On Her Majesty's Frightfully Secret Service
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4.3 • 242 Ratings
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
Lady Georgiana Rannoch juggles secret missions from the Queen, her beau, and her mother in this mystery in the Royal Spyness series.
When royal sleuth Georgie Rannoch receives a letter from her dearest friend Belinda, who's in an Italian villa awaiting the birth of her illegitimate baby, she yearns to run to her side. If only she could find a way to get there! But then opportunity presents itself in a most unexpected way—her cousin the queen asks her to attend a house party in the Italian Lake Country. The Prince of Wales and the dreadful Mrs. Simpson have been invited, and Her Majesty is anxious to thwart a possible secret wedding.
What luck! A chance to see Belinda, even if it is under the guise of stopping unwanted nuptials. Only that's as far as Georgie's fortune takes her. She soon discovers that she attended finishing school with the hostess of the party—and the hatred they had for each other then has barely dimmed. Plus, she needs to hide Belinda's delicate condition from the other guests. And her dashing beau, Darcy's (naturally) working undercover on a dangerous mission. Then her actress mother shows up, with a not-so-little task to perform. With all this subterfuge, it seems something is bound to go horribly wrong—and Georgie will no doubt be left to pick up the pieces when it does.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Agatha Award winner Bowen's amusing 11th Royal Spyness mystery (after 2016's Crowned and Dangerous) takes Lady Georgiana "Georgie" Rannoch, 35th in line to the British throne, to Italy in the spring of 1935. She joins a house party hosted at a lavish estate near Stresa on Lake Maggiore, where her mission, on behalf of Queen Mary, is to keep an eye on that woman (aka Wallis Simpson), the paramour of the Prince of Wales. Meanwhile, a high-level conference among representatives of England, France, and Italy to discuss the Nazi threat is taking place at Stresa. A murder doesn't occur until late in the action, but series fans know not to expect thrills and chills. The story's main pleasure lies in the picture of Georgie's world, where she takes tea with Queen Mary at Buckingham Palace and records Mrs. Simpson's imperious behavior. Another delight is the large cast, which includes horrible countesses, terrifyingly efficient lady's maids, grim-faced nuns, and Nazis, both brash and bashful. Fans of light mysteries will be rewarded.)
Customer Reviews
On Her Majesty's Frightfully Secret Service
What a fun read! Love this series!!!
Good summer read
This is a fun, light and relaxing mystery, just the thing for summertime. This series is a favorite of mine and this book was nicely plotted and paced.
Another Terrific Read from Rhys!
I will start off by saying that I figured out early on who did it. However...and that is a big however....I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. While i knew "who", I did not quite know "why" and certainly did not know "how." I had a good time tagging along with Georgie as the clues were laid out. Also, the characters are well written and charming (and sometimes despicable...which is to be expected). There is a nice balance of mystery and romance in this installment, and while I want to slap Darcy at times....his attitudes are true to his time period and station in life. The character of Georgie is maturing nicely. She is still prone to "golly" but her adventures have made her more empathetic, not jaded, which keeps me interested and smiling. Overall, a great read, and I cannot wait until the next installment!