Unabridged Chick

I was surprised at the dark violence of the novel's open -- I think I was expecting a more 'cozy' kind of war story -- but the shadowy moodiness balanced our heroine's spunkiness and made for an enjoyable, fast-paced, thriller-y type WWII mystery.Set in the spring of 1940, the story follows Maggie Hope, a British citizen raised in the US. After graduating from Wellesley College, Maggie planned to pursue a degree in math at MIT, but the death of her grandmother required her to go to the UK to settle her inheritance. When war breaks out in Europe, Maggie decides to help the war effort in Britain. Despite her excellent schooling and natural smarts, however, as a woman she's relegated to the typing pool. A task for Prime Minister Churchill places her closer to the action, and she soon finds herself embroiled in more interesting albeit dangerous work.I was immediately charmed by Maggie -- and not just because she's a Wellesley grad like some of my favorite people (like my wife!). Smart, determined, and idealistic, she's the kind of heroine I love to love, and happily, MacNeal's other characters are just as appealing. There's a ton of plot crammed into this book, from national-level to personal-level, but the varied levels of drama interested me (even if I could guess where some of the threads where heading). As with Fires of London, I was surprised by the level of localised violence that occurred. I suppose I shouldn't be. IRA terrorist bombings and murders made for a fascinating juxtaposition to the encroaching war, the horrors at home and afar, and MacNeal really articulates the frenetic, defiant celebration of those in wartime London.  My only complaint is that I found the shifting POV a bit jarring. The novel is mostly seen through Maggie's eyes, but every now and then the story would shift to another character, sometimes in the middle of the page. While it certainly created more tension, allowed for more plot threads, I hated leaving Maggie so much and now and then I had to remind myself where I was and who I was with. I am really keen for the second book -- I'm always on the fence about sequels (do I really need to commit myself to another X number of books?!) but in this case, I'm eager to spend more time with Maggie.