His Majesty's Hope by Susan Elia MacNeal

His Majesty’s Hope by Susan Elia MacNeal covers a few genres namely historical/mystery/spy.  I don’t read a lot of historical fiction but I do like mysteries and the fact that this was a female spy story set in WW 2 Berlin made this an intriguing story for me. 

The story doesn’t disappoint.  Maggie Hope is a newly trained spy for the British Intelligence and is set to go on her first foreign mission into Berlin.  There are specific reasons that she’s been chosen for this mission although she isn’t privy to this knowledge for most of the novel.   The historical background in this novel is impressive and the characters are well-written.  The story has lots of intrigue and suspense and I found this book hard to put down.

When I requested a copy from netgalley.com to review I had no idea it was the 3^rd book in a series.  However, you don’t necessarily need to know the back story to enjoy this book.  There’s enough information to be able to connect the dots and if you happen to start with this book it will just make you want to read the first two.

If you like spy stories that feature strong female characters then you will like this book.  I would recommend it even if you haven’t read the first 2 but if you want to read them in order it starts with Mr. Churchill’s Secretary and then Princess Elizabeth’s Spy.  She is at work on the 4^th installment and I look forward to reading them all.

Ground Truth by Rob Sangster

I’ve discovered that I am considered a “professional reader” because I review books on my blog.   Because of that I’ve been able to join netgalley.com.    Netgalley is a place where professional readers can request titles to review direct from publishers.   There is a good selection of titles available.  As far as I can tell only digital formats are available so if you don’t have an e-reader you’re out of luck.  Otherwise they seem to support all the popular brands of e-readers.

So Ground Truth was the first title I requested.    I requested it because it was a mystery/thriller and because it is Sangster’s first novel. 

The main character is Jack Strider, a corporate lawyer with aspirations to the Supreme Court.  His world is turned upside down when his father commits suicide and ugly truths are revealed about what he was involved in.   Jack is immediately tainted by this even though he and his father were not close or working together.   As a result he is thrust into a new company with a new mandate which almost immediately starts getting him into trouble.

This novel is a fast-paced thriller that was only slowed down for me by some of the awkward formatting on my Kindle.    I felt some of the scene changes were a bit sloppy and I sometimes had to read a few pages back to figure out how the transition had happened.   This could just be an editing issue rather than a flaw in the writing. 

The plot centers on hazardous waste and water issues in Mexico.  It turns out that Sangster has the background to write this type of novel since he was a lawyer, has done a lot of travelling and is involved in bringing clean water to Mexico.

The story is interesting and the characters are well-developed.  It seems a bit preachy at times but clearly the author is passionate about his subject so that the novel not only entertains but informs.

I would highly recommend this book and look forward to more from this author.