By Kelly Bridgewater
Synopsis:
December 1941. Soon after the attack on Pearl
Harbor, Winston Churchill arrives in Washington, D.C., along with special agent
Maggie Hope. Posing as his typist, she is accompanying the prime minister as he
meets with President Roosevelt to negotiate the United States’ entry into World
War II. When one of the First Lady’s aides is mysteriously murdered, Maggie is
quickly drawn into Mrs. Roosevelt’s inner circle—as ER herself is implicated in
the crime. Maggie knows she must keep the investigation quiet, so she employs
her unparalleled skills at code breaking and espionage to figure out who would
target Mrs. Roosevelt, and why. What Maggie uncovers is a shocking conspiracy
that could jeopardize American support for the war and leave the fate of the
world hanging dangerously in the balance.
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| From Amazon |
My
Thoughts:
I am a huge World War II junkie. I love
everything about the period. The clothes. The music. The external and internal
conflicts. By reading Sarah Sundin, Liz Tolsma, and Kristy Cambron, it has
sparked my renewed interests in the period. I wanted to find something to do
with mystery during the same era, so I found Susan Elia MacNeal’s Maggie Hope’s mysteries. Her books have
everything you would want in a World War II historical mystery. A recurring character.
An interesting setting. Unique perspective.
One of MacNeal’s greatest strengths in
my humble opinion is her ability to bring characters to life who I have met in
history books. For instance in Mrs. Roosevelt’s Confidante, I got to meet and
hang out with Eleanor Roosevelt for a while. In the history books, I have
learned about her accomplishments as she stood behind her husband President
FDR, but MacNeal brings her to life. In her previous books in this series, I
got to hang out with Prime Minister Winston Churchill. She does a good job at
making these historical characters real.
I really enjoyed her descriptive
setting. MacNeal captures London and America during the World War II conflict.
I could see the burned out buildings in London and see the Christmas lights
shining in America, even though Pearl Harbor just occurred a couple of weeks
ago. MacNeal really understands how the setting makes the story.
The conflict is unique, yet powerful.
For someone like me, suspense in any time period makes the story more riveting,
grabbing me from the first page, and MacNeal does that. There is a dead woman
lying in a bathtub with slit wrists, so MacNeal drags Mrs. Roosevelt and Maggie
through the pages of the story as they try to figure out who murdered her.
For the members of the CBA market, there
is a word of warning. MaNeal does mention homosexuality like it is nothing, so
be prepared to read moments where she describes a couple of key characters in
this type of relationship. It made me flip through those pages pretty quickly,
but it doesn’t ruin the story.
In true historical significance Susan
Elia MacNeal’s latest mystery in her Maggie Hope series continues with a
familiar character and allows me to return to World War II and solve the
mystery. If you are a World War II buff
and a mystery lover, than this book is for you!
I received a complimentary copy of Mrs. Roosevelt’s Confidante from Random
House through Netgalley and the opinions stated are all my own.
My
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Purchase Mrs. Roosevelt’s Confidante
Have you ever tried anything from Susan
Elia MacNeal? What aspect of her historical World War II suspense series
captures your attention?
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