Naughty in Nice by Rhys Bowen

 

First Lines: London. January 15, 1933. Weather forecast: showers turning to sleet later. Outlook: Depressing. The Riviera had never looked more inviting.

 

Winter is so dreary in London that everyone who can afford to is escaping to the south of France. Lady Georgiana Rannoch, thirty-fourth in line to the throne of England, can't afford to make the trip to the land of sun and fun. When she learns that her brother, detested sister-in-law, and other family members are going, it's too much. Fortunately, the Queen throws Georgie a lifeline. She will pay Georgie's fare to the Riviera, and in return, Georgie will locate and rescue the Queen's stolen snuff box.

After a few fits and starts, Georgie is comfortably ensconced in her mother's villa and hobnobbing with the likes of Coco Chanel. In no time at all, Georgie finds herself charged with finding not one but two stolen items... and identifying a murderer. 

Will she ever have time to go to the casino?

~

Imbued with the sights and sounds of the French Riviera in the 1930s, Naughty in Nice is just plain fun to read. The Queen must have her necklace and snuff box returned to her. There's a dead man in a swimming pool overlooking the Mediterranean. There's a dashing French aristocrat paying attention to Georgie as well as a very unwelcome pompous police officer. And who can resist a fashion show featuring the creations of Coco Chanel?

Amidst all the fun, there were only two annoying flies buzzing around my head. One was the voice narrator Katherine Kellgren used for Georgie's best friend Belinda. There's only so much of that bored, nasal, upper-class British whine that I can take, so it was a very good thing that Belinda had few scenes in the book. (It was bad enough that I'm considering going back to reading the physical books so I can supply my own voice for this character.)

 

The second annoyance was Georgie's maid, Queenie. I know she's supposed to be funny, but I would have sacked that woman after the first week and thought I'd been magnanimous in waiting that long to show her the door. (In case you haven't guessed, gross incompetence wrapped in humor does not work for me.)

However, both those annoyances were fleeting, and I really enjoyed the light-hearted fun in Naughty in Nice. I'm looking forward to Georgie's next escapade. It's bound to be a good one.

Naughty in Nice by Rhys Bowen

Narrator: Katherine Kellgren

ASIN: B005LEV0B8

Audible Studios © 2011

Audiobook. 9 hours, 34 minutes.

 

Historical Mystery, #5 Her Royal Spyness mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Purchased from Audible.

Royal Blood by Rhys Bowen

First Line: November in London is utterly bloody.

It stinks being thirty-fourth in line to the throne of England. Not just because you're penniless and don't know where your next meal is coming from. Not because you have one of the worst sisters-in-law known to mankind. No, it stinks because when the Queen wants you to jump, pretty much all you can do is smile, curtsey, and ask, "How high?"

This time the Queen wants our hapless Lady Georgiana to represent the royals at a wedding in Transylvania. (Can you hear the wolves howling in the dead of night? So can I.) Once Georgie arrives, it's one weird happening after another. The bride-to-be found with blood running down her chin. One of the wedding guests poisoned. One thing is for certain: it's up to Georgie to save this royal wedding before anyone else dies.

This fourth book in the Royal Spyness series is just as much of a delight as the first three. I can rely on Rhys Bowen to present me with a perfectly rendered setting and make me laugh while I'm learning about the lives of royals in the 1930s. In many ways this is my favorite historical mystery series simply because both author and reader have so darned much fun at their appointed tasks.

In Royal Blood, we have Georgiana in a Dracula-inspired set of a castle in remote Transylvania that's filled with secret stairs, secret cubbyholes, secret rooms-- some which are known and others which seem to have been completely forgotten. Beastly weather. Some absolutely beastly guests. Add to this mix a reluctant Georgie, her new (and untrained) maid Queenie, Mum the Bolter, Belinda the gate crasher, and otherworldly people who seem to be able to climb up and down the sheer walls of the castle, and you have the recipe for a lot of fun.

I've already told you that the setting, humor, and characters all sparkle, but what about the mystery itself? Bowen really had me scratching my head until the identity of the intended victim is made clear, and then the light bulb went off above my head. Did the knowledge of whodunit spoil anything for me? Absolutely not!

