God Rest Ye, Royal Gentlemen
Ratings8
Average rating3.7
Georgie is back and hanging the stockings with care when a murder interrupts her Christmas cheer in this all-new installment in the New York Times bestselling Royal Spyness series from Rhys Bowen. Georgie is excited for her first Christmas as a married woman in her lovely new home. She suggests to her dashing husband, Darcy, that they have a little house party, but when Darcy receives a letter from his aunt Ermintrude, there is an abrupt change in plans. She has moved to a house on the edge of the Sandringham estate, near the royal family, and wants to invite Darcy and his new bride for Christmas. Aunt Ermintrude hints that the queen would like Georgie nearby. Georgie had not known that Aunt Ermintrude was a former lady-in-waiting and close confidante of her royal highness. The letter is therefore almost a royal request, so Georgie, Darcy, and their Christmas guests: Mummy, Grandad, Fig, and Binky all head to Sandringham. Georgie soon learns that the notorious Mrs. Simpson, mistress to the Prince of Wales, will also be in attendance. It is now crystal clear to Georgie that the Queen expects her to do a bit of spying. There is tension in the air from the get-go, and when Georgie pays a visit to the queen, she learns that there is more to her request than just some simple eavesdropping. There have been a couple of strange accidents at the estate recently. Two gentlemen of the royal household have died in mysterious circumstances and another has been shot by mistake during a hunt. Georgie begins to suspect that a member of the royal family is the real target but her investigation will put her new husband and love of her life, Darcy, in the crosshairs of a killer.
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18 primary books19 released books#15 in Her Royal Spyness
Her Royal Spyness is a 19-book series with 18 primary works first released in 2007 with contributions by Rhys Bowen.
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Summary: Georgie and Darcy are “invited” to spend Christmas with the royal family.
This past fall, I reread the Inspector Gamache book to prepare for the 18th book in the series. I enjoyed reading the series back to back instead of once a year because I saw subtle connections between the books I missed when I read them a year apart. But the other part is that the Inspector Gamache books have a depth to them that allows for rereading and the quality across the series is high enough that I want to reread them all.
I have continued to read the Royal Spyness series (which I originally started about the same time I started reading the Inspector Gamache series) because it is light cotton candy. A bit of fluff is enjoyable now and then. I read this in print in two days. The books are not long, and they read quickly. But I can't imagine rereading the whole series or reading more than two or three in a year because they don't hold my interest well.
I am reading this one more than a year after it was released because I didn't want to pay full price for a book I will not reread and do not care about that much. The $1.99 I paid was worth it, but I wouldn't have paid much more because the series has stalled.
Georgie, after having solved over a dozen murders and protected various members of the royal family many times, still is unsure of herself. And while Darcy is a good loving husband, he still isn't including her in his work even though she is just as skilled at being a detective as he is. The “naive girl that happens to solve a murder” schtick is getting a bit old.
I enjoyed the book as I read it, even if it was a bit frustrating. But it is hard to recommend the books without plenty of caveats about them not really being all that good. I like the characters, even with their weaknesses. And Bowen has decent plots. But they are still fluff, and it has been a while since I thought the series was worth recommending.
