This mystery is a World War 2 expose of the risks, perils and bravery of the SOE agents who were made prisoners by their own organization because they were considered to be security risks and compromised and couldn’t be allowed back into the field or released from duty. Though it’s fiction the rules and premises are real and it could have happened – perhaps not as dramatically – but very plausible.
This Maggie Hope mystery was compelling and suspenseful and hard to put down, its reminiscent of the plot Ten Little Indians by Agatha Christie in that its take place in the UK on an island inhabited by no one other than the residents of the castle, prisoners of the SOE, plus the caretakers and maybe others hidden on the island or on the property. The resourceful Maggie is totally on her own here, her friends have no idea where she is and she has to survive using her wits and trusting in her judgement since her companions in the manor house are all SOE agents who may or may not be trustworthy. One of them is a murderer and as one by one her housemates die the mystery deepens and the tension grows.
Continue reading “The Prisoner in the Castle – A Maggie Hope Mystery by Susan Elia Macneal”