I stayed up way too late last night finishing The Last Hope, the last book in the Maggie Hope mystery series by Susan Elia MacNeal, but this five star read was worth losing shut eye.

I have adored the Maggie Hope mystery series since the first book, Mr. Churchill’s Secretary was published in 2012–my now 13 year old was only two, and I was still working at the library. I remember passing it around the library staff, everyone anxious to get their hands on this wonderful work for historical fiction, discussing it in the breakroom and then eagerly awaiting the next book. I have since read everything in this series, as well as Susan’s stand alone historical mystery, Mother Daughter Traitor Spy. She’s an auto-read author for me, and I’m always recommending her books when someone is looking for their next read. 

So naturally I was sad when I heard that this would be the last book in the series, but also happy to know that Susan would still be writing. 

And then I finished this new book – the end of my favorite series – and while endings are hard (as I tell my kids as we approach the final days of the school year), they can also be beautiful. And that is the case for this book. 

We couldn’t have asked for a better ending. I don’t want to give anything away, but let me just say that as always with the Maggie Hope series, the plot and mysteries are solid, and we get to see and interact with our favorite characters. The ending has both tragedy and (I’m going there) Hope. I loved it. I am content to know that those wonderful characters are keeping their chins up and carrying on in their beautiful and complicated lives.  I actually hugged my kindle when I finished. Can I give it more than five stars?