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Malice at the Palace: A Royal Spyness Mystery

Review

Malice at the Palace: A Royal Spyness Mystery

Lady Victoria Georgiana Charlotte Eugenie Rannoch, everyone’s favorite semi-royal sleuth from the 1930s, is back in Rhys Bowen’s MALICE AT THE PALACE. This time, the 35th in line to the throne has been assigned to be a companion to a foreign princess set to marry into the British royal family. But when the playboy prince’s ex-mistress turns up dead, it’s up to Georgie to save the day in another rip-roaring romp of a romantic mystery.

"Georgie is as sprightly and engaging a heroine as ever. Her quick wit, intelligence and determination allow her to ferret out even the most heinous of criminals, and the royal backdrop distinguishes this series from its contemporaries."

Georgie remains the same practical noblewoman she’s always been, with one change. She’s informally engaged to her longtime beau, Darcy, who’s off again on another clandestine mission. In the meantime, she’s trying to make ends meet yet again, struggling to find a place to live after her best friend boots her from her cottage. This recurring plot point is one of the few elements that serves to hold Georgie back as a character, rather than furthering her development. Let’s hope that she will have found a career path of her own by the next novel.

As always, Georgie manages to make things work. This time, her kinswoman, Queen Mary, calls upon her to serve as a companion to Princess Marina of Greece, who is arriving in England to marry her youngest son, the free-spirited Prince George. In doing so, Georgie moves into Kensington Palace, where she quickly bonds with Marina, all while trying to keep her husband-to-be’s previous sexual exploits quiet.

That becomes difficult, however, when one of his former lovers, Bobo Carrington, turns up dead in the palace courtyard. Along with Scotland Yard and the Home Office, Georgie sets out to uncover the truth behind Bobo’s mysterious demise, all while squiring Marina around town, juggling her royal duties and avoiding deadly threats.

Georgie is as sprightly and engaging a heroine as ever. Her quick wit, intelligence and determination allow her to ferret out even the most heinous of criminals, and the royal backdrop distinguishes this series from its contemporaries. Here’s to many more volumes of the Royal Spyness series and to Georgie becoming the Miss Marple of her time!

Reviewed by Carly Silver on August 14, 2015

Malice at the Palace: A Royal Spyness Mystery
by Rhys Bowen