's doubts about her mission, her conflicting emotions about the future and the knowledge that she had no idea who was a friend and who an enemy in this foreign country. Excellent!

I was sorry I had not read the previous books in this series but they are now on my list. I totally was engrossed in the story. The writing captured the characters to the degree I could see the clothing, places and the characters..

Well written, thank you for allowing me the opportunity to read this book.

I was fortunate to receive an ARC of The Last Hope, the finale in the Maggie Hope series. This is the best kind of finale- one where everything is not tied up in a neat little bow and therefore gives us hope that one day Susan Elia MacNeal might revisit Maggie and her friends. This story takes place in early 1944 before the Allied invasion of Europe and involves Coco Chanel, Spain, and many murders. I won't go into the plot details other than to say it's fascinating because of the truth regarding Coco Chanel. Now, was I a little disappointed not to see the end of the war with Maggie? Yes. But we are left with hope and you can't beat that!

I am sorry to see the last of the series. I’ve enjoyed spending time with the characters through the last several years. I will definitely look up some of the sources cited at the end. I appreciate knowing what the author has imagined for the future of the Maggie and her friends. Of course we know what happened to the historical figures. Thanks for the good reads Susan Elia MacNeal!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bantam for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book.

Wow, really didn't like that ending, especially for the last book in a series. It left so many questions! The author's note mentioned how she imagined it ending yet that is not what we were given. Well, having said that, this one still gets 4 stars because it is, after all, a Maggie Hope book. I wasn't thrilled with books 9 or 10 but I'm happy to find this one back up to par (for me, at least). Lots of intrigue and wondering who to trust. I especially liked the character of Juanito and how he helped Maggie. Highly recommend this series, sad to see it finished.

Another excellent book featuring Maggie Hope, and including tons of historical information seamlessly integrated into an entertaining narrative. The mercurial Coca Chanel's WWII activities are intrinsic to the story. How the groundwork for the Cold War was laid during the Spanish American war and WWII was detailed, as well as the post-war science race. Kim Philby of the Cambridge Five was mentioned as well. Just so much great historical detail in a great story.

However, there are clear indications that Maggie's story is not finished in the last few chapters. They didn't even get to V-E Day. Might there be a new series featuring another character, with Maggie as a peripheral character? Right now (3/2024), I don't know.

I am a big fan of MacNeal's works and her character Maggie Hope, super spy of British Intelligence. This novel takes place during WWII and mostly in Spain, when Hope gets tangled up in various intrigues with the likes of Coco Chanel and Werner Heisenberg. The novel weaves very real-life incidents together to create an exciting plot line: Hope is tasked with finding out if the Nazis are close to having a working A-bomb and she is to take out the physicist if that is the case. The painstaking detail that MacNeal brings to her novels is noteworthy and this book is filled with some interesting plot twists and dramatic moments that are best left for the reader to discover. Highly recommended.

One of my favorite things about historical fiction is the afterword, where the author talks about the people, places, and events that inspired the story and characters, and identifies who are the real-life characters. Some of those are obvious — such as Churchill, Franco, Werner Heisenberg, Chanel, and Kim Philby in “The Last Hope” — but there are also usually lesser known but sometimes quite significant people who the reader is just discovering.

Maggie Hope's double mission is quite interesting. She is sent to Madrid to collect an envelope from Coco Chanel containing a proposal from Germany for a separate peace with Britain and France which she is to deliver personally to Winston Churchill. She is also supposed to possibly assassinate Werner Heisenberg, who is in Madrid to give a lecture, if she believes that Germany is close to developing a nuclear weapon. Spain is a neutral country, although Franco leans more towards Germany than the Allies. Spain is also a hotbed of spies and foreign officials, which makes the missions more difficult. Intermixed in the story is the issue of fascism versus communism, and communism versus democracy/liberalism. Maggie will be betrayed by people she trusts but she will also discover unexpected allies, including a famous bullfighter. She will also learn new information about her mother, and possibly her father.

How can we leave Maggie Hope? This last installment is bittersweet. Maggie has become a favorite spy for this reader.

These last years have taken a toll on her and the events in this book lead to more heartbreak. She has one last mission, to stop the creation of the fission bomb. In neutral Madrid, all manner of spies and counter-spies gather in a cat and mouse game.

I want just one more book, but like life, things do not get wrapped up in a shiny bow. Dear Maggie must face her future on her own.

A worthy, compelling finale! I’ve so loved this WWII series featuring smart and savvy spy Maggie Hope, having eagerly devoured each of the prior installments when published. And this final tale of Maggie’s adventures is among the best of the bunch. At once well researched and well plotted and paced, The Last Hope is as intelligent as it is intriguing.

I did wish for at least one more book in the series to answer some of the questions left open (which I’ll not list in the interest of avoiding spoilers) - and, failing that, a fitting epilogue. Perhaps an epilogue along the lines of the scene MacNeal references in her author’s note, at war’s end, could even be added prior to publication or featured on MacNeal’s website/social media?

