Lady Georgiana finds herself in a heap of royal trouble in the second novel in the New York Times bestselling Royal Spyness Mystery series.London, 1932. Poor Lady Georgiana–thirty-fourth in line to the throne–has nothing to serve her Bavarian princess houseguest, even though the Queen of England has requested that she entertain her. Then there’s the matter of the body in the bookshop and the … of the body in the bookshop and the princess’s unwitting involvement with the Communist party. It’s enough to drive a girl mad…
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I listened to the audio version of this and credit Katherine Kellgren for taking a good story and making it great. Her ability to do voices that fit the characters was spot on and anyone who can narrate the Queen this convincingly is going to steal the show every time. The concept is a bit goofy, but purely entertaining. And Lady Georgie tolerates the bodies piling up with admirable aplomb. An entertaining romp of a murder mystery!
This is the second book in the “Her Royal Spyness” series. It’s a worthy follow-up to “Her Royal Spyness”. Clever, sassy and really a lot of fun.
Refreshing read!
Such a fun mystery series! I enjoyed the antics of Lady Georgiana — living the country life in 1930’s . Humor, and a light mystery, keeps the reader involved and yearning for more. Perfect quick read!
Great historical cozy mystery.
Loved this! I was less enthused with the first book in the series, Her Royal Spyness, perhaps for the same reason that it takes me several episodes to really get into a TV series: I have to get to know the characters. But I am definitely now hooked. The premise: Lady Georgiana is 32nd in line to the British throne at the time of Queen Mary (after WWI and before WWII). This means she’s just royal enough for it to be inappropriate for her to work for a living, and yet too far removed from the royal family to actually have means of her own, especially after the Great War. She therefore works as an undercover maid, but pretends to her royal connections, and especially the Queen, that she is well-to-do and “respectable.” If the Queen were to find out the truth, she’s afraid she would ship her off to the country to be a lady-in-waiting for Princess Anne, and she would never see society again. Or, worse yet, she’d be married off to her nemesis Prince Sigfried, aka “Fish Face,” who secretly prefers boys. Meanwhile, Queen Mary enlists Georgie’s assistance in trying to interest her wayward son David, the Prince of Wales, in someone–anyone–more appropriate for him than the married American woman, Wallace Simpson. In the process of trying to carry out the Queen’s wishes without letting her or anyone else know of her dire financial straits, dead bodies keep turning up–and it’s up to Georgie to figure out whodunit and why. And periodically, the dashing Scottish playboy (and possible spy?) Darcy O’Mara keeps showing up in her life, only to vanish again with no warning.
I love the caricatures in this series! All the characters are larger-than-life, but that conveys well in a cozy mystery series like this one, where the circumstances are likewise over-the-top. I also love that real historical figures make peripheral appearances, and keep the story moving. Having just read Rhys Bowen’s “In Farleigh Field” also, I did notice that the climax of both stories was almost identical… but the situations leading up to those climaxes and the characters involved were quite different, so I didn’t mind.
Will definitely be reading on!
Rhys Bowen is the best. I love Her Royal Spyness mysteries.
Easy entertainment with depth and an excellent cast of characters. Other similar storylines exist, one of which authors I’ve also read numerous titles, but none compare to Rhys Bowen. I started reading this series a year ago and quickly caught up to the latest novel. Highly recommend.
A Royal Historical Mystery with Plots, Suspense and Murders of course. Communist assassins, German Princess, and many amusing characters including a very snooty Wallis Simpson. I should probably try to read this series in order but so far it hasn’t mattered at all. Each book has been exceptional with the reappearance of the supporting main characters. I just can’t read fast enough unfortunately sleep is necessary.
The Audible copy is worth listening to as the voice artist – Katherine Kellgren – does a splendid job of bringing the different characters alive. She is definitely the most talented voice artist I have encountered so far.
This is an entertaining visit to the 1930’s England. It’s a breezy read. The main characters are likeable. Lady Georgiana is a nice twist in that she is an impoverished royal, always looking for a way to support herself. She slips easily between the life of her beloved commoner grandfather and the royal court. It’s fun to ”
meet” real people of the ’30’s, such as Queen Mary.
This #2 book is delightful. Georgie is poor royalty with a reluctant nose for spying for the Queen.
I briefly read up on this part of history, 1930s and some of the characters and history are accurate. Although I guessed the culprit before the end, it was still a joy.
I love these books. My only complaint is that RhysBowen doesn’t churn them out fast enough. It’s a winderful story. I love the characters.