While war rages in Europe, murder and intrigue persists on the blacked-out streets of London. In this 9th installment of the Maggie Hope series, we find our heroine working alongside conscientious objectors, diffusing bombs in a war-weary London. This same war-weariness seems to have affected Maggie. We find her racing around London on a motor scooter at breakneck speeds, drinking and smoking to excess, and frustrated in her relationship with DCI James Durgin. After attending the trail of the “sequential killer” Nicholas Reitter, nicknamed the Blackout Beast, Maggie is drawn into another crime spree that seems to be connected to this first one. Someone is disposing of suitcases, containing human bones and a white feather, into the Thames; and the victims may well be the young COs with whom she is working. Reitter, now awaiting execution in the Tower of London, claims to have information which he will give to Maggie if she can get the King to commute his sentence to life. Racing against time and her own demons, Maggie tries to find the killer before more of her friends and co-workers can come to harm.

A slightly darker plot than some of the earlier installments, this is a fast-paced and atmospheric story. The reader can feel Maggie grappling with her inner demons. She is torn between wanting to lose herself in drink and destructive behaviors and the call for her help in saving her friends and countrymen. The depictions of war-ravaged London are richly detailed, and the work of the “bomb diffuser” brings an element of the war effort not well-known. This is a great addition to this series, with red-herrings and plot-twists all leading to a satisfying conclusion. If you have not read the early books, you will definitely want to go back to the beginning after this!

I have read and loved all the books in this series, and this one is no exception! The author always does her research, and the main character of the books, Maggie Hope, is well developed and fascinating. You could certainly read this book without reading the others in the series, but I would suggest starting with the first one (Mr. Churchill’s Secretary) and reading them all!

I will be reviewing this novel for the late winter edition of Mystery Scene Magazine publishing in mid February enjoy my full review there

I really enjoyed the latest installment of the Maggie Hope series much more than I thought I would! After <em>The Prisoner in the Castle</em> I honestly wasn’t sure where things were going to go next, but The Beast is back, along with another serial killer who holds London in terror.

As suitcases full of bones keep showing up in the city, it appears that someone is targeting conscientious objectors. Maggie grows frustrated with Durgin for not warning her friends that they could have targets on their backs, and (while this isn’t said as bluntly in the book) it seems like he’s only interested in maintaining a relationship with her so that she can solve his cases for him. When a famous musician’s violin goes missing, Durgin also tries to get Maggie involved and refuses to respect that she wants to keep her distance.

In the end, of course, Maggie solves everything. While the violin plot felt like a bit of a red herring at the end, I think this was a much stronger book than the last and I’ll be interested to see if Maggie takes David up on his offer in the next book.

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I adore the Maggie Hope mystery series and this latest entry soon to be released might just be the best one yet. Maggie has seen and experienced so much and yet her mind is sharp and she is the bravest character. Outstanding addition to the series.

Another excellent installment in the Maggie Hope series! Maggie plows through her depression and solves the case of a new sequential murdered stalking London.

Really good story, this might be one of the best books in this series. Wartime London, one serial killer is about to be executed but a copycat is now roaming the streets. You won't be able to put this book down.

I have read all of her books and loved them all this one is no different. Loved it .
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book

Title: The King’s Justice
Author: Susan Elia MacNeal
Publisher: Random House Ballantine- Bantam
Review to be posted to Goodreads on February 11, 2020 and on retail sites such as Amazon and Barnes and Noble, upon publication date, February 25, 2020.

This eARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The ninth book in the Maggie Hope Mystery series takes place in London in March of 1943. The novel finds Maggie Hope quitting the SOE and instead diffusing bombs around London while preparing for the upcoming execution of Nicholas Reitter, or the “Blackout Beast.” She is doing a dangerous dance of catching highs by diffusing bombs, riding motorbikes, and smoking then numbing her pain with alcohol in order to forget everything she has been through in the series thus far. She is currently dating DCI James Durgin who is trying to lure Maggie back into the world of mystery by trying to find a missing Stradivarius violin and the newest serial killer terrorizing London.

Full disclaimer- I had read the first eight novels in this series in a matter of weeks and fell in love with it. I thoroughly enjoy how MacNeal combines a healthy balance of history, fiction, and mystery. She does not shy away from the dark parts of history that many have tried to forget, such as the horrible internment camps the Italians living in Britain at that time were forcibly sent to or how poorly conscientious objectors were treated by the public. She also shines a light on significant moral arguments that are just as relevant now as they were during the time period in this book, such as the death penalty. She does so in a way that we get to see both sides of the argument and allows the reader to draw their own conclusions, something I have come to admire.

