Monday, July 31, 2017

Maggie Hope in Occupied Paris During WWII

With the help of the Queen, Maggie Hope is back in occupied Paris. Her half-sister, Elise, escaped from the Gestapo. Maggie wants to find her and bring her back to England, but does Elise want to be rescued? Maggie is also hoping to contact SOE agent Erica Calvert. She has been captured and her research, vital to the Normandy invasion is missing.

SOE agents, Hugh and Sarah, Maggie’s friends, are also in Paris working undercover as entertainers and sending information vital to the invasion back to England. The whole enterprise is threatened by the existence of a double agent. Maggie must discover this agent before the invasion plans are leaked to the Germans.

Suspense is the keynote of this Maggie Hope novel. The streets of Paris are eerily silent except for the Nazi’s Mercedes creeping along. She is working undercover, but any false step could land her in the hands of the Gestapo. Maggie is an excellent character, some of her feats seem almost superhuman, but she’s also vulnerable and recognizes the danger to herself and her friends in occupied Paris.

The historical detail in these novels is well researched, but the author doesn’t let the history get in the way of a suspenseful story. The somber atmosphere makes the story particularly nail-biting. In fact, this story is almost too hard to read at points. I cared about the characters and hated it when they were captured and tortured by the Gestapo.

If you enjoy historical suspense with a great female character, this is a terrific book.

I received this book from Random House / Ballantine Bantam Dell for this review.



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