Monday Give Away: THE PRIME MINISTER'S SECRET AGENT

It’s time for Monday Give Away! This Monday we have… an advance copy of the fourth book in Susan Elia MacNeal’s Maggie Hope series, The Prime Minister’s Secret Agent.

Here’s the official blurb:

Prime Minister's Secret AgentFor fans of Jacqueline Winspear, Charles Todd, and Anne Perry, The Prime Minister’s Secret Agent is a gripping new mystery featuring intrepid spy and code breaker Maggie Hope. And this time, the fallout of a deadly plot comes straight to her own front door.

World War II rages on across Europe, but Maggie Hope has finally found a moment of rest on the pastoral coast of western Scotland. Home from an undercover mission in Berlin, she settles down to teach at her old spy training camp, and to heal from scars on both her body and heart. Yet instead of enjoying the quieter pace of life, Maggie is quickly drawn into another web of danger and intrigue. When three ballerinas fall strangely ill in Glasgow—including one of Maggie’s dearest friends—Maggie partners with MI-5 to uncover the truth behind their unusual symptoms. What she finds points to a series of poisonings that may expose shocking government secrets and put countless British lives at stake. But it’s the fight brewing in the Pacific that will forever change the course of the war—and indelibly shape Maggie’s fate.

This book is a wonderful mix of Jacqueline Winspear and Ken Follett– suspense, big picture intrigue, and small picture personal interest. Also definitely recommended for fans of The Bletchley Circle. If you haven’t read any of the Maggie Hope books, the first one is Mr. Churchill’s Secretary.

So, for a copy of The Prime Minister’s Secret Agent, here’s your question:

— What are your favorite World War II set books, movies, or TV series?

The winner will be announced on Wednesday.

The Prime Minister’s Secret Agent appears in stores on July 1.

You can come see Susan Elia MacNeal and me at Murder by the Book in Houston on July 24, where she’ll be signing The Prime Minister’s Secret Agent and I’ll be signing That Summer— and, as always, anything else you want me to sign.

32 Comments

  1. Mary Lou on May 12, 2014 at 8:17 am

    Foyle’s War for TV, and Blackout/All Clear by Connie Willis for books. I like the intensity both bring, and the focus on the Home Front.

  2. jeffrey on May 12, 2014 at 8:29 am

    For non-fiction Winston Churchill’s The Gathering Storm cannot be beat. For fiction, I loved the House at Tyneford by Natasha Solomons, set in England during WWII. I also recommend the Johnny Fedora spy series by Desmond Cory. They are primarily set in Europe just after WWII and feature the clashes between ex-Nazis, Soviet Communists and the allies. (Rivals 007 in style and substance)

    TV: Nothing better the documentary Victory at Sea.

    Movies: The Bridge on the River Kwai, Saving Private Ryan

  3. Rachel Adrianna on May 12, 2014 at 10:13 am

    Foyle’s War! A 7-season (so far) drama about a detective on the homefront. It stars Michael Kitchen, Honeysuckle Weeks, and Antony Howell.

    • Suzanne on May 13, 2014 at 12:06 am

      Good news Rachel, we have had an 8th series here in Australia and the 9th is currently in production.

      • Rachel Adrianna on May 13, 2014 at 3:46 pm

        Thanks for the heads up! 🙂

  4. Jodi K on May 12, 2014 at 10:18 am

    Maggie Hope series! Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan, Pearl Harbor

  5. Meredith A on May 12, 2014 at 10:27 am

    It’s not quite WWII set, but very close: the Royal Spyness Series by Rhys Bowen.
    I am excited to read The Prime Minister’s Secret Agent. It sounds great!

  6. Michelle K on May 12, 2014 at 10:59 am

    The Harris Stuyvesant books by Laurie R. King! SOOOO amazing

  7. Diane on May 12, 2014 at 12:19 pm

    Mrs. Miniver (1942) is great movie. It gives a feel of how people were feeling at the time. I also enjoy watching the Foyle’s War tv series. A nice read is “Good Evening, Mrs.Craven: The War Time Stories of Mollie Panter-Downes”.

  8. Pat D on May 12, 2014 at 12:21 pm

    Band of Brothers was wonderful. There are probably more but it is Monday and my brain isn’t working yet. oh. Mrs Miniver. And I love Susan’s books.

  9. Christine on May 12, 2014 at 12:35 pm

    WWII is one of my favorite historical eras. I really enjoyed Band of Brothers, The Pacific and Pearl Harbor (even though it’s not a particularly good movie).

  10. Liz on May 12, 2014 at 12:41 pm

    I’m really hoping I win this because I just started the Maggie Hope series last week! I love the characters and setting…WWII is probably my favorite era to watch and read about.

    Books: I love Sarah Sundin’s WWII inspirational fiction…she is such a great, vivid writer. Non-fiction: Operation Mincemeat was a really enjoyable, I can’t-believe-this-actually-happened kind of book.

    Movies/TV: The TV series Island at War was pretty enjoyable, also The Best Years of Our Lives set right after WWII is so moving and wonderful.

