Customer Reviews

Royal Blood (A Royal Spyness Mystery)

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The last thing her Ladyship expected to see while peering into the dark, Transylvanian night was some "thing" or some "one" climbing up Bran Castle wall.

Such are the things that tend to happen to poor Lady Georgiana Rannoch. She's twenty-two, "depressedly" single, and thirty-fourth in line to the British throne. The King is her second cousin, and his wife, Her Majesty Queen Mary, loves to give Georgie little tasks. Most recently, she dispatched Georgie to keep tabs on the Prince of Wales' new American lady friend. Prior to that, Her Majesty put Georgie in charge of a visiting German princess with a fondness for shoplifting and American gangster slang.

This time Queen Mary appointed Lady Georgiana to represent the Royal family at the wedding of Georgie's old school mate, Princess Maria Theresa of Romania, to Prince Nicholas of Bulgaria. Adding to the atmosphere of the royal wedding is its location, the dark and dreary Castle Bran, Transylvania, purported home to vampires and werewolves. And then there's Prince Seigfried, whom Georgiana unceremoniously dumped earlier in the year, ensconced in the bedroom right next to hers.

In Royal Blood, the highly anticipated fourth book in author Rhys Bowen's "Royal Spyness" series, we find Lady Georgiana in the middle of another murder, and this time a mysterious vial is found in her room. Everyone is snowed in, the pass is closed, and there are no tracks leading from the castle. Just who is trying to frame Lady Georgiana and why?

Among the supporting cast of players in Royal Blood are many familiar faces in this series: Georgie's trusty bed-hopping best friend, Belinda Warburton-Stokes, Georgie's brother Binky, the current duke, and his tiresome, penny pinching wife Fig. As always, the mysterious and handsome Darcy O'Mara pops up at just the right moment! New additions to the mix are: Georgie's royal traveling companion Lady Middlesex, Queenie Hepplewhite her bumbling new maid, and a mysteriously dark butler named Dragomir.

Let me be honest, I love this series and was somewhat apprehensive about reviewing Royal Blood. Often times, at this point in a series, the plot and characters can become flat and repetitive. Not so in Rhys Bowen's latest! Quite the opposite, the characters remain fresh and interesting. The plot is crisp, and the turns are sharp and deadly. Ms. Bowen wisely gives the reader just enough information about the history of the players to allow a first time reader to feel right at home in Castle Bran. Rhys Bowen has written another brilliant, not-to-be-missed addition to this well loved series.

Rhys Bowen turns out a superb who-done-it in this new addition to the series. A definite can't miss. New characters add sparkle and life. Lots of intrigue and danger with great escapes. Not a book to put down lightly once you start to read it. Now the important question is - when is the next book in the series coming out? Can't wait!!!!!

For anyone who likes cozies, with a little mystery thrown in, a Royal Spyness Mystery is right up his or her alley. In a change of scenery, Lady Georgiana is asked to travel from London to the Castle Bran in Romania's Transylvania to represent the Crown at the wedding of the Princess Maria Theresa and the Bulgarian Prince Nicholas. It seems Georgiana went to school with the princess, who had specifically asked for her friend to be a bridesmaid.

Yes, that's the castle reputed to be Dracula's, giving us the opportunity to anticipate vampires, werewolves and the like, and amusement, along with royal shenanigans, sex [both requited (friend Belinda) and unrequited (Georgiana)], and other assorted goings-on. The mystery is the apparent murder by poison of the head of the Bulgarian armed forces and a favorite of the king, possibly a cause of another Balkan war.

There are some cute moments in the novel, although the formula is becoming somewhat wearisome. Georgie's love life (or lack thereof) is becoming a little boring, while Belinda's is, of course, predictable. As for Georgie's ability to solve crimes, it is more like stumbling into situations that seem to be resolved while she is present. The writing moves the story along apace, and the 1930's royal atmosphere is interesting. The novel is recommended for readers, and they are many, who appreciate the genre.

Winter is setting in, and Lady Georgiana Rannoch is trying to figure out how she will survive the coming months without an income. But her immediately problems are solved when the Queen asks Georgie to be the family representative at a royal wedding. In fact, the bride is an old school friend and has asked Georgie to be one of the bridesmaids. There's just the little matter of finding a maid willing to work for free to accompany her. Georgie finds the worst maid imaginable, but desperate, they set off together.

