Princess Elizabeth’s Spy by Susan Elia MacNeal ***

Princess Elizabeth’s Spy by Susan EliaMacNeal is the second of the Maggie Hope series set during WWII in the UK. MI-5 suspects a plot to kidnap fourteen-year-old Princess Elizabeth, who has been sent off to Windsor Castle for safekeeping. Maggie is dispatched undercover as a maths tutor. After many twists and turns the Princess is indeed kidnapped and Maggie rescues her. (Not really a spoiler.) Following the rescue, the book continues as a teaser for the next book in the series.

While most of the action takes place in Windsor Castle, London during the blitz and code-breaking in Bletchley Park play supporting roles. The princess is portrayed as an intelligent young lady devouring her maths lessons and learning about code-breaking and writing in code. Margaret is an eight-year-old brat.

King George VI doting on his children and Winston Churchill in the tub, plus German spies.

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The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict ***

There are plenty of books about Hedy Lamarr (1914-2000). During WWII, she was both a famous movie star and an inventor. Her invention of frequency-hopping spread spectrum is used by today’s cell phone networks. The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict is divided into two parts. First (1933-37) is her marriage to an arms merchant and supporter of Nazi Germany in WWII. The second (1937-42) chronicles her first years in Hollywood.

During her years of fame Hedy had many affairs and husbands (6). As a brilliant, Jewish woman coming of age in Austria in the 1930s, her life must have been difficult. This book, a caricature of a beautiful inventor, stops before she reaches her thirtieth birthday. I can’t help thinking that she deserves more.

If you’re familiar with her, you’ll learn nothing new here.

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The Order by Daniel Silva *****

Missing Gospels, two millennia of conspiracies, Vatican mysteries, secret Catholic societies… These might remind you of The DaVinci Code, but this review is about The Order, Daniel Silva’s 20^th novel with super-spy Gabriel Allon, now “director-general of the Israeli intelligence service.” In this installment, the Pope is murdered and The Order is set to install their choice as his successor. With the help of much technical magic, Gabriel foils the plot (not really a spoiler).

While I compared this to The DaVinci Code, these two books are quite different in one respect. As Daniel Silva explains in a ten-page Author’s Note, this book is a serious exploration of Catholic anti-Semitism beginning with the early church and Matthew 27:25 which has the Jews saying, “His blood be upon us and on our children,” to Pope Innocent III in the 13^th century who endorsed, “The blood of Jesus falls not only on the Jews of that time, but on all generations of Jews up to the end of the world,” and finally to the Vatican support for 20^th century Nazis. The Note makes clear that the novel is fiction, but the research behind it is not. With sections that refer directly to 2020 politics and current events (“How about a global pandemic?”), the book is a cautionary tale to all who might be sitting out the current political trends.

The book includes much art, food, and fashion.

The hackers from the Israeli Unit 8200 can do anything starting with a cell phone number. Track you. Read all your mail and text, both in the past and in real-time. Control communication networks and security systems, unlock doors, shut down the power, and whatever else might be convenient. However, Gabriel does go old-school once by picking a lock with “A thin metal tool from the pocket of his borrowed clerical suit.”

Also de rigueur for the genre, the book is sprinkled with clever dialogue.

“We’re good, Bishop Richter. But not that good.”
“May I offer you a piece of advice?”
“Of course, Excellency.”
“Get better. And quickly.”

“Why are you interested in the Order?”
“They murdered a friend of mine.”
“Who’s the friend?”
“His Holiness Pope Paul the Seventh.”

Typo? The book is split between feet and meters. I’m guessing the chaotic swinging back and forth is something that can be blamed on the editors who might have been rushed as the book released in July with news stories from merely three months earlier. “His apartment was three thousand square meters.” This translates to 30,000 square feet, too large for an apartment. Kanye West’s $20 million house is 8,000 square feet. The Presidential Suite at the Bellagio in Las Vegas is 4,000 square feet. Most family homes are 2-4,000 square feet.

A fast-moving thriller of liberal heroes against an evil right-wing conspiracy.