Many book series have a section where the protagonist hits rock bottom and has to come back even stronger in order to move the series forward. This part in a series usually dictates whether it is going to become one of my favorites or it is the point I stop reading it entirely. Starting this book I was very concerned because it felt so different from the other books in the series. Where was the strong, intelligent Maggie Hope I had come to admire? Why was she with a man that made her doubt herself both professionally and personally? It is clear that Maggie has no regard for her personal safety and she is doing everything in her power to forget what has happened to her since the war began instead of confronting her feelings and dealing with them. She is in a very dark place and how she dealt with it sometimes made her into an almost unlikable character. However, as the novel progresses and she is confronted with moments from her past we start to see slivers of the Maggie Hope we have come to know and love shine through. By the end of the novel, Maggie Hope has truly gone through the cycle of the phoenix and has risen from the ashes, better than before. Personally, I am extremely excited for what Susan Elia MacNeal has set up for the next novel.

This is the ninth installment in the Maggie Hope historical mystery series which takes place in London, 1942. Susan Elia MacNeal has written an emotionally charged and suspenseful novel that is chock full of obscure historical details of the period, especially about the treatment of “Britalians”(Italian immigrants in Britain) and British conscientious objectors. The novel also explores the moral dilemma of dealing with the psyche of serial killers and their perpetrated crimes. What is the proper punishment? How can we learn from them?
I have to say I just love Maggie Hope. She is a brave, intelligent woman with a penchant for danger. Yet she is far from perfect and has to cope with real-life issues, emotional and moral conflicts. Maggie grew up in America, raised by an aunt after the death of her British parents. She went to London to sell the house she had inherited from her grandmother. It is then she discovers the harsh truth about her parents.
Maggie became Winston Churchill's secretary. However once her intelligence and mathematical prowess is discovered, she was recruited to become a code-breaker and a secret agent for the Special Operations Executive.
After suffering great emotional trauma and disillusionment as a result of her experiences as a spy and her imprisonment in Scotland, she has disavowed working for the SOE.
Maggie is living hard and on the edge in London. She is now working as a bomb diffuser on the unexploded bombs that the Luftwaffe dropped during the 1940 Blitz. Initially unwillingly, Maggie gets drawn into investigating a recent macabre string of murders which may have ties to a serial killer, “The Blackout Beast”, which she was almost a victim of and was responsible for the capture of.
Through her involvement and research in the criminal investigation, Maggie comes to terms with her fears and is on the road in coping with her anger and her traumatic memories.

This is the ninth mystery in the Maggie Hope series and I've read and loved them all. Maggie is a British American who has lived in London since the start of WWII and she has served her king and country as a spy in SOE. After a harrowing experience. she decides to take a break from SOE by becoming a bomb disposal expert (so relaxing!!). There's serial killer striking London, and Maggie's investigative skills are needed to find him.

As in previous books, the wartime descriptions are amazing and the plots are gripping. I highly recommend this book and the entire series.

Thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

It wasn’t until after my ARC request was approved that I realized this was the latest installment in a series I haven’t read. Still, I figured I’d read it because, first of all, free book, and second, my understanding is that it’s usually possible to jump right into the middle of a detective series like this. Sure enough, Susan Elia MacNeal gave enough context that I wasn’t lost and confused.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t at all a fan of MacNeal’s writing style, and as a result, I had a mediocre reading experience. She writes like she’s trying to show off how much research she did, how much she knows about World War II-era London, with a constant, repetitive stream of irrelevant facts. The dialogue was stilted and unnatural. Together, these flaws interrupted the flow of the story and prevented me from immersing myself in it.

I can’t speak to the plot because I didn’t read the book through to the end, and of course the resolution is the most important part of any mystery. I just couldn’t get past my dislike of the writing style; it got to a point where it wasn’t worth it to keep going. Most of the side characters felt stereotypical and flat, although Maggie was all right.

I’m sad to say this one just wasn’t for me. I won’t be going back and reading any of the other books in the series.

This is the book for those who wonder, "How did they do it? How did they keep on working, overcoming obstacles set by society, and friendship, and grief? How did they handle the horrors of war, seeing the best and the worst of people?"

The answer: They often didn't. Trauma and stress were a part of daily life, presenting in different ways; here we see Maggie and others struggling to reconcile their memories, their hopes, and the actions of themselves and others. Bravery and cowardice are often declaimed, but hard to pinpoint without knowing someone's heart, so all they could do is hope it worked out before it destroyed them. And yet... the war did not stop everything. In some cases, it created opportunities: new jobs, travel, friendships, and more risks.

Back to the story. After the recent events, Maggie has left SOE to take on a new bomb disposal role in the women's Auxiliary Territorial Service. There is a certain degree of reckless disregard for herself, but still care for others. Unfortunately, she's soon playing a role she wants no part of, but must if she's to find the truth.

I received insight into a new aspect of the war: the Italians who fled Mussolini, and tried to rebuild their lives in England. In many ways, their problems are still evident today. And I found Maggie's struggles both touching and infuriating (no doubt her friends did too). Her introspective musings into revenge and justice, anger and loss, are profound at times, and made me rethink some attitudes.

