Susan Elia McNeal
Pub Date 7 Aug 2018
Book Blurb:
A series of baffling murders among a group of imprisoned agents threatens the outcome of World War II in this chilling mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of Mr. Churchill’s Secretary.
World War II is raging and former spy Maggie Hope knows too much.
She knows what the British government is willing to do to keep its secrets.
She knows the real location of the planned invasion of France.
She knows who’s lying. She knows who the double-crossers are. She knows exactly who is sending agents to their deaths.
These are the reasons why Maggie is isolated on a remote Scottish island, in a prison known as Killoch Castle, out of contact with friends and family.
Then one of her fellow inmates drops dead in the middle of his after-dinner drink . . . and he’s only the first. As victims fall one by one, Maggie will have to call upon all her wits and skills to escape—not just certain death . . . but certain murder.
For what’s the most important thing Maggie Hope knows?
She must survive.
I really enjoyed this book! It starts as almost a homage to Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None with a number of characters stranded on a remote island with a killer on the loose (It’s even mentioned in the early pages of this book!), but there are enough twists to make it unique; most of the inhabitants have been there for months or years for one. They’re also trained agents - prisoners of their own government - rather than having been invited there by the killer. Likewise, the action switches between the island and the mainland - there’s still a sense of isolation on the island, but it’s tempered with the mainland.
My only quibble is that a few characters seem to have more modern sensibilities. When the original title of Christie’s book is mention (complete with a vulgar term), one character reacts to it. Given the book was published a few years before this book is set, it feels a little contrived, as if Ms. McNeal is apologizing for Christie’s title.
Another pet peeve of mine is when a book isn’t the first in the series, I find references to prior books distracting and sometimes annoying. In this case, however, I’m intrigued and want to start back at the beginning of the series, see how the different relationships and prior cases have led to this one. And reading other reviews, this book might not be the strongest one in the series, so I'm looking forward to reading more of Maggie's adventures.
Overall, an enjoyable read with just more than enough suspense and mystery to make it hard to put down.
Highly recommended.
I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley and voluntarily chose to review.
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