Crowned and Dangerous

I have been a fan of Rhys Bowen’s books for a couple of years, and I always look forward to new releases. All of her books are lovely, but I must admit that her Royal Spyness series is my favorite. If you’re not familiar with this series, here’s a brief explanation: the books take place in1930s England, and Georgiana Rannoch is 35th in line for the throne. She is an astute young woman, and she often receives royal requests for help. Of course, one cannot refuse the Queen of England. Georgie has all sorts of adventures, and solves mysteries.Crowned and Dangerous is the 10th book in the Royal Spyness series. When we last encountered our heroine Georgie, she was attending the wedding of her cousin Prince George to Princess Marina. As the story begins, she has been swept away by her enigmatic beau Darcy O’Mara, who after several years of casual dating, intends to take her to Gretna Green and marry her.Alas, fate intervenes and Darcy sees a newspaper bearing grim tidings: his father, Lord Kilhenny has been arrested for the murder of the wealthy American man who bought the Kilhenny estate several years ago.Darcy rushes off to his father’s side, and informs Georgie that she is to remain in England, and her involvement in the case would be too scandalous. Those familiar with the series will know that our Georgie is not easily deterred, and so she ventures over to Ireland, determined to stand by her beloved and to prove his father’s innocence.The mystery portion of the book is rather interesting because Georgie and Darcy do not really have access to the crime scene. They have to rely on the facts of the case, and the prognosis seems rather grim since the accused claims he was drunk and does not really remember anything. Georgie doesn’t do nearly as much sleuthing in this book as she has done in the past, and she practically stumbles upon the solution through luck/fate.Despite this, Crowned and Dangerous is a lovely book. Bowen devotes her time to building up Georgie’s world. Most of the book takes place in Ireland, but it was nice to receive updates (as it were) on the friends and family who have appeared in previous books. It was also quite lovely to meet some new characters, like Darcy’s Aunt Oona and Uncle Dooley, as well as the debonair Zou Zou. And of course, what Royal Spyness book would be complete without Georgie’s maid Queenie? She plays a more minor role than she has in the past, but she still manages to steal the show.I would recommend Crowned and Dangerous. If you are new to the series, I recommend starting at the beginning and reading the books in order. This is a solid entry in the series, with some nice set-up for the next book. Although there is a murder to be solved, this is a light book infused with humor. Georgie is a delightful protagonist; her manners are impeccable, but she is kind to everyone, regardless of their social position. She’s clever, and she’s funny, and I always enjoy her adventures. Now that I have read the book, I suppose that I am going to have to re-read the rest of the series while waiting a year for Georgie’s next adventure!

This will be my last read of the Royal Spyness series. Just give up. What used to be fun light reading about a usually engaging heroine has simply turned into silly. Georgie doesn't act like a woman growing in independence and intelligence and Darcy is a stock figure. I was groaning during the first chapter and skimmed the rest of the book till the - finally - end. I realize Rhys Bowen will continue to churn out edition after edition because of her fan base. Next installment due out in a few months. By the time Georgie matures or finds an interesting way to react to her life, if ever, I will not be reading or caring.

I truly love this series. It is one of the very few that I would buy in hardcover because I couldn't wait until the paperback came out. But to tell the truth, it's gotten a bit long in the tooth. There isn't much sleuthing, mostly running around from one scene to the next because that's what books do. It didn't feel well plotted. And through much of it things were blindingly obvious that the characters acted oblivious to. In the end there were a couple interesting plot twists, but too many strings were too conveniently tied up. I wouldn't be surprised if this is the last. But maybe not. If there are more installments, I will happily snap them up. I hope the quality returns to it's previously high standard.

I knew the series had been in decline but I needed a light read fast and bought this outing. Ugh, it wasn't even good for falling asleep! It was so repetitive that almost the exact wording was used just pages apart to describe Darcy's attitude. Darcy was flat; Georgie was flat; Queenie was a new person. Zou Zou started out being interesting but when the author lost interest in her clothes she too turned as flat as an old glass of champagne. Actually, the plot and the characters were hokey: gangsters from Chicago? Is this what readers are looking for? And in the end the story was predictable and terribly depressing: at the end, the only person who had any money at all was the person who had it to start: Zou Zou.

Kathrine Kellgren is a remarkably talented voice artist. It's worth listening to any book she narrates if only to marvel at the range of convincing characterizations she can produce. And I find her narrative voice pleasant and soothing, which makes a cozy mystery like this great end-of-day listening. Like many series that become popular and demand a new book every year, the Royal Spyness stories are getting a little sloppy. While it was a great relief to have a lot less Queenie (and less of Georgie's casually cruel comments to her), there is an awful lot of exposition, repetition, tiresome hand-wringing and just general wheel-spinning in this story. Very little happens, and the one small moment of potential danger is oddly minor and greatly overblown. There are some sweet new characters and the change of scenery is a pleasure, so definitely a pleasant way to spend half an hour or so before bed. But I do hope the next book will be better plotted and more tightly written. I found myself getting very impatient the fifth time somebody reiterated the same specious reason why the obvious culprit couldn't have done it.

I have to say that this installment just didn't hold my attention. Queenie needs to go...or I need to stop buying the books. She is a very annoying character. How many more times do we need to read about her inadequacies? As for Darcy and Georgie, either move them on in their relationship or end it. Ten books worth of "almost but not quite" is enough. I felt that the need to get all the regulars into the story and then introduction of so many new characters was taking space from the main story: getting Darcy and Georgie together. Dialog with the regulars has become repetitive over the last few books. As much as I have enjoyed the past books, I do know that I will not preorder the next book. Before I pay $13 for a Kindle ebook, I will download a sample to see if it is worth the price.

Heaven knows why. These stories revolving around an aristocrat daughter of a Scots Duke and her now fiancée Darcy are entertaining and light hearted. In this novel, an elopement is held due to a blizzard, and then cancelled when it is found that Darcy's father has been arrested for murder.First Darcy and then Georgie go to Ireland to support the father, and to investigate the murder. We are introduced to an exotic Polish princess, who is both beautiful and rich. It all ones together in rather a rush, and one feels that the author was in a hurry to get the job done.

I love this series, and the latest book is one of the best.How do you set about proving a man's innocence when even he thinks he's done it?! Leave it to Georgie... with a little help from her friends.

I always enjoy the Georgiana stories, and this was a good one, set in Ireland.

Another entertaining episode in the Royal Spyness series, but the price is ludicrously high. What are the publishers thinking of?

Great book love the series