The Hollywood Spy: A Maggie Hope Mystery

Like a 6 Hour Political Infomercial I read 2/3 of this book and decided to quit. Perhaps it gets better in the last hundred pages, but I could no longer stand it. It was very heavy on the political soapbox; exposing racism and American Nazis and KKK activities in Los Angeles. She makes it sound like all of the USA was filled with bigots and Nazis. She brings out the anti-war sentiment of the era that is not commonly spoken about and puts it all in the pro-Nazi camp, which it was not. On the other hand, the author lets you experience how it was before rampant growth. She draws the reader into the long-gone glamour of places like the Ambassador on Wilshire and the Cocoanut Grove. There is a very slow buildup in the espionage or spy aspects of the story. I was hoping for more spy and perhaps romance and less politics, bigotry, racism, antisemitism, violence, and subversion. Perhaps it is just a sore spot, but it did seem like I was watching a 6-hour political infomercial and I chose to say,' enough already!'I received this ARC book for free from Net Galley and this is my honest review.

1943, historical-novel, historical-places-events, historical-research, history-and-culture, bias, agent, murder-investigation***** This is the second Maggie Hope that I've read and this one was more challenging for me but, unfortunately, the ugly side of America presented rings true. Unlike what Hollywood wanted people to see, there is misplaced hatred and violence against anyone who does not fit some mythical persona. Amidst all this Maggie leaves her nearly suicidal life in England to return to the US to help an old flame work through the solution to the questions about the sudden death of his current flame. The characters are very well done and the plot is cohesive and fast paced. It's a more grim story than some but very well done. Held me to it well past bedtime. I requested and received a temporary digital ARC of this book from Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine/Bantam via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you.

Good