MacNeal comes through once again - giving the reader a real feel for the time and events happening. Another must read everytime her books come out.

I had never read any of Ms. MacNeal's books before this one. What a page turner. I loved it; the intrigue, the mystery. I wanted to know so much more. Then to realize this was a series. I have since gone back and read all the books leading up to this title. I can't wait for more. I need to know what happens to Ms. Maggie Hope. My one complaint about this book is the ending. I wish it felt more complete.

It seems as though spy novels are making their way into historical novels, which is a lot of fun. I haven't read all of the books in this series, but I really enjoyed this one. The spy element felt real, and the story that wove around it was engaging. A definite read for spy novel fans.

The Queen’s Accomplice by Susan Elia MacNeal is a 2016 Bantam Dell publication.

I’m nearly caught up with this series so I’ve been trying to space them out a little, but I just couldn’t wait.


This sixth installment in the Maggie Hope series, takes an even darker tone as a serial killer using Jack the Ripper’s MO, and calling himself ‘The Blackout Killer’, is targeting women in SOE, which is why Maggie is asked to help with the investigation.

Meanwhile, Sarah and Hugh are recruited to work together undercover and are headed to France and we finally get a clearer picture of what is happening with Maggie’s half -sister, Elise.

I thought this book took on a darker tone, with a gruesome set of murders to solve, making the atmosphere a bit edgy. This one reads more like a traditional crime novel in some ways, but there is still plenty of intrigue, especially where Maggie’s extended family is concerned. There were a few jaw-dropping developments along the way that literally made the hair stand up on the back of my neck.

My only complaint is that the plotting wasn’t as tight as usual, and apparently some threads will carry over into the next book, which is kind of different.

I did enjoy the introduction of Inspector Durgin and hope to see him in future episodes. I thought he and Maggie worked well together and I picked up on a little chemistry between them.

Overall, this is another solid addition to the series, a little creepier than usual, and as always there is a lot going on, with plenty to mull over and chew on before I start the most recent release-
The Paris Spy. I can’t wait to read it!!

Why did I take so long to catch up with Maggie Hope? Why? Shame on me! The series is still really good, and easy to pick up, even after an unforeseen hiatus. SO! Gooooood!!!! yay!

This is a great series. This book sets the reader up for a killer next installment. Read a review on Mystery Playground.

It's 1942 and Maggie is back in London after her trip with the Prime Minister to meet with President Roosevelt. She's working in an SOE (Special Operations Executive) office on Baker Street, and is understandably surprised one night when she learns that her friends have fixed up the house she inherited from a grandmother she didn't even know she had. When her old collage friend shows up after her home blows up, Maggie is glad for the company - it's a house that holds some bad memories for Maggie.

On her job, Maggie is dealing with a misogynist boss who couldn't be more dismissive of her constant appeals for equal pay for the young women who are trained operatives and being sent into enemy territory or benefits for their families should anything happen to them. When it appears that an agent in France may be compromised, Maggie can't even get him understand her seriousness of the situation. Heck, she can't even get him to call her by her actual name. Apparently, the only use "Meggie" has is to fetch him his cuppa.

And, just as Londoners begin enjoying a bit of a break from the nightly bombing by the German Luftwaffe, under cover of the intense blackout conditions a mad man, dubbed the Blackout Beast by the newspapers, emerges who begins imitating the murders of Jack the Ripper and targeting the young women who are working for the SOE. These are women in London for a short time before beings sent overseas and their unfamiliarity with their surroundings and having no friends or family nearby makes them particularly vulnerable. Readers will certainly be surprised when they discover how this new Jack is able to overcome these trained agents so easily.

Because all the victims are SOE agents, Maggie gets sent to Scotland Yard to work with Detective Chief Inspector James Durgin, who also seems a bit of a misogynist at first and not at all happy about working with a female MI-5 operative. Working together, Maggie begins to see a mathematical pattern emerging as they investigate the murders, while DCI Durgin prefers to rely on his gut feeling. As the two get closer to solving the crime, they begin to appreciate each others methods a little bit more...and maybe even each other.

If you have been reading Maggie Hope mysteries as I have been, you know that by now it is a little like visiting an old friend. We know all about her friends, her boyfriends, her family history. And yet the novels never feel stale. In The Queen's Accomplice, Maggie's college friend Sarah, a dancer by profession, and her old boyfriend Hugh Thompson, are about to be sent to France as SOE operatives, passing themselves off as a married couple. Her old boyfriend John Sterling is still in California, working for Disney creating wartime propaganda. Maggie believes her mother, Clara Hess, a German and a high level Nazi supporter, and whom she never knew until the war, is dead. And her newly discovered German half sister Elise Hess had been sent to Ravensbrück Concentration Camp, but Maggie is now excitedly expecting her in London.

The Queen's Accomplice seemed like perfect book to read during Women's History Month, since MacNeal really highlights some of the difficulties women doing war work encountered back then. The parochial attitudes will no doubt resonate with some readers in today's new world.

And I was very happy to see MacNeal's reference to Lion Feuchtwanger's 1925 novel Jud Süß which is a formidable counter to the horrible, anti-Semitic movie made by the Nazis.

There is lots going on in her life, but Maggie Hope is a cozy mystery reader's delight.

This book is recommended for readers age 14+
This book was an EARC received from NetGalley

MacNeal continues her outstanding Maggie Hope series with this entry about a Jack the Ripper copycat who uses the nightly blackouts of the Blitz to hunt his prey. The espionage aspects of the series are still present, but take a supporting role to the hunt for the serial killer. Suspenseful and intense, I didn't want to put the book down until the case was resolved.

I was disappointed in this latest installment in the Maggie Hope series because it felt harder than the others- the crimes were more gory, the characters less likable, the plot more far fetched. I suspect I might have enjoyed this more had I read it as a standalone, which it easily could be. If you haven't read a Maggie Hope before, try this for the Maggie parts and then go back and read the earlier novels. I'm looking forward to the next installment, which should wrap up some of the loose ends from this one. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.