Malice at the Palace by Rhys Bowen

Malice at the Palace by Rhys Bowen
Narrator: Katherine Kellgren
Series: Her Royal Spyness Mysteries #9
Published by Audible Studios on August 4, 2015
Source: Purchased
Genres: Cozy Mystery
Length: 9 hrs 48 mins
Pages: 304
Format: Audiobook
Purchase at Bookshop.org or Purchase at Amazon
Add on Goodreads

Thirty-fifth in line for the British throne, Lady Georgiana Rannoch becomes embroiled in some royal wrongdoing...

Caught between my high birth and empty purse, I am relieved to receive a new assignment from the Queen. The King’s youngest son, George, is to wed Princess Marina of Greece, and I shall be her companion: showing her the best of London—and dispelling any rumors about George’s libertine history.

George is known for his many affairs with women as well as men—including the great songwriter Noel Coward. But things truly get complicated when one of his supposed mistresses is murdered.

The Queen wants the whole matter hushed. But as the case unfolds—and Darcy, as always, turns up in the most unlikely of places—our investigation brings us precariously close to the prince himself.

I’ve been on a bit of a Royal Spyness kick lately. They’re light and easy to follow when I’m doing other things. Georgie is delightful as always. This time around, Georgie is staying at Kensington Palace and showing Princess Marina around London. She is the fiancee of the King’s sons, George. And then a dead body shows up in the courtyard, a woman who had plenty of lovers including George himself. Georgie gets roped into helping the detective due to her position, but also does a fair amount of investigating on her own. The mystery was fine with a few suspects and some red herrings. Malice at the Palace touches on the plight of unwed mothers at the time, too.

The characters are really the highlight. Georgie is fun and caring and smart. She’s a bit naive, but I’m not sure how, given the behavior and talk of her mother and her best friend, both of whom are far from innocent. Darcy shows up of course, even if Georgie is angry at him for a bit. Queenie, her maid, is annoying. I want to like her and I understand she’s cheap, but criminy, she is incompetent and doesn’t help with the investigations at all. Marina is sweet and sophisticated, but her relative, Countess Irmtraut was too much, mean and difficult to talk to.

I’ve only read a few of these books, but this one has ghosts, true ghosts. They fit well with the Palace, but I’m not sure how well they fit with the series overall.

I think I’ll listen to the next one in the series and then take a break for a bit.

I’ve been listening to the audios. Kellgren does a fabulous job distinguishing all the voices and accents. I’m not as sure they would be as fun in print.