Mr. Churchill's Secretary, by Susan Elia MacNeal
A sub-mediocre book of paper plots, cardboard characters, and endless cliches that finally triggers my writer's rage.
Bantam, 2012, 384 pages
Publisher's description:
For fans of Jacqueline Winspear, Laurie R. King, and Anne Perry, Mr. Churchill’s Secretary captures the drama of an era of unprecedented challenge - and the greatness that rose to meet it.
Inverarity's comments: I don't even know who those other authors are, but I'm never reading them.
London, 1940: Winston Churchill has just been sworn in, war rages across the Channel, and the threat of a Blitz looms larger by the day. But none of this deters Maggie Hope. She graduated at the top of her college class and possesses all the skills of the finest minds in British intelligence, but her gender qualifies her only to be the newest typist at No. 10 Downing Street. Her indefatigable spirit and remarkable gifts for codebreaking, though, rival those of even the highest men in government, and Maggie finds that working for the prime minister affords her a level of clearance she could never have imagined - and opportunities she will not let pass.
Inverarity's comments: Boy, this sounds interesting, doesn't it? Yes, 'indefatigable spirit' if by that you mean breaking into 'hot tears' on every page. Her 'remarkable gifts for codebreaking' could be demonstrated by a 9-year-old with a cipher wheel from a box of Captain Crunch.
In troubled, deadly times, with air-raid sirens sending multitudes underground, access to the War Rooms also exposes Maggie to the machinations of a menacing faction determined to do whatever it takes to change the course of history.
Don't worry, there is no changing history here. Nor much awareness of it.
Ensnared in a web of spies, murder, and intrigue, Maggie must work quickly to balance her duty to King and Country with her chances for survival. And when she unravels a mystery that points toward her own family’s hidden secrets, she’ll discover that her quick wits are all that stand between an assassin’s murderous plan and Churchill himself.
Her 'quick wits' do fuck-all in this book.
In this daring debut, Susan Elia MacNeal blends meticulous research on the era, psychological insight into Winston Churchill, and the creation of a riveting main character, Maggie Hope, into a spectacularly crafted novel.
HAHAHAHAOMG they are serious...
"DID YOU KNOW THAT ENGLAND IN THE 1940S WAS SEXIST? ALSO THERE WAS A WAR AND IT WAS CALLED WORLD WAR II AND GERMANS DROPPED BOMBS ON LONDON AND EVERYTHING IT WAS CALLED THE BLITZ! ALSO DID YOU KNOW THAT NAZIS WERE VERY MEAN TO JEWS? AND ALSO DID YOU KNOW THAT ENGLISH PEOPLE ARE KNOWN FOR THEIR STIFF UPPER LIPS AND ALSO THEY LIKE TEA, WHEREAS AMERICANS LIKE COFFEE! AND ENGLISH PEOPLE DO NOT MAKE GOOD COFFEE AND AMERICANS DO NOT MAKE GOOD TEA HAHAHAHAHAHA I'LL BET YOU'VE NEVER HEARD THAT ONE BEFORE!"
Bantam, 2012, 384 pages
Publisher's description:
For fans of Jacqueline Winspear, Laurie R. King, and Anne Perry, Mr. Churchill’s Secretary captures the drama of an era of unprecedented challenge - and the greatness that rose to meet it.
Inverarity's comments: I don't even know who those other authors are, but I'm never reading them.
London, 1940: Winston Churchill has just been sworn in, war rages across the Channel, and the threat of a Blitz looms larger by the day. But none of this deters Maggie Hope. She graduated at the top of her college class and possesses all the skills of the finest minds in British intelligence, but her gender qualifies her only to be the newest typist at No. 10 Downing Street. Her indefatigable spirit and remarkable gifts for codebreaking, though, rival those of even the highest men in government, and Maggie finds that working for the prime minister affords her a level of clearance she could never have imagined - and opportunities she will not let pass.
Inverarity's comments: Boy, this sounds interesting, doesn't it? Yes, 'indefatigable spirit' if by that you mean breaking into 'hot tears' on every page. Her 'remarkable gifts for codebreaking' could be demonstrated by a 9-year-old with a cipher wheel from a box of Captain Crunch.
In troubled, deadly times, with air-raid sirens sending multitudes underground, access to the War Rooms also exposes Maggie to the machinations of a menacing faction determined to do whatever it takes to change the course of history.
Don't worry, there is no changing history here. Nor much awareness of it.
Ensnared in a web of spies, murder, and intrigue, Maggie must work quickly to balance her duty to King and Country with her chances for survival. And when she unravels a mystery that points toward her own family’s hidden secrets, she’ll discover that her quick wits are all that stand between an assassin’s murderous plan and Churchill himself.
Her 'quick wits' do fuck-all in this book.
In this daring debut, Susan Elia MacNeal blends meticulous research on the era, psychological insight into Winston Churchill, and the creation of a riveting main character, Maggie Hope, into a spectacularly crafted novel.
HAHAHAHAOMG they are serious...
"DID YOU KNOW THAT ENGLAND IN THE 1940S WAS SEXIST? ALSO THERE WAS A WAR AND IT WAS CALLED WORLD WAR II AND GERMANS DROPPED BOMBS ON LONDON AND EVERYTHING IT WAS CALLED THE BLITZ! ALSO DID YOU KNOW THAT NAZIS WERE VERY MEAN TO JEWS? AND ALSO DID YOU KNOW THAT ENGLISH PEOPLE ARE KNOWN FOR THEIR STIFF UPPER LIPS AND ALSO THEY LIKE TEA, WHEREAS AMERICANS LIKE COFFEE! AND ENGLISH PEOPLE DO NOT MAKE GOOD COFFEE AND AMERICANS DO NOT MAKE GOOD TEA HAHAHAHAHAHA I'LL BET YOU'VE NEVER HEARD THAT ONE BEFORE!"