The secret guests A novel

With London under attack during the Blitz, the safety of Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret is of premier importance, so they are surreptitiously moved to the isolated estate of the Duke of Edenmore in the Republic of Ireland. Accompanying the girls are an MI5 agent, Celia Nashe, and an Irish detective, Garda Strafford. Nothing about this dislocation is easy. The girls, especially Margaret, are unhappy; the negotiations to keep them in a supposedly neutral country are fraught; and the prospects for keeping the princesses safe, especially in a country hostile to the British, seem unlikely. With all of that, surprisingly little happens in the first two-thirds of the book. Save Margaret, few of the characters the diffident Strafford, the dutiful Nashe do much to intrigue readers. On the fringes of the story, however, much is happening, and long-simmering hatreds, global and personal, rise to the surface, resulting in an action-packed conclusion. Black, author of the Quirke series, set in modern-day Dublin, seems more comfortable in noir territory, but his foray into royal historical mystery, while gathering steam slowly, packs a punch in the end.--Ilene Cooper Copyright 2019 Booklist

An intriguing premise can't save this plodding what-if historical thriller from Edgar-finalist Black (Wolf on a String), the pen name of John Banville. During the Battle of Britain, with London under steady assault from German bombers, George VI decides that his daughters, 14-year-old Elizabeth and 10-year-old Margaret, should be moved from Buckingham Palace to a place of safety. The princesses are transported in the dead of night to the neutral Republic of Ireland, where they are to live, under pseudonyms, at the Duke of Edenmore's isolated estate in County Tipperary. In exchange for that accommodation, Britain will supply Ireland with regular shipments of coal. An MI5 agent, Celia Nashe, who's charged with their protection, accompanies them. Though the identities of the girls is a closely guarded secret, Celia fears that the truth will be uncovered, placing them in peril from Irish nationalists eager to score a major propaganda coup by attacking or abducting them. A romantic subplot involving Celia fails to engage, and the anticlimactic ending disappoints. Fans of this gifted writer will hope for better next time. Agent: Ed Victor, Ed Victor Literary Agency (U.K.). (Jan.)

When World War II began in 1939, Operation Pied Piper evacuated almost a million children from cities to the British countryside for safety. The Blitz began in 1940, and, despite the dangers, the British royal family refused to leave the country. While the bombs fell, the family steadfastly remained in place. But what if the young princesses, Elizabeth and Margaret, were evacuated in secret? In Black's (Even the Dead) alternate history, the princesses, accompanied by a female intelligence agent and Irish police officer, are taken into the neutral Republic of Ireland to a remote, crumbling country estate owned by a distant relative and given new identities. However, little remains secret in the Irish countryside. As the young women settle into the rural routine, speculation mounts in the area about who is in their midst and just what their potential political value might be. Black's lucid prose is the perfect foil for tangled politics, old hatreds, unsolved crimes, the threat to Irish neutrality, and the possibility of new alliances that seethe underneath. VERDICT This elegant novel will satisfy all readers who appreciate a good story, well told. [See Prepub Alert, 7/15/19.]--Penelope J.M. Klein, Edinburgh, Scotland

During German bombing raids on London during World War II, the young princesses Elizabeth and Margaret are secreted away to Ireland for protection.Clonmillis Hall has seen better days. A large estate in rural Ireland belonging to the Duke of Edenmore, Clonmillis, by virtue of Ireland's neutrality in the war, feels a world away from the bombs raining down on England. But during a secret meeting in Dublin, arrangements are made: King George's two young daughters need to be kept safe during the Blitz, and remote Ireland seems the perfect place. The result is a series of domestic and professional frictions of nationality, class, religion, and gender. There is Dick Lascelles, the louche, charismatic diplomat in charge of the arrangements. Detective Garda Strafford, whose Anglo-Irish background sets him somewhat apart from his countrymen, oversees the estate's security. Special Agent Celia Nashe, posing as a governess, is caught between her professional duties and being a surrogate caretaker to the serious elder princess, code-named "Ellen," and the fiery younger girl, "Mary." There is the irascible Duke and his household staff, who have varying levels of knowledge of the plot, and then there are those outside the estate who would seek to undermine the safety of everyone on it. Black (the pen name of Booker Prize-winning novelist John Banville) continues his storied career in the same vein as his most recent novel, Wolf on a String (2017), a historical mystery set in Prague, though his return here to his native Ireland is a welcome one. As ever, Black's gifts of rich description and deft characterization are on display, and if the first half of the novel is more leisurely than a typical political thriller, its second half positively gallops.When you're done binge-watching The Crown, pick up this multifaceted wartime thriller. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.