All in all, a very engaging book.

A new Maggie Hope book is always welcome! This story is darker than earlier ones as Maggie and others are dealing with serious issues affecting their personal lives. Maggie is still reeling from the past year and has opted to dull her pain with drinking, smoking, and riding her motorbike like a bat out of hell. She has withdrawn from the intelligence services and is now part of a bomb de-fusing team. This book offers some interesting perspectives about the Britalians and internment camps, attitudes towards conscientious objectors, the culture clash between the Yanks and the Brits, and the role of the Tower of London in wartime. Some pretty broad hints are dropped as to what the next book will entail. I'm ready to read it now!

Have I ever mentioned my love for Maggie Hope? She's a badass former spy who now, in this book, has turned her attention to diffusing bombs leftover from the blitz. She's still dealing with PTSD from her time at the Scottish prison island, and it's affecting her whole life. I liked the murder that she didn't want to work with her detective love on, but then, of course, she couldn't let injustice stand. I was a little upset with where her relationship with Durgin ended up by the end of the book, but hopefully, there is more to explore in the future.

Maggie Hope returns in The King’s Justice, the next installment in the series. Maggie is spending her days performing the dangerous operation of disarming bombs. She is asked to assist in locating the missing Stradivarius violin of a famous musician. Durning the investigation, Maggie is thrown into a case of serial murders which threatens her friends and appears to be related to the missing violin.

While I have loved the Maggie Hope character and enjoyed the previous books In series, I found the various storylines to be a bit disjointed. The relevance between the storylines comes to light late in the book feeling forced and rushed to conclusion. The frequent sermonizing against capital punishment also distracted from the plot. However, I look forward to the next installment in the series.

I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for my independent review.

England, war-is-hell, WW2, bomb-defusal, PTSD, historical-places-events, historical-research, historical-setting, prejudice

This is the first book I've read by this author and I really commend the clear exploration of the effects of psychological trauma on individuals during a war on home soil as well as that experienced by law enforcement and military personnel. Maggie has previously suffered serious wounds while working at the Met, but she still has serious problems with institutional murder of the perpetrator. And now, in 1943 there is another sequential killer on the loose. But while she can't deal with working on that case, she can deal with excess alcohol, cigarettes, and defusing bombs left over from the Blitz. There is also a hard look at the prejudices of that time, and the wise will extrapolate to those of today. It's a darker story than some but very well done. Held me to it well past bedtime.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine via NetGalley. Thank you!

Maggie Hope is living on the edge. She’s seen too much – and done too much – during World War 2, and everything is catching up to her. Having quit her job as a secret agent, Maggie is now working as a bomb diffuser in London. If the risk of accidentally blowing herself up on a daily basis isn’t enough, Maggie is also drinking heavily, smoking, and zipping around London on a rickety motorbike. The last thing Maggie wants to do is get caught up in investigating another crime. But, when a recent string of murders threatens her coworkers and links back to another serial killer whom Maggie tracked down, she finds herself drawn into Scotland Yard’s investigation.

I am a huge fan of the Maggie Hope Mystery series, and I was excited to read THE KING’S JUSTICE. Maggie is in a bad place mentally, and this novel is much darker than the previous ones. The continuing war and her past is catching up to Maggie, and she is having a hard time coping. Maggie’s mental state is a heavy factor in the novel as it shapes her current actions and decisions. The war is also negatively affecting some of her friends, and their struggles are part of the novel. As always, MacNeal brings to life WW2 era London while addressing the British treatment of Italians in England and PTSD in soldiers. MacNeal also questions the morality of the Death Penalty through the continuing storyline of the Blackout Beast whom we first encountered in THE QUEEN’S ACCOMPLICE.

The two serial killers in this novel – one whom Maggie encountered in a previous novel; the other one new to the series – are both intriguing and chilling. In my opinion, THE KING’S JUSTICE is the most thought provoking novel in the Maggie Hope Mystery series so far.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This is the 9th in the series involving Maggie Hope, secret agent. I really enjoyed this outing involving a serial killer, more war and a stolen violin. The only thing I didn't enjoy was constant reference to Maggie's mental health after her last adventure. It ended up dragging down the storyline in places and it finally just became a distraction. I hope this doesn't continue in further books in the series. This is wonderful series for readers who like a strong female protagonist, little known bits and pieces of history and the trauma of WWII in London. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced readers copy for review.

I’m a huge Maggie Hope fan but the last book I read was a DNF.So I wasn’t really sure if this book was the same way.
I shouldn’t have worried about it.This is the classic Maggie we’ve all come to know and love.Very independent.The book starts off with Maggie facing her demons or rather battling with them.
She is asked to help solve the mystery of a stolen Stradivarius.It connects with another mystery
I love how this series shows us the stark reality of wartime.How civilians were treated.
Thankyou Netgalley for a ARC