Rhys Bowen: We Three Queens

Royal Spyness #18

It’s Oct. 1936 and Lady Georgie is enjoying her quiet life at home in the country, being a wife and new mother. Of course that peace is soon shattered by the arrival of the dreaded Wallis Simpson; imperious Fig; guileless Binky; their kids Podge and Addy; an American film company; Georgie’s naïve mother; and a murder!

How did this chaos ensue? First, the new King Edward VIII needs a place where Mrs. Simpson can stay out of sight of the press while Parliament decides if he can marry her. He naturally imposes on his easy-going cousin, Lady Georgie. read more

Rhys Bowen: The Proof of the Pudding

Royal Spyness #17

The fun factor in this series never diminishes.  In this outing, Lady Georgie is awaiting the arrival of her baby.  She’s settled in her godfather’s house, and her big issue is finding a chef.  At the moment, her longtime employee Queenie is running the kitchen, but she’s not a trained chef and Georgie has found a candidate in Paris who is about to appear.  Queenie is in a classic huff, saying she won’t take orders from foreigners, when the dashing Pierre appears at the front door and all Queenie’s objections disappear. read more

Rhys Bowen: God Rest Ye, Royal Gentlemen

Poor Lady Georgie.  She’s at last married to Darcy, in residence at a lovely estate, and all she wants is to have a happy family Christmas at her new home.  A typical wish for any young bride, but Georgie seems to have left her planning late, and her invitations are unfortunately declined as all and sundry seem to have made other plans.  Luckily Georgie’s grandfather is able to come, and sadly for Georgie (but happily for the reader) her brother and sister in law, Binky and Fig, also plan to make an appearance. read more

Rhys Bowen: The Last Mrs. Summers

Every year, for many years now, I’ve set aside a day.  If I’m lucky, and there are no distractions, it’s a whole delicious day devoted to Rhys Bowen.  This year that day came August 4, when I cracked open the new Lady Georgie mystery, The Last Mrs. Summers, Rhys Bowen’s take on the classic Rebecca.

Georgie is a newlywed with her own house to run – Queenie making scones in the kitchen and starting (hardly any) fires – and life with Darcy to enjoy.  Unfortunately, in the first chapter Darcy is off on assignment and when the lonely Georgie goes up to town her friends and even her grandfather are all busy.  Dejected, she heads back home, only to run into her buddy Belinda, who has just inherited a place in Cornwall.  She and Georgie decide to head to Cornwall to check it out together in quick order. read more

Rhys Bowen: Love and Death Among the Cheetahs

Every time I finish a Lady Georgie book by Rhys Bowen I think to myself, well, there’s no way she can write another book that’s so insanely enjoyable. But every time…she does write one that’s just as positively crazily enjoyable as the one before. She has the gift of narrative in spades, but she also has a light hand with it. Each time, she puts her characters in a fresh situation, and this is book 13 in a series. In the last book (Four Funerals and Maybe a Wedding) Georgie and Darcy were married at last. So what comes next? A honeymoon, naturally. read more