Mrs. Roosevelt's Confidante
By Susan Elia MacNeal
- Release Date: 2015-10-27
- Genre: Women Sleuths
Description
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In this riveting mystery from Susan Elia MacNeal, England’s most daring spy, Maggie Hope, travels across the pond to America, where a looming scandal poses a grave threat to the White House and the Allied cause.
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.
Praise for Mrs. Roosevelt’s Confidante
“MacNeal paints an engrossing portrait of a country on the verge of war, with many laws suspended and prejudice rife—a world not that much different from today.”—Kirkus Reviews
“MacNeal’s fifth Maggie Hope mystery is another solidly researched entry with the indomitable Maggie in top form.”—Booklist
“Another winner filled both with fact and marvelous fiction . . . Maggie is a wonderful character with the strength and determination, as well as intelligence, to make her a resourceful spy.”—RT Book Reviews
“MacNeal’s images and characters are true to the time, and the resonance of several of the subplots with current events deepen the impact of the tale; MacNeal is to be commended for her skillful weaving of racial and gender issues into an already complex political picture. . . . There’s a tremendous amount of world and U.S. history in this delightful volume.”—Historical Novels Review
“Addictive . . . [MacNeal] paints convincing portraitures of the Roosevelts and other real-life historical figures. . . . The author continues to tackle heady issues while giving us a beloved heroine to root for. Wrought with peril and tension and extraordinarily rich in detail and research, Hope’s latest adventure will not disappoint fans of the series.”—Fredericksburg Free Lance–Star
Praise for the bestselling Maggie Hope mysteries
“You’ll be [Maggie Hope’s] loyal subject, ready to follow her wherever she goes.”—O: The Oprah Magazine
“[A] stellar series.”—Minneapolis Star Tribune
“A treat for WWII buffs and mystery lovers alike.”—Booklist
Reviews
Fifth book in series!
3By Kris Anderson, The Avid ReaderMrs. Roosevelt’s Confidante by Susan Elia MacNeal is the fifth book in the Maggie Hope Mystery series. Maggie Hope is traveling with Prime Minister Winston Churchill as his typist. At least that is the official story. Unofficially, she is on assignment (she is spy). Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt mentions that she is worried about her secretary, Blanche Balfour. Blanche failed to show up for work or to call. Churchill asks Maggie to assist the First Lady. They go to Blanche’s apartment and find her dead in the tub. It looks like a suicide. Maggie quickly hustles Mrs. Roosevelt out of the apartment (after snagging a tablet) and anonymously calls the police (something you could still do in the 40’s). Someone had written a note, but it was missing. Maggie was able to use a pencil and see what was written. The contents of the note would compromise Mrs. Roosevelt (and ruin what Churchill and FDR are trying to accomplish). Churchill assigns Maggie to the First Lady to investigate what really happened to Blanche. Wendell Cotton is a (African-American) man on death row at Thomas Jefferson Prison in Virginia. Many people that Mr. Cotton did not get a fair trial including Mrs. Roosevelt. Eleanor is working with Andrea Martin from the Workers Defense League to get Wendell a retrial. Someone is trying to keep Mrs. Roosevelt quiet. Will Maggie be able to find out who in time? There is too much going on in Mrs. Roosevelt’s Confidante. It is at the beginning of World War II for the United States. We have a murder, the war, the US, the British, the Germans, prisoners of war, and rockets (I only gave a brief synopsis and focused on the mystery). There are many characters and it is extremely difficult to keep them all straight (maybe when I was younger). I found the novel hard to get through. I found the mystery simple to solve (much to my disappointment). I have not read any other books in this series (and I am not likely to either). Maybe if I had read the other books, I would understand the series better. The novel is left unfinished. We have to wait until the next book to find out about the rockets and the missing German prisoner. I give Mrs. Roosevelt’s Confidante 3 out of 5 stars. Mrs. Roosevelt’s Confidante was just not the novel for me. I received a complimentary copy of Mrs. Roosevelt’s Confidante in exchange for an honest review.
