The Secret Guests by Benjamin Black
Genre: Historical fiction
Read: 21st May 2020
Purchase: Amazon
(publication date: 6th February 2020)
★ 1 star
Once again, readers are given yet another misleading description. From the premise THE SECRET GUESTS sounded intriguing...where the Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret are sent to Ireland into neutral territory during the Blitz of WW2. And I had such high hopes for this book. But honestly...it was boring. It was so boring - a snore fest, even - I don't think I can even attempt to write my usual informative review regaling the lead-up to what had promised to be an exciting read.
It touched a little of the young princesses under their assumed identities as Ellen and Mary, but mostly it was about MI5 and those protecting them. Most of whom turned out to be pompous, arrogant or I just had so little regard for their presence I didn't much care what happened to them.
The story was meant to be an imaginative "what if" scenario had the Princesses been evacuated to the neutral territory of Ireland, when in actual fact they spent most of the war hidden away in the formidable Windsor Castle.
The Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret, now known as Ellen and Mary, are secreted away in the night during the Blitz to board a naval ship that will take them to Ireland. Their charge, female MI5 agent, Celia Nashe, awakes to find Ellen asleep in her bunk with the distinct stench of vomit and Mary missing. She searches the ship until she finds young Mary on the deck watching the distant bombs falling on their retreating country. Celia pulls her away from the edge so suddenly for fear she may fall in that the precocious young Mary defiantly states that her father has a much bigger boat than this and she's allowed to stand on deck whenever she likes. That she knows what to do on boats.
When they arrive in Ireland, they are met by a diplomat from the Dublin Embassy and a Garda detective who then accompany them to their new home, a rundown estate belonging to a distant cousin of the former Queen. Despite their attempts at keeping the identities of their secret guests hidden, it isn't long before servants and locals reveal that they are in fact the Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret. Then a kidnap plot is hatched by those of the Irish rebellion and the plot just gets a little ridiculous. In the end I gave up.
THE SECRET GUESTS was a disappointing let down for me as I had such high hopes for it. It promised to be an exciting read when instead it was a snore fest.
I don't like to leave bad reviews but sadly this was such a disappointment it leaves me no alternative. I wish "Ellen and Mary" had featured far more than they did...after all, they were the drawcard in both the premise and the title.
I would like to thank #BenjaminBlack, #NetGalley and #PenguinUK for an ARC of #TheSecretGuests in exchange for an honest review.
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