Royal flush

Even though Lady Georgiana is only thirty-second in line to the British throne, one would expect her to possess something other than her good name. Alas, this is not the case, and when a scheme to drum up money by being a suitable dinner companion for male travelers goes terribly wrong, she hightails it up to the family home in the Highlands. There, she finds the castle full of guests (including Wallis Simpson), who make up part of a shooting party at nearby Balmoral. But the grouse aren't the only ones in danger as guests keep turning up injured (including one hapless woman who's knocked about by the castle's old plumbing while she is on the throne ). Is there a plot afoot to do in members of the royal family? As in previous entries in the series, Georgiana makes a superb sleuth, but much of the fun comes in the contrast between impoverished Georgie and the royal life of which financial circumstances notwithstanding she is still a part. Also intriguing is the aptly named Darcy O'Mara, the lady's love interest. Just what are his intentions?--Cooper, Ilene Copyright 2009 Booklist

Set in 1932, Bowen's winning third Royal Spyness whodunit to feature Lady Georgiana, a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria and 34th in line to the English throne (after 2008's A Royal Pain), will please fans of romantic, humorous historicals. Georgie makes an ill-advised attempt to start her own business, before discovering, to her embarrassment, that her definition of a female escort is not the same as that of her clientele. Fearing scandal, the authorities send her off to the family castle in Scotland, where a shooting party that includes the prince of Wales is in residence, with a brief from the Home Office to keep her eyes peeled for threats to the Crown. A series of serious accidents suggests that someone is targeting members of the royal family. The violence soon escalates to murder. The secret behind the attacks has been employed by such other mystery writers as David Dickinson and Robin Paige, but Bowen, who's won both Agatha and Anthony awards, puts a fresh slant on it.Å(July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Still penniless, still 34th in line to the British throne, and living alone in the family house in Belgrave Square, Lady Georgiana launches her latest attempt at a business venture: an escort service for men needing a young lady of good family to have dinner with them. But her first client has the wrong idea about her services. To avoid what could become a scandal, Scotland Yard sends Georgiana to her family estate in Scotland to keep American houseguest Mrs. Wallis Simpson away from the Prince of Wales as well to keep an eye on the Prince's shooting party at nearby Balmoral since someone is trying to kill royal family members. Verdict This third entry (after A Royal Pain) in Bowen's charming, delightfully fresh series earns high marks in painting a nostalgic picture of 1932 England enriched by a look into the royal family's everyday life. Fans of historical cozies who like Kerry Greenwood's Phryne Fisher series will snap this up. [See Prepub Mystery, LJ 3/1/09.] (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.