Maggie MathesonDown Undercover by Ian Hornett

Maggie MathesonDown Undercover Reviews

• 
  Angela Cairns

  Maggie Matheson: Down Undercover
  
  Maggie is back and she’s better than ever. Full of wit, wisdom and snarky one liners, Maggie is on the trail of a diamond thief in Australia.This comedy spy thriller sequel has more twists and turns than a boomerang on speed.
  If The Thursday Murder Club and Crocodile Dundee had a love child then this would be it. Perfect to devour in one sitting on a rainy afternoon- I can thoroughly recommend it to brighten your day.
• 
  Julie Embleton

  The hilarious octogenarian spy Maggie entertains with another adventure, but this time it’s Down Under.
  
  Hornett wastes no time in getting Maggie into trouble. We’re straight into the action with an exciting scene on Sydney Harbour Bridge and the action keeps going from there. With a return of favourite characters from book one, and a new (but old) friend, Dingo, there’s a hint of romance in the air for Maggie. I loved the introduction of this character and between his one-liners and Maggie’s internal dialogue, I had many laugh aloud moments.
  
  Old enemies also return, but new ones are thrown into the mix, too, adding lots of twists as the story unfolds. The Australian setting adds richness to the adventures along with the Iwelonga tribe. I especially enjoyed how the team had to rely on old-fashioned methods to beat the baddies in the absence of technology.
  
  Sharp writing, superb dialogue, and a cracking pace make this another thoroughly enjoyable read. The ending leaves the possibility for a third book in this series which makes me very happy indeed!
  
• 
  Nannette Kreitzman

  Loved it!
  
  Imagine a colorful tapestry of intrigue, adventure, spy craft, and family drama with generous threads of wit and humor woven throughout. Add to that the beautiful landscape of the Australian Outback, and what you have is Maggie Matheson: Down Undercover. Hornett’s second volume of The Maggie Matheson Collection is as enjoyable as the first, and I grew to know and love its characters even more! I’m rooting for another addition to this marvelous series so I can find out what happens next!
• 
  Laura

  The excellent title conferred on the next adventure of agent Matheson—Maggie Matheson—says so much, as Maggie and a motley crew of colleagues—including Bill and Ben, very much not the Flowerpot Men—get down and go undercover in the antipodes. If only it was that simple—but there’s so much more to tell. Like how they get a wonderful view from the top of Sydney Harbour bridge, and I’m not talking about them flying over it on arrival. Things get mean and murky from the get-go, hence the need to go off-grid in the outback, at which time they go even further underground in their attempts to go undetected as they try to crack the case they’ve got themselves mixed-up in.
  
  Talking of which, things are further complicated by the throwing into the mix of a bizarre selection of disguises which confer a high profile, rather than the low one required, plus an old associate of Maggie’s who goes by the name of Dingo Derek—whose liberal use of largely unintelligible local vernacular ensures further confusion—and a community of indigenous Australians called the Iwelongas.
  
  Ranged against our heroes are—well, that’s not entirely obvious, although it soon becomes crystal-clear that they want something as badly as those currently in possession of it are determined to hold on to it. Expect chaos to reign as it surely would if a platypus in a feather boa tried to gatecrash a ducks-only party—as Dingo would put it. Huge fun.
• 
  Julia Blake

  Maggie is back! With all the characters we met in the first book, this sequel delivers on every level. Straight into the action with no tedious mucking about, we find our favourite elderly spy slap bang in the middle of a mission. But immediately things go catastrophically wrong with a scene on the Sydney Harbour Bridge that will make your heart miss a beat. After that attention-grabbing opening, the plot gallops away with the reader hanging on for dear life.
  
  Well-written and sharply funny, Maggie is as big a delight as she was in book one. With her supporting cast of faithful friends and family and the addition of a delightful new one in the shape of the brash and colourful outback hermit, Dingo, how can Maggie fail?
  
  But the bad guys keep coming thick and fast and sometimes it’s not easy to know who is wearing a white hat. When treachery is uncovered close to home it knocks all their plans into the bin and Maggie really needs that nice cup of tea and a sit down to recover.
  
  Witty, fast-paced, joyful, and sad, this book ticks all the right boxes and I cannot recommend it highly enough.
  
• 
  Charli West

  Maggie is the ultimate spy
  
  Within the first handful of pages I was laughing. Hornett truly knows humor and what makes it better, it’s British humor. I love the words and phrases that, as an American, I don’t use. The colorful narrative and description brought a smile and a chuckle often. Throw in some adventure, a twist here and there, a mystery, and a dash of romance, and you’ve got one dandy story!
  
  You can’t but love Maggie’s snarky, no-nonsense spy experience coupled with problems and challenges of being over eighty! She’s a delight and I would love to be her neighbor. I dare say, we would get along well since I love sarcasm and quick wit.
  
  One word of caution: while there is no sex or violence, there is a smattering of language here and there. Generally, it was easy to overlook and I just skipped a paragraph and kept reading.
  
  For those who like to laugh, you will enjoy Maggie and her wild and crazy adventures as a “former” spy. Her skills are still very much alive and well. The cast is colorful and crazy…in a good way…and I’m anxious to see what craziness is in the next and last book of this series.
  
