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His Majesty's Hope: A Maggie Hope Mystery
Unavailable
His Majesty's Hope: A Maggie Hope Mystery
Unavailable
His Majesty's Hope: A Maggie Hope Mystery
Audiobook10 hours

His Majesty's Hope: A Maggie Hope Mystery

Written by Susan Elia MacNeal

Narrated by Susan Duerden

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

3.5/5

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Currently unavailable

Currently unavailable

About this audiobook

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

For fans of Jacqueline Winspear, Laurie R. King, and Anne Perry, whip-smart heroine Maggie Hope returns to embark on a clandestine mission behind enemy lines where no one can be trusted, and even the smallest indiscretion can be deadly.

World War II has finally come home to Britain, but it takes more than nightly air raids to rattle intrepid spy and expert code breaker Maggie Hope. After serving as a secret agent to protect Princess Elizabeth at Windsor Castle, Maggie is now an elite member of the Special Operations Executive-a black ops organization designed to aid the British effort abroad-and her first assignment sends her straight into Nazi-controlled Berlin, the very heart of the German war machine. Relying on her quick wit and keen instincts, Maggie infiltrates the highest level of Berlin society, gathering information to pass on to London headquarters. But the secrets she unveils will expose a darker, more dangerous side of the war-and of her own past.

"You'll be [Maggie Hope's] loyal subject, ready to follow her wherever she goes."-O: The Oprah Magazine


From the Trade Paperback edition.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateMay 14, 2013
ISBN9780385362689
Unavailable
His Majesty's Hope: A Maggie Hope Mystery

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Reviews for His Majesty's Hope

