Protecting Royal Love
With so many wonderful series out there, I don’t always get back to them as quickly as I’d like to. Which is why it took me a year to read the second Sparks and Bainbridge Mystery after enjoying the first. But I’m glad I finally picked up A Royal Affair.
This series is set in 1946 London. Iris Sparks, a former British operative, and Gwen Bainbridge, a war widow, have teamed up to start The Right Sort Marriage Bureau as their part in the effort to help life go back to normal. Their business is just beginning to take off, helped by some recent publicity, when they get a surprising visit.
Someone has sent Princess Elizabeth a letter hinting at a scandal in the past of Prince Philip. The letter was intercepted, and Iris and Gwen have been approached to find out if there is any truth to the scandal or not. Since it is believed that the two royals are heading for an engagement by the end of the summer, time is of the essence.
When Iris and Gwen begin digging in to see if there is truth behind the insinuation, they hit dead ends and uncertain connections. Can they find out if someone is about to out a royal scandal?
This book jumped right into the story. While it had a quick detour or two, it stayed pretty focused throughout the book. There was plenty of history, in an entertaining way, and some fantastic twists on the way to the climax. While the climax did answer all the questions, I feel like the story was a bit too convoluted than it needed to be. But maybe that’s just me.
Iris and Gwen are two very different women, and they complement each other so well. That’s the case again here. It really does take both of them and their connections to solve the case, and I appreciate that. They are partners in the business and in the case. I was a bit disappointed we didn’t get too much advancement on sub-plots about their personal lives introduced in the first book, but that’s minor. They are very real characters, and the rest of the cast of characters rise to match them.
Obviously, this book brings in real world events since the plot involves some real people. That didn’t hurt the suspense at all because I was still very curious exactly what was going on. I also enjoyed the picture of life after the second world war in a city that was hit hard.
What I’d forgotten from the first book was the humor. I laughed quite a bit as the story went along. The banter between Iris and Gwen is fantastic. And their reaction to the events and others they encounter adds to the fun. The book takes itself seriously when it needs to, but I enjoyed getting to have fun with them along the way.
The book is told from multiple points of view. We mostly get the story from Gwen and Iris’s points of view, which helps us since they are sometimes investigating on their own. These breaks are always clear and easy to follow.
Reading A Royal Affair reminded me just why I enjoyed the first one so much. Now, to make time to read the next in the series sooner rather than later.
Be sure to match with the rest of the Sparks and Bainbridge Mysteries.
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