Not one but two serial murderers appear in this book and while Maggie doesn't want to be involved with either of them she becomes entangled with both. Her experience with the first was almost her last and she was traumatized not only by the experience but by testifying at his trial. When the second serial murderer begins killing young men she avoids it completely.
Maggie's relationship with DCI(Detective Chief Inspector) James Durgin becomes tested when she refuses again and again to help him. She avoids all contact with crime, including trying to locate a missing violin. Yet as a member of a bomb defusing squad she defies danger each time she removes fuses from the unexploded. Many of her coworkers are conscientious objectors - the group being targeted by the new serial murderer. During WWII those who refused to serve in military roles could do their bit in "noncombatant" positions such as these.
When Maggie realizes that her partner receives several white feathers suggesting that he is a coward, she fears for his life. That fear propels her into researching serial murderers of the past. As she ponders what she finds she realizes that many factors are involved in the personality of these criminals. Finally, with the help of the first murderer she delves into clues that may help identify who is committing the current string of murders.
Maggie's relationship with DCI(Detective Chief Inspector) James Durgin becomes tested when she refuses again and again to help him. She avoids all contact with crime, including trying to locate a missing violin. Yet as a member of a bomb defusing squad she defies danger each time she removes fuses from the unexploded. Many of her coworkers are conscientious objectors - the group being targeted by the new serial murderer. During WWII those who refused to serve in military roles could do their bit in "noncombatant" positions such as these.
When Maggie realizes that her partner receives several white feathers suggesting that he is a coward, she fears for his life. That fear propels her into researching serial murderers of the past. As she ponders what she finds she realizes that many factors are involved in the personality of these criminals. Finally, with the help of the first murderer she delves into clues that may help identify who is committing the current string of murders.
Cathy C. (cathyskye) -
I've been a fan of Susan Elia MacNeal's Maggie Hope series since the very first book, Mr. Churchill's Secretary, and it's been a joy to watch it get stronger with each new book. The King's Justice follows this trend. As always, MacNeal can easily put us right in the middle of wartorn London by inserting facts about the Tower of London being hit during the Blitz, giving names and histories to the ravens at the Tower, mudlarking, and defusing bombs (which reminded me of watching Anthony Andrews in Danger UXB). But it was what I learned about conscientious objectors that had the most effect on me, and I really liked how it was woven into the story.
As much as I learn about World War II and the people who fought in it by reading these books, it's the character of Maggie Hope who always brings me back. She's quite simply amazing. Starting out as rather naive, she's grown so much, learned so much, and her quick wits and steely resolve have gotten her out of more than one hair-raising circumstance. The thing that I like about Maggie the most is-- regardless of what she's done-- she's not Wonder Woman. Bullets don't bounce off her. Everything she's done, everything she's experienced, has had an effect on her, and in The King's Justice, we see it all coming to a crisis point. She's got what we now call PTSD, and how she realizes it and how she works through it is one of the best parts of the book.
By the book's end, Maggie has a new adventure awaiting her, one that I'm really looking forward to. That's about the only bad thing about a wonderful series like the one Susan Elia MacNeal has created: the interminable wait for the next book. If you're new to the series, you can read this as a standalone, but I strongly advise against it. You'll miss too much just in character development alone. Start with Mr. Churchill's Secretary. (You can thank me later.) As for all you fellow Maggie Hope fans, rejoice! You've got another excellent book to savor!
As much as I learn about World War II and the people who fought in it by reading these books, it's the character of Maggie Hope who always brings me back. She's quite simply amazing. Starting out as rather naive, she's grown so much, learned so much, and her quick wits and steely resolve have gotten her out of more than one hair-raising circumstance. The thing that I like about Maggie the most is-- regardless of what she's done-- she's not Wonder Woman. Bullets don't bounce off her. Everything she's done, everything she's experienced, has had an effect on her, and in The King's Justice, we see it all coming to a crisis point. She's got what we now call PTSD, and how she realizes it and how she works through it is one of the best parts of the book.
By the book's end, Maggie has a new adventure awaiting her, one that I'm really looking forward to. That's about the only bad thing about a wonderful series like the one Susan Elia MacNeal has created: the interminable wait for the next book. If you're new to the series, you can read this as a standalone, but I strongly advise against it. You'll miss too much just in character development alone. Start with Mr. Churchill's Secretary. (You can thank me later.) As for all you fellow Maggie Hope fans, rejoice! You've got another excellent book to savor!
