A Murder at Balmoral
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4.0 • 3 Ratings
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- $5.99
Publisher Description
The Crown meets Clue in this delightful locked-room mystery, sure to charm Agatha Christie fans and keep readers guessing to the end.
The king is dead. The killer is in the family. Solving this murder will be a royal pain.
The royal family has gathered at their Scottish retreat, Balmoral Castle, for a traditional Christmas. As a blizzard gathers outside and a delicious dinner is prepared, the family circles up for a holiday toast. King Eric has something momentous to say—in fact, he is about to name his successor. But as he raises a glass of his favorite whiskey, he drops dead.
The king has been poisoned, someone in the family must have done it, and each one of them had opportunity and motive. Eric’s beloved head chef, Jonathan, must now play detective. Why would one of the king's own family members want to kill him, and how did they do it? What happens in the castle usually stays in the castle, but this secret might be too big for these battlements. Jon is determined to expose the truth, even if it puts him in a killer’s crosshairs—and shakes the entire monarchy to its core.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this locked room mystery with echoes of Agatha Christie, British author McGeorge (Now You See Me) delivers a droll if disappointing look at a fictional royal family, whose members have gathered to celebrate a traditional Christmas at Balmoral Castle located in the remote Scottish Highlands. All the royals, a mixed bag of egos, have been made to hand over their mobile devices, and are soon cut off from the outside world by a huge blizzard. King Eric Windsor has sent all servants and staff home, demanding that the only people to be present are his family; his smarmy security "juggernaut," Tony Speck; and his loyal personal chef, Jonathan Alleyne. The 85-year-old king plans to make an important announcement that will affect the monarchy. But as he begins to describe his proposal during a toast, he drops dead from drinking poisoned whiskey. Mouth-watering scenes of the chef cooking make up only in part for an uninspired plot, a ho-hum resolution, and characters that are stock types, aside from Jonathan. McGeorge has done better.
Customer Reviews
What if?
Very well told story of what if? What if King Edward VIII didn’t abdicate? What if his son is now King? King Eric has decided to spend Christmas in Balmoral with only the Royal family and trusted chef Jon, also Mr. Speck for security. Balmoral is fairly secluded and there is a raging blizzard going on, one would think the Royals could enjoy Christmas as a family in peace. But there are secrets abound within the family and some have come to light. The King has individually addressed the family one on one and after Christmas dinner was served the family gathers together in the parlor to toast the King’s traditional Christmas speech. As the King starts speaking he take a sip of his favorite whiskey and before he can continue he falls over dead. Jon his chef and sometimes friend is first to his side. And so starts the mystery, with only 7 Royals and 2 employees in the castle…..whodunnit?
I was throughly surprised how much I enjoyed reading the make believe Windsor. Yes I did guess how King Eric died, but everyone seem to have a reason to do the deed. The story did move at a fast pace and many times you want to shout what about him? The ending was not what I expected, which is a nice change of pace. Thank you NetGalley for this eARC. I am voluntarily posting an honest review after reading an Advance Reader Copy of this story. #NetGalley #AMurderatBalmoral