FROM CRADLE TO GRAVE

4 stars out of 5

Golly, I love this series!

If you “get” that, it means you’re well acquainted with the delightful antics of Lady Georgiana Rannoch – just as I have been for quite some time now (this is the 19^th in the “Royal Spyness” series). If you don’t, I suggest you waste no time learning about it for yourself, especially if you like historical fiction with a mystery twist and a cozy flavor (just a titch; Georgie is not your typical cozy mystery heroine, but like most cozies, the blood and gore of other mysteries is noticeably absent).

At this point, Georgie is married to an heir to Irish royalty – Darcy O’Mara, and they have a not-yet-year-old son James and live in a good-sized mansion courtesy of an elderly relative who’s happy to share (and lives elsewhere, even though he’s welcome to live with them). Darcy is some kind of agent with Scotland Yard, often disappearing for days at a time on an assignment he can’t share with his wife. Georgie’s mother, a rather flighty character, lives the good life in Germany. That shouldn’t be much of an issue, except it’s the late 1930s, when Hitler was just getting revved up. Despite warnings from Georgie and her husband, she refuses to leave; Hitler, she says, is a friend who admires her (Georgie and Darcy, though, have very different opinion of the guy).

Such is the setting at the start of this installment; Georgie, who is a bit of a detective (both unwittingly and willingly), is for the most part a stay-at-home mom. Bucking most of the “rules” for aristocracy at the time, she’s loves interacting with her son as often as possible. While they’re far from wealthy, both she and Darcy will one day inherit tidy sums; for now, they’ve got servants courtesy of the homeowner so Georgie doesn’t need to do dishes, laundry or cook. When she goes to visit a couple of old friends (who will be familiar to regular readers).  In part, Georgie was happy to escape the uber-rigid nanny her very annoying sister-in-law hired without her knowledge to underscore Georgie’s lack of all things regal – and one of those friends asks for help with the suspicious death of her friend’s son. Despite Georgie’s begging when she gets back home, given the official declaration that the death was an accident, Darcy hesitates to get involved.

Not long thereafter, other suspicious deaths come to light; Georgie once again escapes her awful nanny (as well as Fig, the uppity sister-in-law who invited herself to occupy a room at Georgie’s home and takes great pleasure in ordering the servants around) to do more sleuthing in hopes of finding some kind of connection among all the deaths. That, she reasons, will force Darcy to take notice.

Over the course of the book, readers will follow Georgie as she tries to solve what she’s sure are murders, find a nanny who’s willing to share James with his mother and father and give Fig the boot – the latter hopefully for good. Sprinkled in between are details that make this series so interesting, such as the abdication of King Edward VII when he opted to marry divorced commoner Wallis Simpson. As a relative of Edward’s who has met “Mrs. Simpson” several times, Georgie has no shortage of opinions on that subject, by golly.

The ending, of course, ties up almost all the loose ends, leaving a bit of a teaser for the next installment. If I have a concern, it’s that Darcy, usually extremely supportive of his wife’s interests and opinions when they differ from what’s expected of “upper class” society folks, was a bit more critical than usual. And I’m still wondering how Georgie, a nursing mother, was able to leave her child for days at a time without being super-uncomfortable (to say the least).  All told, though, it’s rousing good fun once again, and I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy.

From Cradle to Grave by Rhys Bowen (Berkley, November 2025); 328 pp.

PERIL IN PARIS

5 stars out of 5

Golly - another stellar installment of this wonderful "Royal Spyness" series set in 1930s England (more accurately, Paris, where Lady Georgiana Rannoch and her husband, Darcy O'Mara, are visiting - he on spy business, she, at least at the outset, on holiday). Of note in this one is that Georgie, as her friends call her, is pregnant - finally moving past the morning sickness that made her early months miserable.

