Name: Sahi K's review of The Hollywood Spy by Susan Elia MacNeal
Item: The Hollywood Spy
Rating: 4
Author: Sahi K

Susan Elia MacNeal

"Maggie Hope is off to Hollywood to solve a crime that hits too close to home--and confront the very evil she thought she had left behind in Europe--as the acclaimed World War II mystery series from New York Times bestselling author Susan Elia MacNeal continues. Los Angeles, 1943. As the Allies beat back the Nazis in the Mediterranean and the United States military slowly closes in on Tokyo, Walt Disney cranks out wartime propaganda and the Cocoanut Grove is alive with jazz and swing each night. But behind this sunny façade lies a darker reality. Somewhere in the lush foothills of Hollywood, a woman floats, lifeless, in the pool of one of California's trendiest hotels. When American-born secret agent and British spy Maggie Hope learns that this woman was engaged to her old flame, John Sterling, and that he suspects her death was no accident, intuition tells her he's right. Leaving London under siege--not to mention flying thousands of miles--is a lot to ask. But John was once the love of Maggie's life . . . and she won't say no. Maggie is shocked to find Los Angeles as divided as Europe itself--the Zoot Suit Riots loom large and the Ku Klux Klan casts a long shadow. As she marvels at the hatred in her home country, she can't help but wonder what it will be like to see her lost love once again. But there is little time to dwell on memories once she starts digging into the case. As she traces a web of deception from the infamous Garden of Allah Hotel to the iconic Carthay Theater, she discovers things aren't always the way things appear in the movies--and the political situation in America is more complicated, and dangerous, than the newsreels would have them all believe"--

A Maggie Hope Mystery

The Hollywood Spy

Gabby Adani

Sahi K

CW: one of the POV is a KKK member, so expect lots of racism, antisemitism, usage of slurs etc. 

Probably more of a 3.5 but I’m rounding up. 

I actually started reading this a while ago but abandoned it after a few pages coz I wasn’t in the mood. But it’s also one of the few longest series I have been following for a while, so I didn’t wanna totally give up and decided to read it for the readathon in August. 

This was not an easy book to read, not because of the writing at all, but because of the time period it is set in. 1940s America, and specifically Los Angeles maybe outwardly glamorous because of Hollywood, but the other side of it is full of Nazis and fascists and racists fighting for their so called white America. So, the author uses some of the events that took place during those trying times to create an engaging murder mystery with large scale implications. I was actually surprised to know how many of the little subplots or people involved in the book were inspired by reality. While the book itself was fast paced and very interesting to read, I can’t say I liked reading the POV of a Klan member. But the author does manage to cover up the distaste we might feel at that POV by peppering the book with a lot of popular names of the times - Hollywood superstars and directors, musicians, singers, ballet artists, authors and playwrights - if you know your American movie/artistic history, I think you’ll find all of the references very enjoyable but unfortunately I’m a noob when it comes to this area, and I skipped the names coz they didn’t mean anything to me. 

Maggie remains one of the bravest historical women I’ve read in the past few years and it’s always nice to return to read about her new adventure. I liked that we get to see more sides of her this time - the born American whose relationship with her birth country is troubled because she can’t reconcile the glamour and patriotism with the racism; the woman unsure about meeting the most love of her life; and the British service member who needs to make choices about her future while contemplating the various betrayals by her own superiors. 

However, I’m not sure what I feel about John yet. He seems like a nice guy and does like her a lot, but I can’t make up my mind if he is good enough for Maggie. Sarah as always was a bright spot and I loved her friendship with Henri. The less I talk about the other POVs, the better. I definitely did miss David and the rest of the London gang. 

To conclude, it was nice to be back among familiar characters. The murder mystery itself was pretty interesting but straightforward, and I thought the strength of the book was the vivid setting the author was able to create. The books ends on quite a surprising note and it looks like the proceedings will again move more into the Nazi territory, so I’m quite looking forward to that.

Jolie

I have a fascination with World War II. And being fascinated with it, I have read a ton of books that have taken place in various countries during World War II. But, to my knowledge, I never have read a book set entirely in Los Angeles during World War II. When I read the blurb and saw where this book was set, this book caught my interest.

The Hollywood Spy is book 10 in the Maggie Hope series. Readers can read this book as a standalone, but I highly recommend that the other books be read first. There are people and events referenced that I had no clue about, and it drove me nuts.

There were two distinct plotlines in The Hollywood Spy. The first being the plotline where Maggie is investigating the death of John’s fiancee. The second involved the KKK and a plotline to cause as much mayhem as possible. I had zero problems keeping the plotlines separate.

The pacing and flow of The Hollywood Spy were good. It did take forever for the book to get going, but once it did, it kept up a steady pace until the end of the book. The same goes for the flow of the book. It flowed nicely between characters and plotlines, with little to no lag.

I liked Maggie and thought she was a relatable character. She dealt with everything that life threw at her with grace and a bit of humor. I also liked that she was super bright but had to be careful not to tread on people’s toes.

The mystery angle of The Hollywood Spy was interesting. There were so many twists and turns in the plotline that I didn’t know where it would take me. I wasn’t that surprised at who the killer ended up being or why that person did it. Considering the times and how close-minded people were (and still are), it made sense.

There was a massive twist in the plotline with John and Maggie. I did not see it coming, and it took me 100% by surprise when he dropped that bomb on her. It also saddened me because what I was hoping wasn’t going to happen.

I do want to add that racism and homophobia are very much a part of this book. Seeing that it is set in the 1940s, I wasn’t that surprised that it was portrayed. It was still heartbreaking to read (the scene with the nanny in the diner made me cry). It was even more painful because 80+ years later, there is still blatant racism. The author discussed this in her author’s note at the end of the book.

The end of The Hollywood Spy was well written. The author ends the storylines in the book but is left open enough for book 11.

The Hollywood Spy was a well-written mystery. I enjoyed reading it and was kept on edge with the different twists and turns that the plot took.

I would recommend The Hollywood Spy for anyone over the age of 21. There is violence and language. There are implied sexual situations.

Gabby Adani &
The Hollywood Spy by Susan Elia MacNeal

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