In any event, this novel is highly recommended! To properly appreciate Maggie’s final mission, I would suggest reading the prior books of the series. And for those fascinated by Maggie’s adventures, I also highly recommend MacNeal’s all too timely standalone Mother Daughter Traitor Spy, which explores the Nazi movement within the United States in the early days of WWII.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bantam for a complimentary ARC. Opinions are my own.

I discovered Maggie Hope at my library a few summers ago, and have been waiting for the next installment in the series since then. I am sad to see the series end, but also excited to see what else Susan Elia MacNeal comes up with.

As is typical for a Maggie Hope story, The Last Hope is full of suspense, espionage, and intrigue. Here the stakes are higher than ever before for Maggie, both personally and professionally. Maggie's finale includes Coco Chanel, bullfighting, and the physicist Heisenberg for a memorable and exciting finale.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I’ve read all the Maggie Hope books, each one better than the one before, with the final book the best yet. The Last Hope, a story rich with historical facts coupled with espionage and intrigue is the perfect ending to this incredible series.

The synopsis of Susan Elia MacNeal’s The Last Hope provides a glimpse into Maggie Hope’s latest mission in her work as a SOE agent for Britain during WWII. This book can be read as a stand-alone but I highly recommend starting with book one, Mr. Churchill’s Secretary, and working your way to The Last Hope.

Getting to know Maggie and watching her take on challenges most women of that time would not think of attempting is part of the enjoyment of this series. MacNeal’s in-depth research, attention to detail and inclusion of familiar names and places creates a reality that begins in Mr. Churchill’s Secretary and carries on to The Last Hope.

The Last Hope expands on the loyalties of people like Coco Chanel and Kim Philby who manipulated and coopted their way through the Nazi regime, selling out their countries, friends and business acquaintances for their political beliefs or personal gains.

You will walk the halls of Lisbon’s Royal Palace with Maggie and come face to face with General Franco. Maggie’s stay in Madrid’s beautiful Palacio Hotel, a hubbub of double agents, spies and subterfuge, was filled with angst as to whether she would complete the mission she was sent to undertake. Under her assumed name of Paige Kelly, she absorbed the history of Spains love of bullfighting, attended an exposition at Spains largest bullfighting ring La Plaza de Toros las Ventas, and enjoyed the “violet sweets” at La Violetas.

There were many twists and turn in this story and, at one point, I was tempted to turn to the last two chapters because I so wanted to know how this would end. I’m glad I read on to a most surprising and perfect ending to the story of Maggie Hope.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random house for a digital copy of The Last Hope in exchange for my personal review.

MacNeal did it again! The historical references were spot on. The double agents, Nazi sympathizers, and questionable alliances allowed for great twists and turns. A very exciting end for Maggie Hope.

Maggie grew up in an academic setting studying mathematics at Wellesley. After serving as a typist for Churchill, and breaking a hidden code, she was moved to intelligence (SOE). Coco Channel, whom she had met in a precious mission, requested her as a currier, and she was glad to go. SOE gave her an additional job -- to assassinate a German physicist who was working on a fission bomb. Maggie is plunged into Lisbon and Madrid where spies, double agents, Nazis, and British diplomats abound. Who can she trust? Who is killing her contacts? Is Maggie in danger? Can she complete both her missions?

Based on an immense amount of research, Susan Elia MacNeal brings a heart-stopping story of the "separate peace" initiative and the "war in the laboratory" in The Last Hope. If you have read any of the other books in Maggie Hope series, you know you are in for a rollercoaster of a read. Even if you haven't read the others, you'll enjoy Maggie Hope. I was able to read an ARC on #NetGalley/

I’ve greatly enjoyed this series and am sad to see it end! After _The Hollywood Spy_, I felt like this novel was a return to the plotting, character development, and writing that makes me want to keep reading this series. Maggie is a daring and fun main character to follow through her missions and WWII more generally. Would recommend, but probably only if you’ve read some or all of the other 10 books in the series.

This is the last book in the Maggie Hope series that I have been reading for several years now. Lots of assassination & espionage along with historical detail. I will miss the character of Maggie and hope that the author writes another historical fiction series with a strong female character.

What a scary, difficult, dangerous mission, balanced on a nearly impossible ethical dilemma: can Maggie sacrifice one life to save hundreds? The bullfight becomes a good analogy, moving, circling, deflecting, live or die with calm grace. Whom can Maggie trust, and how long can she bury emotions, concentrating on the mission with so much at stake, losing good people, risking so much?
I don’t want this series to end, but the author’s thoughts in the afterward do help with closure. I was amazed to read how much is based on true events. I hope there might be a short story or spin-off later. Or one could start a course of reading the research materials listed in the bibliography.
When reading NIGHT with students, I said that while one hopes for courage like those who hid Jewish friends, one can’t be sure until tested. A student sized me up and declared, “Oh, YOU would.” I hope I never have to learn if I’d risk like Maggie or collaborate like “survivor” Coco Chanel, but I do hope that if I did, I’d be like Maggie Hope.
Clear your schedule when you start reading and stock up on easy food, as you won’t want to put this book down.
*Pub. date is in May, so there’s time to read (or reread) earlier books in the series.