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 The historical references were spot on.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.

What a great ending to a great series. I’ve enjoyed reading through Maggie’s adventures. This adventure shows her embarking on a new journey and I was pleased that the ending wasn’t too sweet and wasn’t all wrapped up neatly in a bow. The ending is as well written as the stories are, the open-endedness of a real life. There’s always Hope. Can’t wait to see what else MacNeal has in store for her readers.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Maggie's life is anything but normal. Her next mission has her doing something she has never done before. She meets individuals but is learning she should not trust everyone. I liked the characters in this book.

I have read this series from the beginning and enjoyed every book. I got to know the characters as they evolved. I am hopeful as this series ends a new one with new characters will begin. I will miss Maggie Hope but know she lived a long and happy life

This is my third or fourth Maggie Hope novel and although I love an intrepid, smart heroine, there is something that holds me back from bonding with this one.

I love an historical novel.
I love a good spy story.
I have a sense of adventure and like a powerful woman.
BUT, I just feel like something is missing with Maggie Hope.

The book seemed predictable to me, but i did love the Chanel interface and the dashing bullfighter.

Maggie's last WWII spy adventure as this beloved series comes to an end was everything I'd hoped for and more. I've read her every book and found myself as gripped as never before by this story that involves Maggie, Coco Chanel, and Heisenberg (the physicist behind Germany's effort to develop a nuclear bomb).

It's her most dangerous assignment yet for British intelligence. "Will she survive?" was my only thought as I raced through the pages. Maggie Hope fans will be as unable to put this down as I was, and thank author Susan Elia MacNeal for creating such a beloved character and engaging series. Adieu, Maggie!

This was a great conclusion to the series. The story wrapped up nicely and I could not put this book down. I am sad this series is over.

I'm pretty satisfied with this conclusion to the Maggie Hope series. It's January 1944, and Maggie is back in London after her trip to Hollywood. She's sent by SOE to Spain on another mission (her last?), this time to figure out how close Heisenberg is to giving Germany an atomic bomb and to assassinate him if possible. As usual, Maggie isn't sure who she can trust, as other spies and double agents are always around. The story is engrossing and I didn't want to put it down. I liked that not everything is tied up by the end of the book, even though it's the last of the series. You definitely need to read the books in order, so if this sounds good, go back to Mr. Churchill's Secretary and start there.

Having read the synopsis, I was a bit apprehensive about Coco Chanel maybe getting a redemption arc, but I shouldn't have doubted Macneal, who always researches so deeply . You have to love a novelist who always includes a bibliography of sources! I'll probably revisit this series again at some point.

Excellent final installment in this series starring Maggie Hope, who goes to Spain on behalf of the British government with two missions that could help bring WW2 to an end. While there she must figure out whom to trust and who is a double agent. Susan Elia MacNeal conveys the mental and emotional toll the war and espionage has taken on Maggie and other characters. This is a series best read in order to appreciate Maggie's character development and to understand all of the supporting cast. Thanks to Bantam and NetGalley for the ARC.

I have enjoyed this entire series. This was another fast paced espionage book that I couldn't put down. My only disappointment was that more of the subplots about the main character and her family background did not get resolved. Some got addressed but how they were addressed almost felt like an afterthought. Despite that, I really enjoyed the book, and I am very sorry to see this series end.

I was so excited to read this latest and I guess last entry in the excellent WWII-set Maggie Hope series, and it didn’t disappoint. Maggie is back from Hollywood (see previous book in the series) and entangled in a mission involving Coco Chanel and German machinations now that the war is more obviously turning against Berlin. Maggie travels to Lisbon and Madrid for the mission and finds that no one is what they seem. The plot is a real page-turner, and as always the historical research shines through without distracting from the plot in any way. There are lots of personal developments for Maggie in this one, which is fitting I suppose for the last in the series. I wasn’t sure about the ending at first, but I understood the choices more as I reflected on the underlying point. Highly recommend this book and the entire series. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

A wonderful conclusion to the Maggie Hope series by Susan Elia MacNeal. Maggie is back in England and as the war starts to reach its close, Maggie has one more mission to accomplish. And who else but Maggie would travel to Spain and meet with both Coco Chanel and Heisenberg? Sad to see Maggie go, but happy to know the author has more stories left to share.

I received an ARC via NetGalley.

Thank you to Net Galley and Penguin Random House Publishing for an early copy of The Last Hope by Susan Elia MacNeal

Author Susan Elia MacNeal has stated that The Last Hope is the final installment in the Maggie Hope mystery/spy series set in World War II Europe. While readers can "hope" that the author will one day change her mind, The Last Hope shows signs of a weakening Germany, an active and vibrant presence of American soldiers in England ready for action and a Maggie Hope contemplating a new life with John Sterling.

Hope's mission is to discover how close Germany is to creating an atomic weapon. She is to eliminate a German physicist on a speaking mission in Madrid should he reveal Germany's readiness. While carrying out her mission, Maggie Hope will again encounter Coco Chanel in much more detail than previously, attend her first bullfight in Spain, and question the loyalty of agent Kim Philby.
In addition, she will be tasked with presenting to Winston Churchill a separate peace agreement that does not include Hitler.

The novel moves quickly with several harrowing events intended to prevent Hope from completing her mission. In the end, things do not go perfectly, but such is the nature of espionage.

Readers of the Maggie Hope series will find this final installment satisfying with perhaps a slight hint that Maggie Hope's work is not done.

A fitting end to the Maggie Hope series...maybe? There are some ends I'd love tied up still. I am now very curious what Susan Elia MacNeal's next project is and whether Maggie and her crew will factor in (as side characters?) in some way.