Rating: 3.6853658536585368 out of 5 stars
3.5/5

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  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    This audiobook's reader used a terrible German accent and sounded like a metronome. I couldn't bear it and didn't even finish one disk.
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    I put this book down, all the explanation of the Nazi murders, what they did to Jewish men married to Aryan women and the description of Kinder-Euthanasie (Child Euthanasia) made me sick.I also did not like the characters....
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    AT BEST, A GUILTY PLEASUREYoung Maggie Hope is fresh from her training as an agent for Britain's Special Operations Executive and her mission is to be parachuted behind enemy lines to Germany, where she is to drop off some radio equipment for underground resistance forces and bug the offices of German spy Clara Hess. It's supposed to be a quick, four-day mission, but when Maggie is offered a job by a top Nazi, she can't resist staying so that she can possibly find out useful German war intelligence.Meanwhile, there are side plots involving Clara Hess's daughter Elise, a nurse, who finds out about the Nazis' secret program to euthanize those with mental and developmental disorders, Elise's friend Frieda, who is married to a Jewish doctor about to be sent "to the east" and, back in London, Maggie's friend David's seemingly doomed gay love affair.Maggie's spying brings her into contact with Elise and their plots mesh, culminating in a tension-filled attempt to escape Germany.It's hard to know what to think of this story. MacNeal's strengths are that she writes well and knows how to keep a plot moving along at a good clip. But it doesn't move along fast enough to disguise the weaknesses, such as one-dimensional characters, and an absolutely ludicrous plot that reminded me very much of that pot-boiler movie from 1992, Shining Through, in which Melanie Griffith plays a spy in World War II Berlin and has some experiences remarkably like Maggie's.I have to admit that I had fun reading the book at least half the time. The rest of the time, though, I was slapping my forehead at the number of amazing coincidences necessary to make the story work and some of the looney ideas, like that to make Maggie into a convincing young, middle-class German woman she would, of course, carry around a copy of Mein Kampf in her handbag, or that if you're trying to pass secret messages you would knit them into some piecework and then show that to your contact rather than actually just talk to your contact, who is sitting right next to you in the open air with nobody else around.I can definitely see this as a guilty-pleasure sort of read. After all, I actually enjoyed Shining Through, although it was one of the silliest dramatic movies ever. Think of this as one of those sorts of World War II movie melodramas, filled with nasty Nazis foiled by a plucky heroine, and you'll enjoy yourself. But if you can't suspend your disbelief and go along for the ride, you will definitely not appreciate this story.DISCLOSURE: I received a free review copy of this book.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Many people compare Maggie Hope books to the Maisie Dobbs series, and I beg to differ. I like this series so much better!In "His Majesty's Hope," Maggie is on a dangerous mission behind enemy lines, a spy for Great Britain moving among the elite of Hitler's inner circle. Her mission is complicated by the startling personal discoveries she makes along the way, and MacNeal does a great job of winding these revelations into the inevitable twists and turns that go with a spy novel of any kind.It's a good read with strong female characters and a story that moves at a great clip. I've already passed it along.I won this book from the publisher as a part of a LibraryThing.com giveaway.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Oh dear. Such a disappointment. Partly because the series had been a bit on the fluffy, fuzzy side and with this book it is neither of those. It is dark and the main character loses her charm by the end of the book. Granted the story line is about the SOE and Hitler’s Germany (maybe too close to home to read?) but there is also an overwhelming thread of Catholicism from two of the characters to the point that there is much quoting of scripture. Given the fact that the CC was silently complicit to some extent, this is interesting. It was new to me, however, that two well known bishops and more priests did stand up and condemn Hitler and the camps. Nonetheless, this was a disturbing read in some ways: it seems to change its mood from the previous books; the main character undergoes a fundamental personality change; and the ending clearly hints at a sequel. The train went off the tracks for me.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    As you can see from my reviews of Winston Churchill's Secretary and Princess Elizabeth's Spy, I predicted that the second Maggie Hope mystery would be better than the first, and I was duly rewarded. I therefore had high hopes for this third installment, but unfortunately, Maggie's mission to Berlin didn't exactly live up to its promise. Now with the elite Special Operations Executive, Maggie continues her somewhat maverick approach to acts of derring-do on behalf of His Majesty with a two-pronged mission in Berlin. Unfortunately, most of the people she encounters during her exploits there fail to come alive on the page. Add to that less-than-convincing mission details and some entirely-too-coincidental meet-ups, and this adventure just doesn't measure up. But MacNeal has already proven that she has what it takes in this genre, so I'll continue to hope for good things in future Maggie Hope adventures.Two additional notes: First, this book shouldn't really be called a mystery, since there is no mystery to be solved. Second, MacNeal shouldn't feel the need to rip off scenes from tv shows, although I'm sure it was entirely an unconscious thing on her part. She chose one of my favorite scenes from an excellent show (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), but I was still very disappointed. Her writing is strong enough without resorting to copying, even from the greats.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I enjoyed reading Her Majesty's Hope. I'm very familiar with the era and the events of World War II, both in Germany and England. For those less knowledgeable, some of the events described will be very disturbing. I wondered why a few things were included, they seemed somewhat gratuitous but I presume they will be threads that are picked up in the next book and the reason they are there will become clear, as well as be integral to the story.

    I thought the story of David Greene and his parents was resolved a little too neatly. In fact I felt that I had read the same story in one form or another in other books about the era.

    Overall it is a good story and the background was well researched, using real people to give authenticity to the story.

