[GNJ]⋙ [PDF] Free A Royal Pain A Royal Spyness Mystery Rhys Bowen 9780425221631 Books

A Royal Pain A Royal Spyness Mystery Rhys Bowen 9780425221631 Books

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A Royal Pain A Royal Spyness Mystery Rhys Bowen 9780425221631 Books

This is the second mystery featuring Lady Georgiana Rannoch, 34th in line for the British crown in 1932, once again constrained to help the Queen in her futile efforts to detach the Prince of Wales from Mrs. Simpson. Georgie is roped in to play hostess to the Princess Hannelore ("Hanni") of Bavaria, who's been in a convent until she recently turned 18, and is now paying a visit to the UK. She's supposed to be lovely, and so Queen Mary hopes that David will be attracted to her. Lots of luck with that! But Georgie and Hanni go to a party at the flat of a member of Georgie's upper-crust social set (not that Georgie can afford to keep up with them), and Georgie witnesses one of her inoffensive acquaintances stumble against the railing of the flat's balcony, crash through, and fall seven stories to his death. There's no question of his being pushed--several others saw him stumble--but the police investigate, and remember Georgie from her earlier adventure in Her Royal Spyness...unfondly. And it isn't helped when she and Hanni go to a bookshop in Wapping (a rather unsavory neighborhood) and find the young man Hanni had said invited them to the shop (where he worked) very recently stabbed to death. And later, at a house party they were both invited to (at the queen's behest), Hanni's chaperone, a baroness, dies of an apparent heart attack. And there's a lot of rumbling about communists and fascists in both Germany and the UK, as things are building up toward Hitler's coming to power in the former. Lots of fun, like the first book only rather better to my taste. ''''-


Tags : A Royal Pain (A Royal Spyness Mystery) [Rhys Bowen] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Assigned by the Queen of England to entertain a Bavarian princess, penniless aristocrat Lady Georgie must help Princess Hanni unlearn the English she has learned from American gangster films,Rhys Bowen,A Royal Pain (A Royal Spyness Mystery),Berkley Hardcover,0425221636,Aristocracy (Social class);Fiction.,Humorous fiction.,London (England);History;20th century;Fiction.,20th century,Aristocracy (Social class),ENGLISH MYSTERY & SUSPENSE FICTION,Fiction,Fiction - Mystery Detective,Fiction Mystery & Detective General,Fiction-Mystery & Detective,GENERAL,General Adult,History,Humorous fiction,London (England),Mystery & Detective - General,MysterySuspense,United States

A Royal Pain A Royal Spyness Mystery Rhys Bowen 9780425221631 Books Reviews

I have read (and reread) all of the "Her Royal Spyness" series, and have enjoyed them all. I love the time period when the books take place, partly because things are changing in the world. Britain is trying to come to terms with the end of its imperialistic rule of much of the world and the end of the attendant wealth it enjoyed. The rigid class system is changing as well, and the role of women in society, too. Lady Georgiana is trapped between her station and her poverty. She is penniless, and yet a royal and not allowed to earn a living. As a mere woman, all she is currently allowed and trained to do is marry well. We sympathize with her efforts to make more of herself than society dictates.

Don't get me wrong, though. These books are cozies, and though Georgie's situation and the times are difficult, the books are blithe and full of humor and endearing characters. They are very fun books to read, and each time I read a new one, I anxiously await the arrival of all of the funny and delightful characters. They often appear by chance and coincidence, but rather than coming off as a cheesy gimmick, the surprise appearance of each character is a fun plot staple. I find myself wondering with anticipation when each of these well-developed and entertaining characters will appear her good-hearted but vague and helpless brother Binky; his snippy sourpuss wife Fig; Georgie's breezy, bright-young-thing friend Belinda; her self-absorbed famous actress mother; her kindly Cockney grandfather, and the charming and mysterious love interest Darcy O'Mara. Another favorite character added in Royal Blood is Queenie, the hapless yet spunky and irresistible lady's maid-in-training.

Besides these recurring characters, we meet the British royal family and other famous people of the time throughout the series, including Noel Coward, Coco Chanel, and the abrasive, ambitious and widely-disliked Wallis Simpson. Though fictionalized, of course, they are believable and entertaining. Even minor characters are colorful and full of tongue in cheek humor as the books gently poke fun at nonsensical social traditions and hypocritical people.

Georgie herself is the good-natured glue that holds the series together, and I really enjoy watching her as she grows into a capable and even formidable young woman who is stronger and smarter than she ever imagined.
I found this book entertaining, but it is pure fantasy with little connection to reality. I was intrigued by the premise, that a member of the royal family should be a sleuth. I was thinking of something like a female Lord Peter Whimsey, but Rhys Bowen falls far short of the brilliant writing of Dorothy Sayers. For instance, the author tries to capture the dialect of upper-class, aristocrats in Pre WW II England, but if a reader is at all familiar with literature of the period, she will find that there are too many anachronisms for the dialogue to ring true.
That being said, this is a good book to take to the pool or the beach. The reader can enjoy a few hours of light reading, ignore the niggling voices that say, "This could never happen!" and be assured that goodness will prevail.
I'm happy that I read Bowen's novel In Fairleigh Field before I started the Royal Spyness series, since I know from the former that the author can indeed write well. I was almost tempted to believe that the Spyness series was ghosted by a less capable writer, since there is a marked decline in every aspect of craft in the latter. Particularly clumsy is Bowen's need to reiterate in every Spyness book the details (in virtually the same words) of her sleuth's background her exact relation to Britain's Royal Family, her own family background and members, her best friend's story, etc. Rather than using a deft phrase here and there, the reader has to endure the backstory again and again, in every single book, and A Royal Pain is no exception. As well, Bowen's habit of resolving (often by an unexpected event) the mystery in the final few pages means that the reader is subjected to chapter after chapter of passive, monologic introspection, while the sleuth appears to wander aimlessly in search of a solution. Having said all that, I must add that if you're looking for a light read in a beach chair, the comfort of familiar characters, and no literary challenges, A Royal Pain - along with the other Royal Spyness books - is just the ticket.
This is the second mystery featuring Lady Georgiana Rannoch, 34th in line for the British crown in 1932, once again constrained to help the Queen in her futile efforts to detach the Prince of Wales from Mrs. Simpson. Georgie is roped in to play hostess to the Princess Hannelore ("Hanni") of Bavaria, who's been in a convent until she recently turned 18, and is now paying a visit to the UK. She's supposed to be lovely, and so Queen Mary hopes that David will be attracted to her. Lots of luck with that! But Georgie and Hanni go to a party at the flat of a member of Georgie's upper-crust social set (not that Georgie can afford to keep up with them), and Georgie witnesses one of her inoffensive acquaintances stumble against the railing of the flat's balcony, crash through, and fall seven stories to his death. There's no question of his being pushed--several others saw him stumble--but the police investigate, and remember Georgie from her earlier adventure in Her Royal Spyness...unfondly. And it isn't helped when she and Hanni go to a bookshop in Wapping (a rather unsavory neighborhood) and find the young man Hanni had said invited them to the shop (where he worked) very recently stabbed to death. And later, at a house party they were both invited to (at the queen's behest), Hanni's chaperone, a baroness, dies of an apparent heart attack. And there's a lot of rumbling about communists and fascists in both Germany and the UK, as things are building up toward Hitler's coming to power in the former. Lots of fun, like the first book only rather better to my taste. ''''-