Customer Reviews

A Royal Pain (A Royal Spyness Mystery)

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Lady Georgiana, thirty-fourth in line for the throne, has been doing rather well for herself in 1932 London. She has managed to keep her secret job as a maid from the others of her social set and is even developing a few domestic skills of her own. She just might be able to pull off living on her own.

Unfortunately, things are about to get sticky. Her Majesty has agreed to host the Bavarian Princess in hopes that this beauty will catch the Crown Prince's eye. And the Queen thinks that Georgie is the perfect person to host Princess "Hanni." Suddenly, Georgie must find a way to hire servants with no money. After all, one doesn't say no to the Queen.

But things only get worse when Hanni arrives. She has learned her English by watching American gangster films. Her companion is an awful Baroness. And wherever Hanni goes, trouble follows. And that's before the first body appears. But the potential political implications of the murder could set the uneasy balance in Europe spinning into another war. Can Georgie solve the crime without starting World War II?

This book is equal parts historical novel, comedy, and mystery, and if read that way, it is a pure delight. There are so many funny scenes in the first half of the book. In fact, I had to stifle some laughs when I was reading in public. While there are some strange questions early, the mystery portion doesn't get going fully until the second half, but I was never bored getting there. Once it does get going, it becomes a good puzzle. I caught a few things long before Georgie, but I would never have pieced the solution together. The book is filled with memorable characters who are strong. It was a delight to spend time with them.

There is nothing painful about this book or series. So be sure to catch up with Georgie's latest adventures.

My next tag is personal favorite, and I chose A Royal Pain by Rhys Bowen. Rhys Bowen is not only one of my favorite authors, but Lady Georgiana is one of my favorite characters as well. Lady Georige, 34th in line to the English throne in 1932, is still working secretly as a maid in order to pay for the daily necessities when the Queen asks her (and you never say no to the Queen) to house and escort Princess Hanni of Bavaria around town in hopes that she will distract the Prince of Wales from his obsession with "that American woman". But Georgie is not only broke, but living without servants! Her maternal grandfather and his next door neighbor step in as butler and housekeeper when the flighty Princess and her entourage arrive. Princess Hanni has learned to speak English from American gangster films, wants to meet "hot and sexy men", and shoplifts from Herrod's. Georgie's hands are more than full, when people start dropping dead around her, and she needs to discover who's murdering them in order to avert an international incident! Georgie is absolutely charming. She hasn't a clue how to flirt, and regularly trips over her own feet. She's sincere and loyal, and remarkably innocent, but she's learning to acquire some backbone (especially in dealing with Wallis Simpson). Bowen writes a bit like a fun tabloid tell-all; you feel like you're getting a sneak peek behind palace walls, but as seen through the eyes of an outsider/insider. Georgie is a unique character, and I simply can't wait for her next adventure. I give the book 5 stars.

"Saturday, June 11, 1932
Diary,
German princess arrives today. Sense impending doom."
But what actually ensues is another madcap adventure for the charming Lady Georgiana Rannoch. Tasked by the Queen to entertain the decidedly odd princess, Georgie must do so while struggling to make a living and keep up appearances. Being a minor royal does not, alas, come with the funds necessary to do either. And Georgie also has an unfortunate habit of stumbling across dead bodies and dark plots, complicating her life even further. But she gets by with a lot of help from her friends, the man-hungry Belinda and the "unreliable rogue" Darcy O'Mara, who describes himself as her "guardian angel." Her sweet and solid ex-copper granddad and his redoubtable neighbor, Mrs. Huggins, also lend a hand as Georgie copes with the princess, a chaotic personal life, and the mysteries and murders around her.
Rhys Bowen's prose positively sparkles. I found myself reading sentences over again just for the sheer pleasure of the words. The book is both fun and funny, and while it may be classified as a "cozy", it doesn't ignore the real world. Soup kitchens, ordinary people dealing with privation, and blackshirts clashing with communists are mixed in with the often frivolous lifestyles of the upper crust. It is interesting to me to see Georgie's awareness of class disparity being challenged. I would like to see this developed in the future. I also long to know more about the intriguing Mr. O'Mara-there is a tantalizing twist to his character in this book. I thoroughly enjoyed Ms. Bowen's Constable Evans series, but I think I may have to take my heart out of his hands and give it to the delectable Darcy!
I loved this book. After all, I met Noel Coward, the King and Queen of England, the ghastly Wallis Simpson, and a colorful array of fictional characters. I can definitely see these books as a television series. They remind me of P.G. Wodehouse but they have an element of Dorothy Sayers as well, especially Clouds of Witness and Murder Must Advertise. Anyone who can evoke those two writers is a must-read in my book!