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Murder on St. Mark’s Place by Victoria Thompson ****

Murder on St. Mark’s Place by VictoriaThompson is set in New York City in 1896. Someone is beating shop girls to death. Sarah Brandt, who has abandoned her life as the daughter of an important family to be a midwife, tracks down the man who preys on these unfortunate girls, many of whom are still teens. With the help of Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy and her nosy neighbor Mrs. Elsworth, she finds justice.

The girls are called Charity Girls, one step above prostitutes. No money is exchanged, but the girls are willing to favor men who show them a good time and give them gifts. Sarah is sympathetic to the girls who must give most of their minimal wages to their families. They have no other avenues for fun or pretty things.

Much of the action happens on Coney Island. The book is full of descriptions of the amusement park including many of the rides of the period. The shop girls invest a nickel for the streetcar to the entrance. After that, they look to the men to pay for admission, food, rides, and souvenirs.

With a minimum of suspects, the reader might find it easy to guess the culprit. That doesn’t detract from the enjoyment of the visit to turn-of-the-century NYC.

On a more general level, why can women protagonists save themselves? Sarah is a fearless investigator and finds herself in life-threatening situations. While she fights valiantly, her ultimate survival depends on a rescue.

A well-researched historical mystery full of fascinating details.

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A Murder for the Books by Victoria Gilbert *****

A Murder for the Books by VictoriaGilbert is a multi-generational story. The elite Coopers and the Bakers have lived next door to each other in Taylorsford for over a century. In 1925, Great-grandmother Rose Baker was a witness for the prosecution against Eleanor who was accused of poisoning her husband Daniel Cooper. Eleanor was acquitted and promptly left town. In 1958, the cook and five children died of an accidental poisoning at the town orphanage. It was closed shortly thereafter. Now senile Doris Virts was shot in the library after muttering about being followed. Amy Webber, public library director, and a Baker, must find the connection and identify the murderer before someone else dies.

Taylorsford has always been a place where the elite ran things for their personal gain from the lumber barons in the past to developers in the present. The mayor and his pals want to build a subdivision on one of the last pieces of open land, while regular people want to see a park. The protests are new for Taylorsford. The town council is accustomed to doing whatever they wish. But what does this development have to do with these deaths, and why would something like that be motivation for murder?

Taylorsford is a small town in a narrow valley, yet it hides so many secrets.

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Being Mortal by Atul Gawande *****

Everything I’ve heard about nursing homes was evidently just a smokescreen for the real issue. People faced with care facilities are really concerned about autonomy and dignity, not safety and longevity. This book should be required reading for anyone involved with end-of-life care.

The author made his case with individual stories, so I’ll tell you about my mother. When she was diagnosed with bladder cancer, she decided she did not want an ostomy bag and did not want to be institutionalized. She lived her life on her terms and died in her own bed surrounded by her family. For years, we wondered why she refused life-saving surgery. We wondered why an otherwise intelligent woman would turn her back on modern science. After reading this book, I understand.

A few salient quotes from Being Mortal:

“Your chances of avoiding the nursing home are directly related to the number of children you have, and, according to what little research has been done, having at least one daughter seems to be crucial to the amount of help you will receive.” 

“People with serious illness have priorities besides simply prolonging their lives. Surveys find that their top concerns include avoiding suffering, strengthening relationships with family and friends, being mentally aware, not being a burden on others, and achieving a sense that their life is complete.”

“…our most cruel failure in how we treat the sick and the aged is the failure to recognize that they have priorities beyond merely being safe and living longer.”

The author presents the disconnect between the caregiving family and the end-of-life person. The family is struggling with the overwhelming task of caring for their aging relative, the need to get help, and the guilt of being inadequate to the task. Care homes market to these people emphasizing the level of medical care and safety provided. An excellent home soothes the family.

Unfortunately, the exact features that the care home sells to the family are the things that the person at the end of their life wants to avoid. A dying person wants autonomy and dignity. That is why my mother avoided medical care. In the end, she died, as she lived, in control of her destiny.

If you are immortal, you can ignore this book, otherwise, read it now and again later, but not too late.

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