As thirty-fifth in line for the throne, Lady Georgiana Rannoch knows her table manners. It’s forks on the left, knives on the right—not in His Grace, the duke’s back…
I have been entrusted by Her Majesty with grooming Jack Altringham—the duke’s newly discovered heir fresh from the Outback of Australia—for high society. The upside is I am to live in luxury at one of England’s most gorgeous stately homes. But upon my arrival, my dearest Darcy has been sent to fetch Jack, leaving me stuck in a manor full of miscreants displeased with the discovery of my new ward.
No sooner has the lad been retrieved than the duke announces he wants to choose his own heir. Then after quite the hubbub, Jack’s hunting knife somehow finds its way into the duke’s back. Eyes fall, backs turn, and fingers point to the young heir. As if the rascal weren’t enough of a handful, now he’s suspected of murder. Jack may be wild, but I’d bet the crown jewels it wasn’t he who killed the duke…
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From the Publisher
Praise for the Royal Spyness Mysteries“Wonderful characters...A delight.”—#1 New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris
“An insightful blend of old-fashioned whodunnit, clever satire and drawing room comedy of errors.”—New York Times bestselling author Jacqueline Winspear
“Brilliant...This is so much more than a murder mystery. It’s part love story, part social commentary, part fun and part downright terrifying. And completely riveting.”—#1 New York Times bestselling author Louise Penny
“The perfect fix between seasons for Downton Abbey addicts.”—New York Times bestselling author Deborah Crombie
“Fans of P.G. Wodehouse looking for laughs mingled with some amateur sleuthing will be quite pleased.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Georgie’s high spirits and the author’s frothy prose are utterly captivating.”—The Denver Post
“A smashing romp.”—Booklist (starred review)
Publishers Weekly
Set in 1934, Bowen’s rollicking seventh Royal Spyness mystery (after 2012’s The Twelve Clues of Christmas) finds Lady Georgiana Rannoch, a distant cousin of George V, typing up her mother’s life story. But once Mummy decides her memoirs are too scandalous for publication, Georgiana must seek new employment. With options limited, she writes Queen Mary, who rewards her with a royal audience and a business proposition. The son of the dowager Duchess of Eynsford, a friend of the queen’s, has not produced an heir, and the future of the family hinges on a newly discovered relation, Australian Jack Altringham. But Altringham, an uncouth sheep farmer, needs help acclimating to British high society, which is where Georgiana comes in. Inevitably, a murder crosses her path, and the quasi-royal again gets to show off her detecting chops. The appealing lead and breezy prose will remind many of James Anderson’s period mysteries featuring the Earl of Burford. Agent: Meg Ruley, the Jane Rotrosen Agency. (Aug.)
Kirkus Reviews
Grooming an Australian heir to a dukedom turns into a murder investigation for a very minor member of the royal family. Although Lady Georgiana Rannoch is 35th in line for the throne, she's constantly struggling to survive. After her flighty actress mother leaves her in the lurch to spend some time with her latest lover, Georgie's note to the queen produces a job she seems well-suited for. The queen's friend Edwina, the Dowager Duchess of Eynsford, has discovered that Jack, the only heir to the dukedom, was brought up on an Australian cattle station. She wants Georgie to come to Eynsford and help smooth off his rough edges. The estate is magnificent, the food is extravagant, but the present duke, Cedric, a nasty piece of work who's more interested in young men than in siring an heir, refuses to help any of his family members. In addition to her two odd sisters, Edwina is also housing her daughter Irene and her children--Sissy, Nick and Katherine--whose father was a Russian count. Cedric not only refuses to pay for the children's education and an operation that might restore Sissy's ability to walk after a riding accident, but is also tearing down estate cottages to build a theater and threatening to adopt his valet as his heir. Jack, who arrives escorted by Darcy O'Mara, the man Georgie would like to marry if they can ever raise the money, considers the whole class system nonsense and would rather be back in Australia. When Georgie finds Cedric with Jack's knife in his back, she's certain that he's innocent of the crime. But getting the police to agree promises to be a difficult task. Bowen's seventh Royal Spyness mystery (The Twelve Clues of Christmas, 2012, etc.) is loaded with country-house charm and capped by an unexpected denouement.
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