    I received this book as a Goodreads Giveaway.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Another excellent entry into the Maggie Hope mystery series- I think I might need to go back and reread this one, I read it too fast!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Each book gets better and better. Looking forward to reading number 4. If you want a book you can read in a day and enjoy, this series is it
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Bits and pieces of this novel seemed familiar to me...I wonder if it was used in some BBC Masterpiece Theatre episode. In any case, parts of it were almost believable. The trauma that all experienced in the end was realistic even if the escapades seemed too good to be true at times. And if course, I couldn't help but wonder what happened to those left behind. Perhaps in a later book the readers will find out!
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    This is the third in the Maggie Hope series, and while I was disappointed in the second book, I thought, perhaps, that with Maggie being sent to Germany, this book would improve upon the last one. Sadly, this one just got worse.Maggie Hope has now passed the strenuous physical tsts of the SOE branch and is being sent to Germany to deliver radio parts to the German resistance and to plant a microphone in the study of a high ranking official of the German spy organization. The first part of the book was promising showing how Maggie parachuted into Germany and then successfully met her contact in Berlin. But then the story just went completely off the rails. Maggie constantly disregards her orders from London and goes off to freelance putting her resistance contacts in danger to the point where her main contact is caught & has to commit suicide. The Germans all seem to be cast members from "Hogan's Heroes" as none of them can catch our heroine even though she seems to be the most inept spy on the planet.And after it's all over, Maggie is now full of remorse because she had to shoot someone. Really? One wonders why anyone would want this emotionally unstable young woman in MI-5.There are more books coming in this series, but I won't be reading any more of them.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Another exciting installment in the Maggie Hope series.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Loved, loved, loved this book.I highly recommend it, but with a caveat. This can be read as a stand-alone, but if you hate spoilers, I'd advise reading books one and two first. I didn't and although it didn't stop me from reading this book in one day, I now know things that were obviously important reveals in the previous books. Of course I can't wait until I get my hands on the other two books regardless of the fact that after reading this book, I'm a little ahead of the curve.This is definitely a keeper. A book I will recommend and loathe to loan out but will if it means introducing this author to those who like a good historical/mystery/spy-thriller with a likable female protagonist. Oh, and this may be a bit shallow, but I also LOVE the artwork on the covers. These books I would seriously consider facing out on my shelves, or if I had a poster of them, they would definitely go up on the walls in my library.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This series continues to delight me. Maggie Hope is gradually moving up in the spy world. She's gone from being Churchill's personal secretary to being a maths tutor/bodyguard for Princess Elizabeth at Windsor Castle (books 1 and 2 in the series). And gradually the author is revealing little tidbits of information that make us wonder how much of her promotion is fortuitous or how much is part of a very well-thought out plan by the government to let Maggie think she's calling the shots.In this installment, Maggie has completed her training to be parachuted into Germany where she is expected to plant a secret radio transmitter in the office of one of Germany's top agents (who just Happens to Be Maggie's long presumed dead mother). While there, unplanned opportunities pop-up, and Maggie is faced with a decision whether to improvise, or stay strictly with the original plan.As usual our fearless wonder-girl leads everyone on a merry chase, manages to get into and out of all kinds of trouble, and I won't spoil your enjoyment by revealing whether at the end we leave her dangling, captured or dead, or she returns to embark on another adventure (er....mission.)The historical setting and facts sprinkled throughout this one are fascinating. MacNeal has certainly done her research and manages to weave a good deal of history into a fun piece of fiction. If you've read the first two, you'll love this one. I'd suggest reading at least the second book before you read this one, but even if not, it will still be an enjoyable read.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Love this series! I am just loving Maggie Hope and watching her make her way in the world of spies. The adventures and danger she gets involved in are captivating to read about. I swear I am always on the edge of my seat with these books!! They are must reads for fans of spy thrillers - you will love Maggie Hope!!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Maggie Hope has moved to full-fledged MI-5 spy status jumping out of a plane at night into enemy Germany. Has she infiltrates her way into Berlin society and carrying out her mission and keeping secrets, she meets her half-sister. One opportunity is lost but another one presents itself forcing her to stay longer and putting her real danger. Exciting escape from Berlin after she has been found out.