Book Review: The Proof of the Pudding by Rhys Bowen (Royal Spyness Mysteries #17)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Intriguing mystery with characters we love and some fun cameos

Cons: The book has a lot of setup

The Bottom Line:

Poison at dinner

But is her new chef guilty?

Fans will love this one

Of Poison Gardens and Poisonous Dinner Parties

I’ve been reading Rhys Bowen’s books for a long time now across several different series.  It’s always a pleasure to return to one of her worlds.  The Proof of the Pudding is the seventeenth in her Royal Spyness series and it is one that fans will enjoy.

The series focuses on a minor royal in 1930’s England.  Lady Georgiana, Georgie to her family and friends, is a distant cousin to the king, but since she is so far from the royal line, she has had more of a struggle living life in depression and the transitions going on in society during the time.  Her situation has stabilized now as she is living with her husband at her godfather’s estate in the English countryside.  Now, her biggest struggles are dealing with servants and preparing for the birth of her first child.  Oh, and murder.

In this case, murder strikes after a dinner party that her neighbor is hosting.  Sir Mortimer Mordred writes Gothic horror novels, and he’s opened up his estate to show off his famous poison garden filled with poisonous plants.  The event is a fund raiser, but as a special fund raiser, he is hosting a dinner party for a select few guests, mostly those willing to pay for the privilege.  And he’s borrowed Georgie’s new French chef for the event.

The evening seems to go well, but the next day, some of the guests get sick with more than food poisoning.  All the evidence seems to point to Georgie’s chef.  But Georgie doesn’t believe he is guilty of poisoning the guests.  Can she figure out what is really going on?

This book has a long set up before we really get into the mystery.  However, this is a standard feature of Rhys’s books, so I knew to expect that going in.  Once people start getting sick, however, things really heat up, and I had a hard time putting the book down.  There are several questions that keep Georgie, and us, stumped.  While the climax isn’t a traditional climax, it absolutely works here and all of our questions are answered.

We have quite a large collection of characters in this series, and we got at least cameos by most of them here.  Obviously, some play a larger part in the story than others.  It’s wonderful to spend time with them again, and I truly love seeing how their relationships continue to build.

The cast of new characters are strong and help pull us into the mystery.  There are a few real people who cameo in this book, which is always fun.  And Georgie gets a new side kick to her sleuthing, and I loved this new partnership.  I was smiling any time this character was on the page.

This series has always featured a dose of humor as Georgie finds herself in some funny predicaments.  That continues here with several scenes that made me laugh and plenty of others that brought grins.

At the same time, the situation in the world is growing dimmer.  The real world does intrude on the events of the novel at times, but the humorous and serious tones are balanced well.  I can’t quite see how that tone will be kept as we inch closer to World War II, but this gives me faith that it can happen.

The Proof of the Pudding will keep fans happily turning pages.  It has everything we’ve come to expect from this fun historical series.

Be sure to check out the rest of the Royal Spyness books.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.