I love Rhys Bowen's series about Lady Georgie, and only wish there were more of them! But this one had one plot point so major I'm surprised not to see a reference in previous reviews.

I love the era this story takes place, and the glimpses of actual historical figures like the Prince of Wales and Mrs. Wallis Simpson. The premise here is that the Queen wants to throw a German princess into the path of the Prince of Wales to make him forget Mrs. Simpson and do his duty by marrying someone more suitable.

But in the book Princess Hanni is clearly shown to be a Roman Catholic! Nothing wrong with Catholics, per se, I have plenty of them in my own family. :-) But I am not part of the Royal Family. The Act of Settlement 1701, which is still in force, excluded Roman Catholics, or those married to Catholics, from succession to the English throne.

As a Roman Catholic the princess would be just as off-limits to the Prince of Wales as Mrs. Simpson would, and surely the King and Queen would never ever countenance their son courting a Roman Catholic. By marrying her he would have been just as ineligible for the throne as he would have been by marrying a divorcee. One presumes she could have converted to the Anglican faith, but why complicate things that way? Why not thrown young women who are already clearly eligible in his path?

That's why I give this only a 3-star review. The book is a fun and silly romp, and I get lots of chuckles from Georgie and her friends, but this huge plot hole just irked me.

Lady Georgiana is a spit fire heroine, who happens to be thirty-fourth in line for the throne. Because she is part of the royal lineage, she is expected to live like a princess, though she has not the means to do so. As such, when the queen asks Georgie to be an escort to visiting princess Hanni, she is in a bind. How can she show this princess a royal time with out royal funds? The answer is that she is creative, and works as a secret maid service to the rich. This of course keeps her on her toes, since none of the people she services can know who she really is.

Hanni becomes a tough case because Georgie as her escort, must also host Hanni's dreadfull baroness companion. Further, Georgie learns that Hanni knows english only as taught to her from watching american gangster movies, and has a heap of other personal quirks including sticky fingers. In the midst of her secret career, poverty, babysitting, and impressing the queen, Geogie finds a dead body. Soon she becomes a suspect in this murder. Will Georgie be able to juggle all of these pieces without disaster? Read and find out.

I found myself laughing out loud, and deeply engrossed in this historical mystery. I have read every one of the Royal mysteries, and look forward to the newest in the collection!

This book features a fun, out of the norm (aristocrat/housemade/budding detective) protagonist. It's an unlikely but fun romp through early 20th Century England with the royals in a supporting cast.

I loved it! Georgie is my kind of heroine. The characters in this book are very well presented with their own quirky traits. All in all, it was a very enjoyable and easy read. Yes, I am now going on to book #3 in the series...

I enjoyed learning more about Georgie this go around. She had her hands full with the Princess and trying to figure out what Darcy was up to as well. I will be looking forward to book 3.

The Queen of England invites Lady Georgina Rannoch to tea. The Queen wants Lady Georgina to chaperone a young Bavarian princess with the hopes of setting her up with the Prince of Wales. The Queen's son is enamored with an unsuitable American widow and Her Highness will not tolerate the arrangement. Georgina, who is 34th in line for the throne, willingly accepts the assignment but has to improvise to provide the comforts of wealth to her house guest. The fact is Georgina is impoverished and cleans houses in disguise to support herself. The Bavarian princess turns out to have an American accent from watching gangster movies and a vocabulary to boot and likes to shoplift! Georgina has her hands full as she keeps the princess out of harm's way, solves murders and develops a handsome love interest. This story will have you laughing out loud.

I have to agree, but in a positive way, with a less favorable review: fun and adventurous, yes,a page-turner without thinking too much or caring,yes!...exactly what I need right now. Sometimes we get tired of reading about serious world problems, tragedies, abuse, terrorism---day and night we are bombarded online, on TV, in the newspapers, and in many books. Just a little fun diversion is a lovely change of pace. The descriptions of London and the English and Scottish countryside make me want to jump on the next plane.

Why do some reviewers think a review is a synopsis? As a teacher I made sure my students understood that they should provide the general setting and tone of the book, but even a school book report should be a critique: the writer's insights and feelings about it. Reviewers here surely realize that people read reviews in advance to decide about buying the book and do not want the entire plot spelled out for them.