Once I'd read the first book in the series (Her Royal Spyness) I was hooked, and I busily gathered up all the rest. It would be very easy for me to gorge on one book after another, but I don't let myself. Of course that rule could be subject to change! If you enjoy light-hearted historical mysteries as much as I do, indulge yourself with the antics of Lady Georgie-- and please start at the very beginning so changing relationships and growing characters will make sense right from the get go.
     

Royal Blood by Rhys Bowen

ISBN: 9780425243749

Berkley Prime Crime © 2011

Mass Market Paperback, 336 pages

Historical Mystery, #4 Her Royal Spyness mystery

Rating: A

Source: Paperback Swap


 

Royal Flush by Rhys Bowen

First Line: It is my opinion that there is no place on earth more uncomfortable than London during a heat wave.

Ever in search of ways to earn an honest living, impoverished Lady Georgiana Rannoch (great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria and thirty-fourth in line to the throne) neglected to check the wording of an advertisement she placed in the newspaper. As a result, she's been hustled off home to Scotland just in case scandal should rear its ugly head. As luck would have it, Castle Rannoch is just a hop, skip, and a jump from Balmoral where the Prince of Wales is in residence, and the Home Office instructs Lady Georgie to keep her eyes peeled for threats to the Crown. You see... it appears that a series of serious accidents is targeting the royal family. Hopefully Lady Georgie isn't high enough on the list to warrant her own brush with death....

Once again Rhys Bowen has crafted another sparkling outing for Lady Georgie, a young woman with a good heart, a marvelous dry wit, and the misfortune to be related to royalty. Although these books are intended to be lighthearted and  fun, Bowen skillfully provides a glimpse into the upper class British world of the 1930s while George V was on the throne.

Since She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named (AKA Wallis Simpson) is a member of the shooting party the Prince of Wales has gathered at Balmoral, what could be better than to schlep her and her group of loud Americans off on Lady Georgie's mild-mannered brother and her hateful sister-in-law at Castle Rannoch? It's a plot element that works a treat because we get to see Georgie's sister-in-law in an entirely different light, as well as getting to see Georgie's (very non-royal) grandfather again.

I was fairly certain of who was causing mayhem early on in the book, but I couldn't care less because the emphasis in these books is to have fun, and I've learned that I can always count on Lady Georgie to make me laugh while I get to be a voyeur in the world of the rich and the royal.

Royal Flush by Rhys Bowen

ISBN: 9780425236390

Berkley Prime Crime © 2010

Mass Market Paperback, 320 pages

Historical Mystery, #3 Her Royal Spyness mystery

Rating: A

Source: Paperback Swap 

Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen

First Line: There are two disadvantages to being a minor royal.

No one would know what those two disadvantages are better than Lady Victoria Georgiana Charlotte Eugenie, daughter to the Duke of Glen Garry and Rannoch. This twenty-something young woman is thirty-fourth in line to the British throne, and it's a drag. Learning that Queen Mary wants to dangle her like a juicy piece of bait in front of some fish-faced European prince, Georgie makes up an excuse to bolt from the drafty ancestral castle in Scotland and head for London.

Being without any servants means that Georgie has to learn how to get hot water and heat going in the family's London house-- and even cook her own meals. Heaven forfend! It's not long before Georgie comes up with a plan to make a bit of money, but Queen Mary's minions track her down, and off to the royal palace Georgie must go. There she learns that HRH wants Georgie to spy on the Prince of Wales. You see, David seems to be paying altogether too much attention to some dreadful American divorcee.... However, before Georgie can begin spying on the prince, she finds a dead Frenchman in her bathtub. Clearing her family name must come before spying on an errant royal!

This book is just plain delightful, and I have no idea why it took me so long to read it. Georgie is the perfect voice for this light, witty, and oftentimes hilarious romp of a mystery. I felt as though I were getting the inside scoop on the royals-- both major and minor-- in 1930s England. With Georgie's family connections and her lack of money, she's tailormade for a long-running mystery series, and I definitely will be checking back with her regularly to see what she's been up to.

Her Royal Spyness has an intriguing mystery, boatloads of royal tittle tattle, an irresistible heroine, and is filled with laugh-out-loud humor. In other words, it's a fantastic way to spend an afternoon!

Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen

ISBN: 9780425222522

Berkley Prime Crime © 2008

Mass Market Paperback, 336 pages

Cozy/Historical Mystery, #1 Royal Spyness series

Rating: B+

Source: Purchased at The Poisoned Pen.