Although it is nicer out, most of us are still bound to our homes and yards. Which means, many of us have reading time! I have seemed to get my reading stamina back, and I’m reading a few hours every day. While I have been mostly reading history and biographies, I have been dipping into fiction again. I discovered that this book was available from my library as an ebook, and I”m glad that I gave it a chance. Princess Elizabeth’s Spy is a royal-based cozy mystery, and a great escape for an afternoon or two!
Princess Elizabeth’s Spy, Susan Elia MacNeal
As World War II sweeps the continent and England steels itself against German attack, Maggie Hope, former secretary to Prime Minister Winston Churchill, completes her training to become a spy for MI-5. Spirited, strong-willed, and possessing one of the sharpest minds in government for mathematics and code-breaking, she fully expects to be sent abroad to gather intelligence for the British front. Instead, to her great disappointment, she is dispatched to go undercover at Windsor Castle, where she will tutor the young Princess Elizabeth in maths. Yet castle life quickly proves more dangerous—and deadly—than Maggie ever expected. The upstairs-downstairs world at Windsor is thrown into disarray by a shocking murder, which draws Maggie into a vast conspiracy that places the entire royal family in peril. And as she races to save England from a most disturbing fate, Maggie realizes that a quick wit is her best defence, and that the smallest clues can unravel the biggest secrets, even within her own family.
I have to say, I don’t normally read WWII-era books. That might be blasphemy for someone who loves historical fiction, but it is the truth. However- I loved this mystery. It had a touch more violence than you normally see in a cozy, but it wasn’t gratuitous in any way. This is the second book in the Maggie Hope series, but even not having read the first, I didn’t feel like I was missing anything. (All you have to know is that she previously worked for Winston Churchill, and you find that out early on.) And my favourite part? The royal family is actually present in the novel, they aren’t just alluded to like a lot of “royal fiction”. All in all, if you need a weekend read, Princess Elizabeth’s Spy is the perfect choice!
Looking for more cozy mysteries? See my recommendations on the best cozy series here!
What are you reading right now?
Cheers,
The Historian
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Thanks for the recommendation- I’ve added it to my list 🙂
I really enjoyed it- I think I will read the rest of the series throughout the summer! 😊
When I saw the title of this I completely thought this was going to be about Walsingham. Apparently not. I am reading the final book in a trilogy. This one is called “The Boleyn Reckoning.” It re-imagines what would happen if Anne Boleyn’s second child had survived- and been a boy. Henry VIII dies, his son (Anne & Henry VIII’s) takes over, in the last year of his minority, and it goes from there. Elizabeth is there, as it Mary (in the shadows). The first book is (surprise!) “The Boleyn King.” Oh, and Anne’s brother George (Lord Rochford) is in charge of the minority council…
It’s got intrigue & is an easy read.
I have some readers who would very much enjoy these! I have to say, I’ve really been turned off of Tudor anything- I think it’s just an over-saturation in both fiction and non-fiction history books. (I also find the “fandom” around Anne and Elizabeth slightly frightening!)