  
• 
  Barbara Lennox

  Maggie Matheson, OAP and not-so-retired spy, returns in a new adventure, this time in Australia where, with the help – and hindrance – of the various members of her real, and found, family, she tries to foil a diamond heist, confronting old enemies and new in the process. The plot fairly rattles along in some fabulous settings, but what sets this book apart, and turns it from an adventure into a laugh-aloud comedy are the characters. Maggie herself, with her dry sense of humour and grumblings about her age, is a fantastic creation, but in Down Undercover she meets her match in the form of the estimable Dingo, he of the colourful metaphors. ‘Swankier than a wombat in a dickie-bow’ was a particular favourite. Dingo is a man from Maggie’s past and, if he has anything to do with it, her future, as hinted at the end of the story which leaves a few threads untied, so hopefully there will be more Maggie adventures to come. Can’t wait to see where she ends up next.
• 
  Steve Griffin

  This is a highly enjoyable, amusing and light-hearted spy story featuring Maggie Matheson, a personable, tech-loathing, octogenarian spy who has come out of retirement to escape the boredom of afternoon telly. The action takes place in Australia, with Maggie already embroiled in a diamond-swapping escapade which has put her family at risk. In a fast-paced, incident-packed adventure, Maggie finds herself strapped to the top of Sydney Harbour bridge, remembering how to drive a tank, and wearing a pink boilersuit to drum up funds as a living statue. She and her extended family flee the criminals to the outback where she has an old friend who she knows will help them. There are plenty of surprises in the story and, whilst humorous, there is a vulnerability to Maggie particularly in relation to her long-lost son that is particularly touching.
• 
  Bruce Spydar

  A gem of a sequel!
  Down Undercover is a wonderful follow up to Senior Spy, with Maggie Matheson and her supporting troupe journeying to the Australian outback for a thrill-ride.
  With Maggie cast as the eccentric tea-drinking octogenarian, we meet her perfect counterweight in the pom-bashing Aussie, Dingo Derek, complete with his array of weird metaphors and similes that’ll get you laughing like a kookaburra on nitrous oxide.
  The story is fast-pace, and you’ll savour more twists than a bowl of chow mein ... it’s a wonder that the author kept track of them. The ending leaves ample room for the next wild adventure, and I’m looking forward to it.
  
• 
  Janice Coy

  This is the second in the comedic/adventure spy series featuring octogenarian Maggie Matheson, a retired spy who has been called back into service. The book gets off to a hilarious start with Maggie traveling to Australia with her new-found great-grandson to visit her daughter and family. The descriptions of Maggie's airplane experience had be laughing out loud.
  
  Upon landing, Maggie and her great-grandson are thrust into non-stop action (and more unexpected laughs). This is a fun and entertaining read that takes the two spies and a cast of characters including her son into the Australian Outback where the native and non-native residents are very protective of a cache of diamonds.
• 
  Kirsty Louise

  I love Maggie- the main character. So cleverly written and reminds me of my nanna...except the secret agent part.
  I prefer the first story, I think because there were more twists, however I do like how this book features all our favourite characters from the first book.
  A good light hearted book with a good balancing comedy, twists and drama.
• 
  Abbey Jane

  Absolutely loved this sequel, totally lives up to the first book! Mystery, intrigue and kick ass comedy all in one. Totally took me on that journey to Australia right there with Maggie!
• 
  Linda Lou

  I loved this book! What a follow up story line! Old characters are more defined and new ones are like pieces of chocolate…Dingo, in particular.
  
  Down Undercover is even more convoluted and action packed than Senior Spy. I know, incomprehensible. For those of us who have to deal with short term memory loss, Hornett has included a short synopsis of the story so far and a list of the main characters.
  
  Down Undercover is well packed from the git go with Maggie awakening to find herself and Joshua perilously hanging from the Sydney Harbor Bridge on page 20! OMG! The mission moves along at a nail biting clip drawing the reader into the world of an ingenious Australian Outback tribe with a lot of diamonds and even more at stake. Everyone is back, the good, the bad and the ugly along with a few new characters. One in particular stands out, Dingo and I hope he reappears. Although the story doesn’t end on a cliff hanger; there’s a question left unanswered.
  
  Hornett’s Senior Spy series has all of the elements of thrilling espionage with convoluted missions, friendships, family and madcap humor. Maggie brings it all to the table with her experience, ingenuity and at times a mad dash to the bathroom. Maggie Matheson is one spy I definitely want on my side. Even 007 would be impressed.
  
  A Madcap Romp ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
• 
  Rachel Reads

  Eighty-two-year-old former spy Maggie Matheson is back – and this time she's on holiday Down Under. She's looking forward to a relaxing visit, catching up with her daughter and grandchildren in Australia. But nothing goes according to plan, and Maggie finds herself tangled in a complex diamond-smuggling plot. Hiding out with an old friend in the Outback seems safe enough, but it only brings her adversaries closer to the people she loves. And what does her old boss, sentenced to years in prison in the UK for her role in the first book's intrigues, have to do with what's going on?
  
  It's great to be back with Maggie on her adventures. After the finale and the revelations of the previous book, this story can't help but be more emotional for the Senior Spy and her team. There are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments – catching someone's attention on the Sydney Harbour Bridge made my tea come out of my nose, and Dingo's increasingly baffling comparisons provoked several belly laughs. But this book isn't all about the comedy, and it's great to see Maggie getting in touch with her more emotional side and bonding with the people around her.
  
  Given the ending, I can't wait for Book 3!
  
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