When they arrive in Paris, Georgie is content to visit friends and see the sights, providing readers with one of the most interesting elements of the series (well, at least to me): descriptions of the period in which the stories are set and her "connections" to the rich and famous (would you believe her cousin is the King of England and she's well acquainted with Wallis Simpson, who has a somewhat prominent role in the plot)? Georgie's friend works for noted designer Coco Chanel, who is preparing for the latest fashion show, and Georgie gets tapped to model a Chanel-created maternity dress (albeit rather outlandish). Georgie also goes to a party in one famous writer of the day's apartment, where another famous writer drops by, and her mother currently lives in Germany and runs in the same social circles as Adolf Hitler.

But of course, best-laid plans aren't meant to go smoothly, and Darcy asks for Georgie's help with his secret mission. Then comes Chanel's fashion show, where an unlucky guest turns up rather dead - and Georgie is a suspect (French policemen, it seems, have very little respect for British aristocracy). Readers, of course, know she's not guilty, but it's great fun to find out the lengths to which she'll go to prove her innocence and, in the process, find the real killer. Overall, it's another truly enjoyable adventure - many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to ride along on a pre-release journey. Well done!

Peril in Paris by Rhys Bowen (Berkley, November 2022); 300 pp.

FOUR FUNERALS AND MAYBE A WEDDING

5 stars out of 5

Hang with me here: With a fast-approaching release date, this book was next up on my list of advance review copies from the publisher (via NetGalley) and I really needed to get it done. Problem was, one of my top 5 favorite New York Times best-selling mystery/thriller authors had a just-out book that was screaming my name. Oh well, I said - this one's not a 500-pager; I'll hurry through it and get on to the one I really want to read. Well, hurry through it I did - but the reason took an about-face a couple of chapters in. So engaging and entertaining are the characters and story here that I really, really got into it and, for the duration, totally forgot about that "other" book.

Golly.

Now that I've finished, in fact, I'm kicking myself for not finding this series earlier (this is, I believe, the 12th "Royal Spyness" novel). I call it a Royal Treat, and I'm already looking forward to the next one. The setting here is 1935, and series star, Lady Georgiana Rannoch, is in London trying to keep plans for her upcoming wedding to Darcy O'Mara from getting out of hand (the guest list, for instance, keeps growingm but offending royal relatives just wouldn't be proper, don't you know). Half the fun of the book, I hasten to add, is learning how people - rich and poor - lived and interacted way back then. 

Early on, Georgie happens upon a reason to be doubtful of her beloved Darcy's faithfulness - and apparently, she has no real idea what he does for a living - but she stalwartly carries on (I guess proper ladies don't ask too many questions). But Darcy makes so few appearances in the book that about all I can discern is that besides being gone much of the time he's dapper, hunky and can charm the socks off of anyone who comes near. 

But as Georgie soon learns, there's many a slip between the bridal cup and the lip. Not only must she deal with the fast-approaching wedding details, she must attend the wedding of her mother's father to a woman who's said to be a cruel and awful woman. And then there's Georgie's mother; she's planning to marry a German who's well connected to the Nazis. As if that weren't enough to bring on the vapors, where on earth will Georgie and Darcy live once they're married? Since Darcy isn't around enough to put in an opinion, that decision, too, is left to Georgie.

The matter is happily settled when the out-of-the-country first husband of Georgie's mother offers his home, an enormous estate called Eynsleigh. Or so Georgie thinks - until she moves in to get the house in order. Right away, she must deal with the hired help, who not only don't seem to know their places, but they can't perform their duties responsibly and - lordie - clearly aren't happy that a lady of the manor has settled in to make their lives miserable.

From there on, it could be called utter chaos; the staff still can't, or won't, do their jobs (and how can one possibly survive when the proper accoutrements don't accompany high tea?), monkey wrenches get thrown at a couple of the upcoming weddings and at least one dead body turns up. Georgie's mother's decision to move in doesn't seem to help much; in fact, the two ladies soon learn that they may be facing danger far greater than losing a satin shoe in the mud.

But everything gets worked out in the end, although not necessarily to all the characters' satisfaction. I, however, was totally satisfied with this delightful book. More, please!

Four Funerals and Maybe a Wedding by Rhys Bowen (Berkley, August 2018); 304 pp.