The Agatha Award winner debuts a 1930s London mystery series, featuring a penniless twenty-something member of the extended royal family.
Her ridiculously long name is Lady Victoria Georgiana Charlotte Eugenie, daughter to the Duke of Atholt and Rannoch. And she is flat broke. As the thirty-fourth in line for the throne, she has been taught only a few things, among them, the perfect curtsey. But when her brother cuts off her allowance, she leaves Scotland, and her fiance, Fish-Face, for London, where she has:
a) worked behind a cosmetics counter-and gotten sacked after five hours
b) started to fall for a quite unsuitable minor royal
c) made some money housekeeping (incognita, of course), and
d) been summoned by the Queen to spy on her playboy son.Then an arrogant Frenchman, who wants her family’s 800-year-old estate for himself, winds up dead in her bathtub. Now her most important job is to clear her very long family name.
Read on May 14, 2012
Read for Fun/Operation TBR
Overall Rating: 4.00
Story Rating: 3.75
Character Rating: 4.25
Audio Rating (not part of the overall Rating): 5.00
First thought when finished: What a romping good time!
What I Loved: Lady Victoria Georgiana Charlotte Eugenie is a hoot and a half! She is stubborn, independent, and acutely aware of what she should/should not do as a relative of the Queen BUT also aware that she must make a living. Guess which one trumps the other? She tries being a maid that sets up houses before people arrive home and working at a departments store. She manages to get herself in trouble and it was lovely to trounce along with her. I really loved each and every minute of her escapades.
What I Liked: The cast of character in Her Royal Spyness were as varied as a cast could get. There were some that made me giggle, others that made me squeamish, and one that made me swoon (though he is a bit of a cad). They added to Victoria’s charms and in some cases added to her shenanigans. Her best friend was particularly fun and I am sure not overly approved by the queen :)
Audio Rating: Katherine Kellgren did an extraordinary job narrating Her Royal Spyness. I felt like she was Victoria and she did fantastic with the male characters too. I really got lost in her telling of the story.
Final Thought: If you like historical cozy mysteries–I highly recommend this one!
© 2012, Geeky Bloggers Book Blog.
O I like Katherine Kellgren. She was the narrator for The Mysterious Howling and I loved her voice. Great honest review.
Ooo! I do love finding new mystery series. The 1930s London setting makes this one different than my usual cozy!
But it is just as fun! Seriously I am going to listen to books 2 and 3 this month for sure :)
I think i got this one from Audible for Free! I have to check my library. If so, I’m now excited to start it.
It is an english lady who reads it and does an excellent job. It will make you giggle at times :)
Ooh, a 1930′s mystery? Dang. You are just loading my TBR/wishlist up with TOO MANY BOOKS! (Is there such a thing? Honestly?)
Yep! This was a freebie or a really cheap one I got awhile back. It was so fun :)
I’m so happy to hear you loved it! I have this audio-book on my to be read shelf. Love a great mystery series! Wonderful review! :)
The audio is done well! Seriously she was perfect for this story and the time period it is set in :)
I dont read to many cozy mysteries, but Im always looking for a fun audio…this one sounds like it could be a perfect one for a rainy day…;)
This one would be perfect for a time you want to step away from something far more dark. This one is light.
This sounds wonderful. I haven’t read anything quite like it before, so I don’t know what I would think based on the genre…but it sounds like a ton of fun. Just added to my amazon wish list. Thanks for sharing!!
-Lauren
This is a good little mystery with a bit of cheek and fun. Great for a lighter read to make you smile!
Oh sometimes a good cozy is perfect and this one sounds like I’d enjoy it. I really love the sound of this heroine!
I want to be the heroine! Seriously she just had enough gumption to make me smile!
Now this is a cozy that I would love to try :D
I do think this one you would like!
I want to have a romping good time. A fun and well done audiobook is quite a treasure. Wish I had it.
Check your library–this one is older so they probably have it :)
A romping good time! I know I have this on my Kindle I got it free on Amazon a long time ago.Now I know I need to read it. I like that there are many varied characters!
There are tons of good characters and the cad is wonderful :)