Publisher's Weekly Review
To make ends meet, slightly impoverished but well-connected Lady Georgiana Rannoch takes on house-cleaning jobs in disguise in Agatha-winner Bowen's enchanting second mystery set in 1930s England (after 2007's Her Royal Spyness). A tea invitation from the queen, however, sets her on a new mission. Georgiana must house and chaperone a young Bavarian princess the queen hopes to set up with the prince of Wales, thus diverting his attention from his current American love interest. The princess proves to be quite a handful, naive and addicted to slang. Invitations to the palace, country house weekends and swinging parties are provided for her amusement. When a series of unfortunate deaths arouses Georgiana's suspicions, she launches an investigation that culminates in a startlingly bloody conclusion. Fans will welcome the return of this spunky heroine, 34th in line to the British throne. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
Readers first met impoverished Lady Georgiana when she cleared her brother of a murder charge in Her Royal Spyness (2007), set in 1930s London. Georgiana is now summoned to the palace of her distant relation, the Queen of England, who wants Georgiana to play hostess to a visiting German princess, Hannelore, whom she hopes will catch the eye of the Prince of Wales and distract him from his dalliance with Mrs. Simpson. Georgiana reluctantly agrees, getting her grandfather and his neighbor to impersonate servants. When Hannelore arrives, she proves a handful, spouting phrases from American gangster movies and setting her sights on Darcy O'Mara, the one man who makes Georgiana's heart leap. To make matters worse, Hannelore expresses interest in the Communist Party and arranges to meet one of the members in a bookshop. Georgiana accompanies Hannelore on the assignation only to have the princess discover the young man's corpse. A delectable mystery with vibrant characters and a bit of romance, Bowen's latest is a rollicking good read.--Huntley, Kristine Copyright 2008 Booklist
Kirkus Review
A royal relative turns sleuth when murder haunts her household. Lady Georgiana Rannoch, who lives in her impoverished brother's London house, survives by doing occasional light cleaning jobs. Although dead broke, she is 34th in line to the throne and at the beck and call of the Queen, who's thought up a scheme to scuttle the highly unsuitable romance between her son David and the married American Wallis Simpson. The Queen asks Georgie to host the lovely young Bavarian Princess, known by her friends as Hanni, as well as her escort Baroness Rottenmeister and their maid. Having no money or servants, Georgie calls on her grandfather and his neighbor to act as butler and cook. Hanni turns out to be a lively young miss with an American accent acquired from watching gangster movies and a bent for unsuitable young men, shoplifting and wild parties. At an aristocratic bash whose guest list includes the Prince of Wales, Mrs. Simpson and Georgie's actress mother, a young man is killed in a fall from a balcony. Georgie and Hanni are escorted away by Georgie's love interest, sexy Irishman Darcy O'Mara (Her Royal Spyness, 2007). As Georgie attempts to keep Hanni out of trouble, more murders follow. Nothing daunted, Georgie works to discover if the cause is a Communist or Fascist plot or something even more sinister. A pre-World War II mystery with a touch of romance that adds another winner to Bowen's accomplishments. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Library Journal Review
It's not without hitches when the penniless aristocrat moonlights as a maid-in-disguise to hook up a princess and a prince in the second of the Lady Victoria Georgiana Charlotte Eugenie series by Bowen, who lives in California. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
