The Paris Spy

June 5, 2017
Set in 1942, MacNeal’s engrossing seventh Maggie Hope mystery (after 2016’s The Queen’s Accomplice) takes the American-raised British spy, disguised as a fashionable Irish lady, to Nazi-occupied Paris. There Maggie searches for her German half-sister, Elise Hess, a Resistance fighter, and for fellow agent Erica Calvert, whose coded transmissions have raised concern—and whose mission is vital to the success of the Allies’ planned Normandy invasion. Unbeknownst to Maggie, one of her colleagues is a double agent. A chance encounter with designer Coco Chanel brings an entrée to an elegant world of ballet and masked balls in which Parisian aristocrats mingle with German officers. These scenes raise complex moral questions and showcase subtle acts of resistance. Those unfamiliar with previous novels might be confused by Maggie’s family background and Elise’s choices, but series fans should appreciate the development in their relationship. A fast-paced climax leads to an ending that will leave readers eagerly awaiting the next installment. Agent: Victoria Skurnick, Levine Greenberg Literary.

June 15, 2017
A British spy walks the fine line between brave and foolhardy in Nazi-occupied Paris. Maggie Hope has played many roles in war-torn Britain, from Churchill's secretary to Special Operations Executive spy (The Queen's Accomplice, 2016, etc.). Now she's in Paris waiting for forged identity papers and hoping to find her half sister, Elise Hess, a Resistance fighter who'd escaped from Germany, and learn the whereabouts of SOE agent Erica Calvert, who's been collecting sand samples to help determine where the invasion forces should land. When the documents arrive, Maggie checks into the Hotel Ritz posing as neutral Irishwoman Paige Kelly, who's shopping for her trousseau. But tending to the wounds of a German knocked down by a bike as she's on her way to the Ritz brings Maggie to the highly consequential attention of Generaloberst Christian Ruesdorf. At the Ritz, Maggie's befriended by Coco Chanel, who introduces her to high-ranking Germans she'd rather avoid. Chanel invites Maggie to the ballet, where Sarah Sanderson and Hugh Thompson, two of Maggie's fellow agents and close friends, are working, posing as a dancer and a cellist, respectively. Erica, it turns out, was captured and tortured by the Germans but kills herself before confessing anything. Her bag of samples is now in the hands of Sarah, who passes them on to Maggie. On the home front, SOE and MI6 continue to battle each other. Despite many warnings, SOE's head ignores the fact that radio reports are coming from France without the code that's supposed to guarantee their authenticity. As Maggie finds her sister hidden in a nunnery along with a wounded English pilot, the Germans back in Paris capture Sarah and Hugh, seriously endangering their plans. The secret of the invasion landing is the most important in the war, and Churchill will do anything to protect it. Can Maggie pull off a great escape and save the day? Though the heroine's latest adventure is far from her best, it's packed with just about every plot device you'd expect from a World War II thriller, from horrifying plans to destroy the Jews to clever ploys to fool the Germans about Allied intentions.

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July 1, 2017
Entries in the WWII-era Maggie Hope series range from traditional mysteries to spy stories; this seventh installment is firmly in the latter category. In the spring of 1942, Maggiea math crackerjack who's risen in the ranks of Britain's Special Operations Executive (SOE)is in Paris posing as an Irish bride-to-be shopping for a trousseau. In truth, she's searching for fellow SOE agent Erica Calvert, whose recent radio transmissions have been puzzling, and for Erica's half-sister, Elise Hess, a member of the Resistance. As British spy services wait for Calvert's soil samples to help determine where the Allies will invade France, a mole is revealing the inner workings of the SOE to the Nazis, endangering individual lives and more. MacNeal vividly portrays Paris during the German occupation, contrasting resisters with collaborators, as personified by anti-Semite Coco Chanel, who befriends Maggie while they both stay at the Ritz and takes her to the ballet and Maxim's, where the flow of food and drink belies the city's shortages. With its riveting plot and cliff-hanger finish, this is a solid addition to a series as well researched as it is entertaining.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)