Four Funerals and Maybe a Wedding

June 1, 2018
Wedding preparations may be the death of a distant heir to the British throne in this 1930s period piece.Lady Georgiana Rannoch (On Her Majesty's Frightfully Secret Service, 2017, etc.) has relinquished her status as 35th in line to the throne to marry her love, Darcy O'Mara, an Irish Catholic with a hush-hush government job that carries him off at a moment's notice. Poor as a church mouse, Georgie is staying with a friend in London while another friend makes her wedding gown. Her much-married actress mother will provide her trousseau, and the king and queen will attend the wedding. Georgie and Darcy can afford only a tiny flat in a sketchy area. Rescue comes in the form of a letter from Sir Hubert Anstruther, one of her mother's exes and Georgie's godfather, offering her the use of Eynsleigh, his beautiful home not far from London. Anstruther travels a good deal, and the house is so huge that he'll need only a suite of rooms when he returns. Upon her arrival, Georgie finds that all the servants she remembers have been replaced and the house and grounds sadly neglected. Plunkett, the new butler, is obviously dismayed to see her, the so-called cook offers her tinned soup for dinner, the housemaid is rude, and the gardeners are selling most of the produce and pocketing the money. The first night Georgie spends at Eynsleigh, the gas tap is left on in her room, and only her habit of sleeping with the windows open saves her life. She discovers that Sir Hubert's elderly and slightly mad mother is living in a closed-off wing of the house, all the valuable items have vanished, and the police are seeking a man who vanished after calling at the house. Delighted with the arrival of her mother, grandfather, and former maid, Queenie, who can actually cook, Georgie takes it upon herself to investigate, a decision that may put paid to her wedding plans.Another stiff-upper-lip novel full of charm, romance, and a smidgen of mystery that's altogether delightful.

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June 18, 2018
Bestseller Bowen’s disappointing 12th Royal Spyness mystery (after 2017’s On Her Majesty’s Frightfully Secret Service) lacks her usual charm. Lady Georgiana Rannoch, a distant—and impoverished—relative of the British royal family, is a month away from her July 1935 wedding to Darcy O’Mara. As she juggles logistical details, including the guest list and her attire, not to mention her insecurities about Darcy’s faithfulness, her godfather, Sir Hubert Anstruther, offers her a welcome gift: his Sussex country estate, Eynsleigh, as her home. But on arrival at Eynsleigh, she finds a surly staff, neglected grounds, and indications that the household accounts have been faked. While she manages to adopt the persona of a forceful lady of the manor, her efforts to whip things into shape are impeded by her suspicions that the previous butler’s fatal fall down the stairs was no accident—and that her own life is in peril. The mystery element predominates, and fans will miss Georgie’s hilariously inept maid, Queenie, who’s offstage for the first half of the book. Agent: Meg Ruley, Jane Rotrosen Agency.

Starred review from June 1, 2018

Whether channeling her great-grandmother Queen Victoria or exclaiming "golly" when faced with a quandary, Lady Georgiana Rannough rises above her circumstances like a meringue. In her 12th adventure (after On Her Majesty's Frightfully Secret Service), the still penniless aristocrat is planning her wedding to the dashing but equally impoverished Darcy O'Mara. Fortunately, friends and family are helping out with the preparations. Georgina is offered a staffed country estate to make her new home by her globe-trotting former stepfather only to find the faithful retainers of her youth have been replaced by unlikely and uncooperative servants--one of whom even turned on the gas tap in her bedroom. Was this an accident or an attempt on her life? Georgina senses trouble is afoot and investigates. VERDICT Those who cannot get enough of royal weddings will be charmed, as will Anglophiles, and anyone who loves a solid mystery. Fans of the genre will savor this gentle, humorous read. [See Prepub Alert, 2/11/18.]--Cheryl Bryan, Orleans, MA

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2018

Star amateur sleuth of the 1930s-set "Royal Spyness Mystery" series, Lady Georgiana Rannoch is getting ready to walk down the aisle and is offered her godfather's fully staffed country estate as a home. But the staff don't seem very trustworthy, and the gas leak in her bedroom doesn't seem like an accident. From the Agatha/Anthony Award winner; with a six-city tour.

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.