An Invasion of Guests
It’s been interesting watching the historical arcs develop in Rhys Bowen’s Royal Spyness Mysteries. Even knowing what was coming there, I was fascinated to see how it would play out on the page. We get to see the next part of that, along with mystery and mayhem, in We Three Queens, the eighteenth book in the series.
If you are new to the series, it features Lady Georgiana, a minor royal in 1930’s England. While the early books spent time on her trying to survive even though she was penniless, she is now married with a baby and a stable if still not wealth home.
When the book opens, it is October 1936, and Lady Georgie is enjoying her life as a new mother. Things have been quiet for a few months, and she’s happy about that. Unfortunately, that is going to change.
First comes a request from Georgie’s cousin, King Edward, that they host his love, Wallis Simpson, so the press doesn’t hound her while he tries to convince Parliament to change the law so he can marry her. Then, Georgie’s brother and sister-in-law arrive to stay while they try to find a good school for their son.
But trouble really arrives when Sir Hubert, Georgie’s godfather and the owner of the estate where Georgie lives, returns home with a film crew in tow. They are filming a movie about King Henry VIII, and they think the house is perfect for some of the locations. Georgie’s trying to make the best of it, but when someone vanishes from the house, things really get out of hand. Can Georgie figure out what happened?
As I said, we’ve been following the saga of Edward and Mrs. Simpson since the beginning of the series, and I’ve enjoyed watching it unfold. I was glad to see it as a strong subplot in this book.
But things really don’t kick off until the film crew arrives in full force. Unfortunately, even then, I found the plot uneven. The story did reach a logical and satisfying climax, but it wasn’t as strong overall as I would have liked.
The story is saved by the characters. I really do love Georgie and the others, and it was fantastic to spend time with them again. There were a couple of the regulars we didn’t hear from here, but it would have just slowed things down to shoehorn them in, so it works for me. The new characters fit flawlessly into Georgie’s world.
Fans will definitely enjoy catching up with Georgie and getting a front row seat to a little more history in We Three Queens. If you are new to the series, I recommend you start with an earlier book. You’ll appreciate this one so much more that way.
Be sure to check out the rest of the Royal Spyness books.
NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.
I've only read a few in this series but have always enjoyed them. I may need to pick this one up.
ReplyDeleteI really liked this one too but do agree the mystery was uneven. It took so long for there to be any sort of mystery at all.
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