The Queen's Accomplice

The Queen's Accomplice by Susan Elia Macneal is the ninth book in A Maggie Hope Mystery series. Maggie Hope is temporarily working in the SOE offices while waiting for her half-sister, Elise Hess to arrive from Germany (thanks to Prime Minister Winston Churchill). But London is a dangerous place for young women. A killer is targeting women who are coming to London to be SOE and ATS agents. The killer is reconstructing the crimes of Jack the Ripper. This culprit is using the blackouts to his advantage. The press dubs him the "Blackout Beast". Maggie is recruited by MI-5 for a team to catch this killer. Maggie will need to be careful. Jack the Ripper's last victim looked very similar to Maggie. Will they be able to catch this offender before he claims Maggie as his next victim?

The Queen's Accomplice is well-written and interesting to read. There is, though, a lot going on in this novel. I only summarized the mystery portion of the story. There are several side stories. Elise Hess in Germany, Clara Hess (Maggie's mother) is still on the loose in London, Maggie's father, Edmund is in the hospital, the training of two new agents for a covert mission to France, Chuck's home blowing up, Max Thompson's interest in Maggie, and Maggie's home (that she inherited from her grandmother) has been fixed and she can now move in. It is hard to keep track of all the characters and the various scenarios. I give The Queen's Accomplice 4 out of 5 stars (I liked it). I enjoyed The Queen's Accomplice more than Mrs. Roosevelt's Confidante. I did find a few things unbelievable. Maggie getting favors from the Queen of England and the Prime Minister just does not seem realistic. The mystery was not puzzling. The identity of the "Blackout Beast" was obvious as well as how he controlled the victims. I will be reading the next book in A Maggie Hope Mystery series. I am curious to see what happens next (Maggie is heading to France).