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The third, and best, installment of the WWII based Maggie Hope series. Thriller is a more accurate term for this novel as Maggie is dropped into Berlin on a secret mission after completing spy "finishing school". A fast paced page turner, His Majesty's Hope is diffinately not in the cozy genre the Hope novels usually fall into. Those not familar with WWII Germany may find the story line, though historically accurate, disturbing.MacNeal has turned a corner with this edgier installment. They're getting better each time and I'll be there for book 4! Note to Bantam - she deserves better cover art next time around. Where I love the art on Winspear jackets, these are too cartoonish for these novels.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This third installment of the adventures of Maggie Hope really do get to be adventures. Maggie not only parachutes into enemy territory, attends a party where she meets several of the Nazi upper brass, but she finds that she has a half sister that is unaware of her existence.This reader was on the edge of her seat throughout!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Finally Maggie gets to be a spy and she is off on a mission to Germany to help England gain more information on Commandant Hess (her German spy mother). I loved getting to see Maggie as a spy, it was definitely a harder side to her but she still managed to stay mostly true to herself.Getting to actually read about Maggie's mother and her half-sister Elise was definitely interesting and I hope that Maggie eventually is able to make contact with Elise again. I felt that is was definitely fitting that John ended up being nursed by Elise and that he was brought back together with Maggie through Elise's help (even if she didn't know that they loved each other). I can only hope that John and Maggie are able to patch things up.I really enjoyed this one and I liked getting to see Maggie in action.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I enjoyed this book as I did with the 2 previous books in the series. I would have liked the ending of this one to have more of a resolution, but otherwise thought it was a good read. As others have mentioned, there are implausible coincidences, but it was an interesting insight into Nazi Germany. I would recommend that readers read the books in order to fully appreciate them.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Many perils for Pauline, sic Maggie. Moves fast and keeps your interest. Excellent use of resources creates a good atmospheric feel to the book. One minor quibble, Maggie climbs into a Lysander and parachutes from a Halifax bomber.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I received this as part of librarything's Early Reviewers program. Susan Elia MacNeal's novels were recommended to me by librarything, and I enjoyed this one very much. Once I got into the novel, I was caught up by the character of Maggie Hope and her assignment as the first woman spy to be dropped into Germany during WWII. Usually after reading one book in a series I don't follow up by tracking down the other novels, but I plan to get the previous two novels in this series and to look for the next one.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    His Majesty's Hope is the third in a new historical mystery series by Susan Elia MacNeal. The protagonist, Maggie Hope, a young, intelligent mathematician, is now training to be a spy in Britain's SOE (Special Operations Executive), an elite force, during WWII. Maggie has a complicated personal life - her mother abandoned her when she was very young and she has just recently discovered that the father she thought was dead is very much alive and working for the British government. Her pilot fiance is missing and presumed dead; one of her closest friends is a closet homosexual who is being pressured by his parents to marry a Jewish girl; and she and a fellow spy are attracted to each other and involved in a relationship. Definitely no lack of excitement on the home front. Maggie's first assignment is to parachute behind enemy lines into Nazi controlled Berlin. Her mission is to take radio crystals to a member of the German resistance, and to plant a bug in the office of a high-ranking Nazi official. With this accomplished, Maggie discovers an opportunity to stay in Berlin longer than her original four day mission to gain additional information on another high-ranking official. She makes this decision without approval from the SOE and with the disapproval of her German resistance contact. There are many surprises in store for Maggie, and before her mission is complete, she receives help from unexpected places. Even with the mission complete, there are more complications back in Britain. As in real life, the lives of the characters don't always turn out the way they want, and they must deal with the consequences of their decisions. I had the first book of this series on my Wishlist to read, as it won a 2013 Edgar for Best First Novel. So I couldn't turn down an opportunity to review the third novel. From the beginning, I enjoyed this book. It pulled me in right away, and although I was lacking some background, the author supplied enough so I did not feel as though I were missing anything. It is an easy read, and the author's style makes the story flow very well. I couldn't put it down, and finished it in a day. There is plenty of excitement and there are many twists in the plot, but unfortunately some plot points seemed a little too coincidental to be believable. However, in my opinion, the coincidence does not take too much away from the overall book. It was very apparent that the author had thoroughly researched WWII and I think she gave a very realistic account of what life might have been like in Berlin and London during the war. Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It is not a perfect book by any means, but the characters are likeable and the story is interesting and keeps your attention. I will definitely go back and read the first two books of the series, and this will definitely be a series that I will be waiting for the author to finish the next book.I received this book as part of the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program in exchange for a fair and honest review.