I started reading Alison Weir鈥檚 books when I was 8. I鈥檓 now 35 and think I鈥檝e read nearly every book she鈥檚 written. I鈥檝e realized that I consistently I started reading Alison Weir鈥檚 books when I was 8. I鈥檓 now 35 and think I鈥檝e read nearly every book she鈥檚 written. I鈥檝e realized that I consistently like her nonfiction books while her novels can be a bit hit or miss. This is one of those novels that fell squarely in the middle for me.
The book starts out much stronger than it finishes, and I think in part that鈥檚 due to Weir鈥檚 resonance with Mary as a person. In the afterword, she talks about how she could sympathize with Mary as a child of divorced parents. The vulnerability and desperation for love and approval feel very real. Weir also says that once Mary became queen, she had a much harder time relating to her鈥� and that is also clear. The number of times that Mary spirals into depression and inaction over what to do, the disastrous and violent choices that she makes while repeatedly writing pleading letters to Philip become somewhat nauseating. Her relationship with Elizabeth is akin to an evil-stepmother and her ungrateful child. I understand not wanting to come off as an apologist, but I do think that their relationship could have been explored in a more multifaceted way as there are good historical sources that indicate Elizabeth copied some of Mary鈥檚 image and speech strategies.
Overall, I think that if this book had been edited down about 100 pages and presented Mary with a more complex personality, I think it easily could have been 5 stars. While I still enjoyed it, the book took me quite a lot longer to finish than I initially anticipated just because Mary is, perhaps understandably, so unlikeable!
Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.
It鈥檚 hard to believe that this is the last Maggie Hope story after everything she鈥檚 been through. I鈥檓 always a little sus when an agent accepts 鈥渙ne fIt鈥檚 hard to believe that this is the last Maggie Hope story after everything she鈥檚 been through. I鈥檓 always a little sus when an agent accepts 鈥渙ne final mission鈥� because it seems like that鈥檚 code for 鈥減repare for the worst to happen.鈥� And, well鈥� a lot of bad things do happen to Maggie.
This time she鈥檚 headed to Madrid to receive a message from Coco Chanel, and also to determine whether German physicist Werner Heisenberg has uncovered the means of making a nuclear bomb. It鈥檚 apparent throughout her mission that the stakes couldn鈥檛 be higher; the reader is left with the feeling that Maggie senses the fate of humanity rests squarely on her ability to deduce the truth.
While some of the 鈥渢wists鈥� felt predictable, there were a number of events toward the end of the book that I didn鈥檛 anticipate. Overall this was an enjoyable read and I think it wrapped up the series while still leaving room for imagination on what comes next for these characters in a post-war world.
Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book!
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