by Rhys Bowen Book list It's the Depression, but not for the titled nobility in England or for movie moguls in Hollywood. Despite being thirty-fifth in line for the throne, Lady Victoria Georgiana Charlotte Eugenie Rannoch, called Georgie, depends on the hospitality of others while she waits for her true love, adventurer Darcy O'Mara, to make enough money so they can marry. She is delighted when her mother, actress Claire Daniels, sweeps in to take her on a transatlantic cruise to New York and on to Las Vegas, where Claire will seek a divorce. Making the acquaintance of shipmate and movie mogul Cy Goldman, Claire and Georgie add Hollywood to their itinerary. But there are shadows over their trip. Georgie thinks she saw a body thrown overboard, Darcy shows up in pursuit of a jewel thief, and, to cap it off, while hosting a weekend house party at his secluded castle, Goldman is found murdered. Bowen moves the classic country-house mystery to a glitzy California castle, portrays real and Hollywood-made celebrities, and adds romance in an engagingly madcap adventure.--Muller, Karen Copyright 2014 Booklist From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission. Publishers Weekly Bowen's eighth Royal Spyness mystery (after 2013's Heirs and Graces) is a showcase for the series' many strengths. The year 1934 finds Lady Georgiana Rannoch, an impoverished cousin of George V, adrift, with nothing particular to do in the Kent countryside. The arrival of her scandalous actress mother, Claire Daniels, lifts her out of the doldrums. In need of a quickie divorce in Nevada, Claire invites her daughter to join her on a trip to America. Georgie and her anti-Jeeves of a maid, the hapless Queenie, set sail on the Berengaria, aboard which they become involved in the search for a legendary jewel thief. This quest involves a murder investigation once the ocean liner lands in the U.S. Fans of P.G. Wodehouse looking for laughs mingled with some amateur sleuthing will be quite pleased (e.g., when a passenger asks the Berengaria's captain, "Do ships like this sink very often?," he dryly responds, "Only once"). Agent: Meg Ruley, the Jane Rotrosen Agency. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved Library Journal In her latest adventure (after Heirs and Graces), Lady Georgianna Rannoch, 35th in line for the British throne, agrees to accompany her many-times-married mother from Britain to Reno, so that her mother can sign a quick divorce in order to proceed directly to another upcoming nuptial. The tides turn as Georgie's mother meets movie producer Cy Goldman on the ship and is swept away by the promise of a lead part in his new film. The tale quickly turns to tragedy when Cy is murdered and Georgie must step into the role of sleuth once again to discover not only the killer but a suspected jewel thief as well. VERDICT Georgie's effervescent spirit and Bowen's prose are light as air, adding pizzazz to an already amusing and intriguing 1930s-era mystery. (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. (c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. |
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