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    British female spy, parachuting into Germany during WWII... made for a very good page-turner during vacation time! This is the 3rd in a series - I enjoyed this one enough to watch out for the 4th.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    WWII sets another back drop for Maggie Hope, the secretary turned British agent. With a father at Bletchly and a mother, previously thought dead, as a high ranking Nazi official -- what better background to put her in unique dangerous positions.This particular assignment takes her behind the scenes in war-torn Berlin, where she meets up with her mother, not to mention an unknown step-sister. Laced throughout the story are glimpses -- some raw, some emotional -- of life during the Third Reich.Well written, well plotted (tho predictable) cozy in the family involvement sense not a spy thriller in the LeCarre sense. Cozy readers will appreciate this series, LeCarre enthusiasts will miss the twists and turns.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I am becoming quite fond of this series. As the series progresses, you can see the depth of characters developing and the story lines getting more intricate. I look forward to the next installment.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    If you're a fan of the spunky heroine saves the day sub-genre of historical fiction, then you'll probably enjoy this book. I found it a fun read, fairly light plot wise but with a bit of weight due to the subject matter of Germany during WWII. The character of Maggie Hope is great, but I wish we could have had more time with some of the supporting characters. All in all, I'd call this a good read for the beach this summer.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    2013, Random House Audio, Read by Susan DuerdenPublisher’s Summary: adapted from Audible.comWorld War II has finally come home to Britain, but it takes more than nightly air raids to rattle intrepid spy and expert code breaker Maggie Hope. After serving as a secret agent to protect Princess Elizabeth at Windsor Castle, Maggie is now an elite member of the Special Operations Executive – a black ops organization designed to aid the British effort abroad – and her first assignment sends her straight into Nazi-controlled Berlin, the very heart of the German war machine. Relying on her quick wit and keen instincts, Maggie infiltrates the highest level of Berlin society, gathering information to pass on to London headquarters. But the secrets she unveils will expose a darker, more dangerous side of the war – and of her own past.My Review:Again, as seems to be MacNeal’s style, there is a lot going on here: espionage, genocide, concentration camps, two more thought-to-be-dead characters make an appearance (that’s three in as many novels), and a love triangle. Maggie, working undercover, expertly liaises with high-ranking Nazi officers; and she hits her mark, too. But of course, the heroic mission comes at a cost – and a high personal cost for her, in this case. I’ve got the secondary characters sorted now and remain fully engaged with Maggie’s character. The series is not Winspear’s Maisie Dobbs, but I am enjoying, and will continue to listen.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Received this book as part of the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.As a devout fan of the Maisie Dobbs mystery series, I wasn’t sure I could accept another WW III-era British sleuth into my heart. But happily, I was wrong. Susan Elia MacNeal’s compelling heroine, Maggie Hope, is such a delightful, surprising and clever character that you firmly begin to believe she can do anything she sets her mind to, including being an ace spy and code breaker for the British during the Second World War. This book is the third in the series of Maggie Hope mysteries, which even though I read His Majesty’s Hope first, was just as readable and engaging as I’m sure it’s predecessors are (I do plan on reading the first two books in this series Mr. Churchill’s Secretary and Princess Elizabeth’s Spy—can’t wait!) Thoroughly recommend this series to anyone who loves a well-crafted mystery grounded in excellent period detail and full of interesting characters.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    If it wasn't for the ending of this book I think this book deserved a 5, but the ending seemed rushed and off track to me. I was disappointed with the way the unflappable Maggie reacted to the completion of her first spy mission. The book was extremely fast-paced and had a really tight plot up until the last 5 or 6 chapters. The time is 1941 and WWII is in full play. At the beginning of the book we see Maggie, just fresh out of her spy school training taking her first mission into Nazi-run Berlin. She is tasked with two rather straight-forward tasks, and has no problems completing them once she is dropped into Germany. But then Maggie being Maggie, she discovers another line of inquiry and takes a position with a highly placed Nazi bureaucrat. She manages to get some valuable information from this man, but she puts herself in grave jeopardy which causes her to run from the house late at night before the SS come to pick her up. And then she's on the run in war-torn Germany. This series is really very enjoyable, mostly because of Maggie's gutsy and audacious personality. There is nothing that fazes her and she does whatever is necessary to complete her task. This attitude and her quick thinking carried the plot right through until the ending where we see Maggie have a very uncharacteristic breakdown. It certainly sets things up for an interesting fourth book in the series.

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