Time for scary books!

Title: The Queen's Accomplish by Susan Elia MacNeal
Publisher:  Bantam, 386 pp October 4, 2016
Genre: mystery, cozy, English historical, WWII fiction, series
4+ stars
Author:
MacNeal is the NYTimes best selling author of the Maggie Hope (#6) series. Her novels have been nominated for many awards, with her first, Mr Churchill's Secretary winning the Barry award. Her  first job was assistant to novelist John Irving, she graduated cum laude and with departmental honors from Wellesley College, cross-registered for courses at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and attended the Radcliffe Publishing Course at Harvard University. Her stories are well researched, which rich historical detail. There is significant character development between books, although it seems each ends where the next begins. I enjoy reading about strong, independent, capable women and Maggie makes a fascinating seasoned spy/special agent. Her exploits vividly portray the blackout, terror, everyday life of war torn London.
Story line:
We have another chapter in Maggie Hope's wartime experiences, this one darker than most. It also represents a dark time, especially to the reader who knows three more bleak years are ahead. And darker still with the blatant rampant sexism which still exists today. There are several story lines, involving characters from previous books, so it is useful to read them in order. Primarily, Maggie is to aid DCI Durgin of Scotland Yard in tracking down a serial killer, a copycat Jack the Ripper. The victims include many of the women Maggie has trained to become agents, so the hunt becomes very personal and potentially very dangerous. It is a quick intriguing read, one that is thought provoking and informative. I look forward to Maggie rescuing her half sister in Paris.
Quotes:
Something was wrong. Maggie Hope was sure, but she couldn’t yet put her finger on it...
Maggie was working as a girl Friday in a dim reception room at 64 Baker Street, one of the Special Operations Executive’s offices.
Only twenty-seven, Maggie had already performed any number of missions as an agent for SOE, but had taken a desk job in London while she was waiting for the arrival of her German half sister, Elise Hess, a Resistance worker in Berlin.
After all, she’d been secretary to the P.M. himself—as well as saving the life of the Princess Elizabeth, parachuting into Nazi Berlin, teaching at a paramilitary camp, and keeping the First Lady of the United States of America safe from scandal. How hard could managing an office be? And it was only temporary, until her half sister arrived in London and settled in.
When she’d arrived in London from Boston, four years ago, all she’d wanted to do was settle her grandmother’s estate, then return to the United States to pursue doctoral studies in mathematics at MIT, one of the few top universities to allow women as graduate students.
“It’s like … an accident of number theory. With enough data points, patterns will emerge that point to the place where the murders took place.”
“Are ye daft, woman?” Durgin exploded. “That’s the looniest idea I’ve ever heard of! We don’t use humans as live bait! This isn’t some Highland huntin’ party!”
I can’t fight everything, Maggie realized. But I can do some things. And those I’ll do to the best of my ability and strength.
Read on:
Jacqueline Winspear Maisie Dobbs series
Nicola Upson Josephine Tey series
Rhys Bowen Royal Spyness series
Emma Jameson Marriage can be Murder
I intend to look up Sarah Sundin who evidently also writes WWII novels. MacNeal,also has an excellent bibliography at the end of this book.

Received as an ARC ebook from Netgalley.