Book Review: Four Funerals and Maybe a Wedding by Rhys Bowen (Royal Spyness Mysteries #12)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Character growth, compelling mystery, lots of fun

Cons: Slow start, repetitive early sub-plot

The Bottom Line:

Wedding planning and

Mysteries at country estate

Make up this fun book

Is It the Summer of Weddings for Lady Georgianna?

Over the last several books in the Royal Spyness series, we’ve been building to several different weddings.  Both Lady Georgianna’s mother and grandfather are looking to get remarried while Georgie herself is planning her wedding to Darcy O’Mara.  All of these weddings are planned for the summer of 1935, which just happens to be the time period for Four Funerals and Maybe a Wedding, the latest in the series.

Georgie is discovering that planning a wedding when you are a member of the royal family is tricky.  Even though she is giving up her claim on the throne since Darcy is an Irish Catholic, she is still related to the royal family, and Queen Mary is expecting to be invited as well as offering suggestions on who from the European royals might want to attend.

But the biggest concern that Georgie and Darcy are facing is where they will live when they are married.  The solution comes from the most unlikely place when they are offered a country manor half an hour from London.  Georgie heads out to begin setting it up for after the wedding, but she quickly discovers that something isn’t right.  She expected the skeleton staff, but something about the servants doesn’t seem right.  What is really going on?

The book starts with the usual updates on the people in Georgie’s life as well as some wedding plans.  Those who are familiar with the series won’t be surprised by this since many books in the series take some time with set up and characters updates.  I did find this part a little slow, but my biggest issue with this part of the book was a sub-plot that was very recycled.  I was really hoping that Georgie had matured beyond this by now.

However, once Georgie arrives at her potential new home, things definitely pick up.  This isn’t a typical murder mystery plot, and I loved the book for it.  Instead, it incorporates some Gothic elements as Georgie tries to figure out what in the world is going on.  This part kept me glued to the page as I couldn’t wait to find out what would happen next.  And the climax?  Wonderful!  In fact, I found the entire final part of the book to be very satisfying.

I was also very impressed with the character growth we saw in Georgie in this portion of the book.  I couldn’t picture the Georgie of the earlier books dealing with what she faces here, yet she does it with style.  She isn’t the only character I enjoyed in this portion of the book.  I won’t spoil who it is, but there is another character who has changed quite a bit for the better.  And it’s a character I used to despise, too.  The rest of the cast is wonderful as well, but these two really stood out to me.

Wondering if there is a wedding or three?  I’m not going to spoil that for you, you’ll need to read the book yourself to find out.

Fans of this series will be very satisfied by Four Funerals and Maybe a Wedding.  This is another fun visit with our favorite minor royal.

And if you need more, check out the rest of the Royal Spyness Mysteries in order.

NOTE: I received a copy of this book.

Giveaway!

Thanks to the publisher, I have one copy of this book to give away.  Because it is a physical book, the contest is limited to residence of the US.

Just leave me a comment with your e-mail address so I can get in touch with you if you win.  I will pick the winner Thursday August 23rd, so please leave your comment before midnight Pacific Time on 8/23.  You will have until midnight on 8/28 to get back to me, or I will choose a new winner on 8/29.