  11. Vanessa on May 12, 2014 at 1:05 pm

    I really enjoyed reading Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, and Saving Private Ryan is one of my favorite WWII films.

  12. Catie on May 12, 2014 at 1:43 pm

    I think I would have to go with “Maus” by Art Spiegelman.

  13. Beth on May 12, 2014 at 2:49 pm

    I liked the mini-series Island at War- about an English channel island occupied by the Germans. It’s too bad they didn’t make a second season!

  14. Kam on May 12, 2014 at 5:36 pm

    Can’t think of any WW2 books, but I loved the Bletchley circle tv series.

  15. Ren on May 12, 2014 at 8:11 pm

    I love the Canadian TV series Bomb Girls. It was so good! About girls working in a bomb factory on the Canadian home front.

  16. Betty S. on May 12, 2014 at 8:35 pm

    Movies – Saving Private Ryan and The Longest Day

    Book – Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah takes the reader from present day to war torn Leningrad to uncover a family secret and try to heal the women in this family – powerfully written and descriptive!

  17. Jillian on May 12, 2014 at 8:39 pm

    I love Foyle’s War especially Sam who is so relatable. For books, I just recently started reading the Bess Crawford series by Charles Todd, which are fabulous. However, my favorite WWII-era books contain some of the amazing characters and mysteries from Agatha Christie!

  18. Sue Luce on May 12, 2014 at 11:19 pm

    Raiders of the Lost Ark…melting Nazis….

  19. Lynne on May 12, 2014 at 11:29 pm

    Foyle’s War for tv – it never gets old. Herman Wouk’s Winds of War was a great book although it’s been ages since I read it.

  20. Suzanne on May 13, 2014 at 12:19 am

    Foyle’s war is my favourite. We are very lucky at the moment as the new series just finished a few weeks ago on the ABC and we are getting repeats on channel 72 at the same time. There have also been some great series in the past such as The Secret Army, about spies in occupied Belgium. That is the one that Ello, Ello was based on, only it was deadly serious. Then there was The Sullivans about a Melbourne family during WWII. That was a good one as the campaigns the Aussies were in were filmed on location in places like Greece, France and New Guinea, and then they had the home front story too.

    In books my favourites are Kate Morten’s The Distant Hours, and James A Michener’s Tales Of The South Pacific. Another of my favourites, Nancy Mitford’s Pursuit Of Love has quite a bit of WWII in the final chapters. I bought Mr Churchill’s Secretary last week but haven’t had the chance to read it yet. I am really looking forward to it.

  21. Andrea on May 13, 2014 at 12:44 am

    The Great Escape with Steve McQueen. The Battle of the Bulge with Henry Fonda

  22. Magda on May 13, 2014 at 1:48 am

    Atonement, book and movie…so sad but moving

  23. Cathy on May 13, 2014 at 9:51 am

    I love D.E.Stevenson, a Scottish writer. While she rarely wrote specifically about the war, she wrote about the impact of the war on homefront. Since I can’t choose just one,I’ll also mention Rosamunde Pilcher who again focused mainly on the homefront but occasionally gave us more, such as in Coming Home. I love WWII books, especially those set in England and Scotland!

  24. J D LaHaie on May 13, 2014 at 3:32 pm

    A mini-series called A Town Like Alice (based on the novel by Nevil Shute). Also Christabel which was on PBS.
    As for books Ken Follett’s The Key to Rebecca, Joan Dial’s Echoes of War and Herman Wouk’s War and Remembrance.

  25. bn100 on May 13, 2014 at 3:40 pm

    Don’t think I’ve seen any

  26. Verity W on May 13, 2014 at 5:22 pm

    Elizabeth Jane Howard’s Cazalet Chronicles – they start before the war, and finish after, but they are one of my favourite historical saga series – all the characters are so real, the stories so believable and there are so many different people to root for/against.

    If you haven’t read them (and I’m sure Lauren has but nevertheless) the first one is The Light Years – you’ve got several thousand pages of joy in front of you!

  27. Sue G on May 13, 2014 at 10:02 pm

    WWII
    Movies: From Here to Eternity, In Harm’s Way, Twelve O’Clock High and Patton
    Books: Last Convertible by Anton Meyer and Winds of War by Herman Raush.
    TV: Band of Brothers, 12 O’clock High, Baa Baa Black Sheep

  28. Joy Elkins on May 13, 2014 at 10:51 pm

    Foyle’s War is wonderful.

  29. Jane Burke on May 14, 2014 at 5:53 pm

    Two of my favorites are Shining Through by Susan Isaacs and Night Sky by Clare Francis.

  30. Marie DeGrandchamp on May 17, 2014 at 10:37 pm

    My 2 fave WWII movies are: Heaven Knows Mr. Alison – fell in love with Robert Mitchum and Debra Kerr.
    South Pacific – I first watched it with my mom and she just loved it.

    I jjust found Francis the Talking Mule at Walmart, have to have something on the lighter side!

Leave a Comment