The wedding is to take place at a remote castle in Transylvania, a castle that once belonged to Vlad the Impaler. Georgie doesn't believe in vampires, but she has just arrived when she sees someone climbing up the castle wall. Then people are appearing and disappearing from her room. She is quite spooked before someone keels over dead. The death has deep political implications. But was it a vampire or is the killer all too human?

This series is as much about Georgie's life as a poor, minor royal trying to support herself during The Great Depression as it is about the mystery. That becomes clear in this book as we really don't even get to the location for the main story until about the 100 page mark. Once we arrive at the castle, things pick up into high gear, and I was hooked on the story until the surprising end. And the characters were more than enough to carry me through the early part. I love Georgie and her friends, so catching up with them in any form is fun. Since you won't get some of the story here if you don't know the characters, I do suggest starting with earlier books in the series. You'll enjoy this one so much more if you do.

This series continues to grow on me with every book. The pages flew by as I read, and I can't wait for my next visit with Lady Georgiana.

When I first read the summary of this addition to the series, I was a little skeptical: Transylvania? Vampires? Werewolves? However, I had trouble putting the book down once I started it. I love Lady Georgiana! Darcy is a real hunk and a true gentleman, as well. The plot was intriguing, and as I read, I wondered how in the world each character's strange behavior would be explained. I am only sorry that the next book in this series is not immediately available. I hate to wait months (or, gasp, years) for more of Georgiana's exploits. Oh, and by the way, Ms.Bowen, I'm hoping that Darcy is really a spy for the queen. Perhaps HRH could bestow an income on him for services rendered?

I have enjoyed the previous books in this series and I was not disappointed with the next. Georgie is off to Transylvannia with the required vampire twist. I was somewhat apprehensive with the introduction of the vampires since they seem to be everywhere they don't belong (Jane Austen anyone), but it is done well here.
There are many twists and turns to the final scene and I was surprised at the end. I love the interactions between Darcy and Georgie and look forward to more.
I can't wait for the next one!!!!

Another enjoyable journey with Lady Georgiana. Ah the trials of a new, inexperienced maid and a very dead dinner guest. Not a good combination especially if you are supposed to be celebrating upcoming nuptials and in a foreign country. But as usual Lady G. makes it look fun and the dashing O'Mara, who finally shows up, make it look wonderfully exciting and relatively easy. Oh, did I say relatively, well I won't give too much away about another of the guests! :+)

Her Royal Spyness novels are delicious! Read one and you will be captivated. Having read all of them I have started on the first of the Molly Murphy series and will read all of those. Sheer entertainment blended into historical facts. Rhys Bowen is responsible for my house being dusty, the garden needing to be weeded and a lack of sleep! I just can't put one of her books down until the last page, then I have to stop myself from putting the next one on Kindle until a few other things have been accomplished!!
I am so glad Amazon listed the first Royal Spyness which intriqued me enough to get started.

With Georgie off to the wilds of Transylvania this time, things were bound to get out of hand. All of my favorite characters are there for the Royal Wedding of Georgie's "Old School Chum", but before the wedding can take place there are a few murders blocking the way to the altar. Along the way Georgie manages to find herself "engaged", fighting off a Vampire and saving her new maid. As the bodies stack up, it's up to Georgie and her sometimes boyfriend Darcy to solve the mystery before it's too late.

Fans of Georgie and Darcy will be thrilled with several scenes. I hope that Ms. Bowen comes up with a stunningly, wonderful plot twist so that in future books they will end up with their happily ever after and solving more crimes together.

What stopped me from giving it the full "5-Star" rating was that Fig and Binky show up for a brief visit. Not that fond of those two characters and found myself skipping over those pages until it got interesting again.

In all, if you love a good cup of tea, a roaring fire and a great mystery, this book is most certainly for you!

This is the 4th of the Royal Spyness mysteries. A wedding in Transylvania is the background for this mystery. Georgian has been requested by the Queen to attend the wedding as the Royal Family's representative. She is also a bridesmaid for Princess Maria Theresa (a school acquaintance) known as Matty. Matty's brother is Prince Siegfried and the readers of this series know how Georgiana is repelled by him. There are murders, deception, disappearances, and possibly vampires. This book has its funny moments, as well.