A fun cozy mystery read that gives just enough conspiracy and chaos to keep the reader engaged. I love that readers can read this as a standalone without having to read in order of release for each book within the The Royal Spyness Series. Read my entire review available at the link below.

Thank you for the chance to review this book, however, unfortunately, I was unable to read and review this title before it was archived.

It can feel a bit strange to find yourself reading the perfect summer read in the middle of winter, but that is where I found myself this past Winter Solstice. I was surprised, after I had finished, to learn that not only was it not the first in the series but that it was, in fact, the 11th of the series. I felt as if I knew these characters and parts of their past relationships. There was enough backstory to understand who they were but not enough to spoil any of the previous books.

It was lighthearted and yet focused on some interesting historical and societal norms of the times. The blending of historical fact and the creation of the author were so beautifully done it wouldn’t surprise me if the events had taken place. With strong multi-faceted characters and a well-written mystery, I am looking forward to adding the rest of the series to my TBR light reading lists.

*This eBook was provided by NetGalley and Berkley Books in exchange for honest feedback*

With a mission from the Queen on the one hand to find out exactly the situation of the young Prince's philanderings and the state of the monarchy as a result, and on the other hand trying to find out what her loved fiancee Darcy is upto, Lady Georgiana is charged with a mission. Is the Prince about to embark on a secret wedding with the infamous Mrs. Simpson and thwart the hopes of the Queen. Georgiana is entrusted with finding out the exact details and transferring them to the Palace.



To add to the complications, we have Belinda, her friend alone and friendless in an Italian convent sent there to deliver a baby so that no scandal would attach itself to her name when she returns back to London. Georgiana is also to see her and help out in whatever way she can.

Georgiana arrives at the Italian villa to face the people with whom she is supposed to spend a relaxing holiday. She hardly has any affection for any of them, including her hostess (her former school mate) who is very patronizing (having married into the Italian aristocracy!) Add to this to further complicate matters is Georgiana's erstwhile mother who has never publicly acknowledged her daughter with her latest husband. Her mother and others are being blackmailed by a guest and when the guest turns up dead and it is deemed a suicide by the local police and later changed by higher ups to murder, If Georgiana wants to get out of this and get back to Belinda, she needs to solve this murder.

The complications are fragmented and varied. It should normally be an irritating read because you jump from one topic to another. It is not. It is a fun read, light hearted and seems to follow a sequence which has no pattern but is nevertheless entertaining.

Goodreads and Amazon review posted on 29/12/2017. Review on my blog 30/12/2017.

I have never read a Rhys Bowen book I haven’t liked and On Her Majesty’s Frightfully Secret Service was as wonderful as anticipated. Lady Georgiana is bright and witty, Darcy is dashing and resourceful, and Georgiana’s mother is as elegant and nonchalant as ever. When Georgiana is asked by the Queen to keep an eye on her cousin The Duke of Wales who is traveling in Italy and make sure that “Simpson woman” (who possibly could be newly divorced) isn’t glomming on to him. Belinda, Georgiana’s best chum, just so happens to be nearby and the hijinks ensue. I really like how Georgiana has grown as a person over the length of the series and excited for her and Darcy to finally tie the knot and start their own family. Definitely recommend this excellent addition to the series and will be mostly patiently (sort of) awaiting the next installment.

Despite somehow having managed to read the first book and now the latest book in this series, I'm loving it. Bowen paints a lovely (and fairly realistic) picture of the time period and I am enjoying seeing Georgie become more self-assured and confident in her abilities. The portrayal of the Crown Prince and the horrid Mrs. Simpson was fantastic and I very much enjoyed meeting the new characters. I also am looking forward to seeing her relationship with Darcy progress. I can't wait for the next book (while I go back and play catch up with the series!).

Georgie is off for another adventure when she goes to Italy to help a sick friend and do a secret mission for the queen. Intrigue and murder follows. ARC from NetGalley.

Georgie finds herself with a locked room mystery when she goes to a house party at the request of the Queen. Once again Darcy shows up unexpectedly to provide back up but Georgie is the one to save the day. Their wedding seems to be getting closer while someone sets off to try and stop another wedding from taking place. I love Georgie and Darcy but am hoping they will someday tie the knot. I guess I will just have to wait and see what happens in the next book. This was a very nice mystery even though it was apparent to me if not to Georgie who the villain was.

I received a free copy of the book in return for an honest review.

I have only recently discovered Rhys Bowen. I knew of her as an author, but I had not read any of her books. This was my second book by her, but the first in this series.

I loved the whole conceptual idea of this series. Fictional characters placed and set in real life events with real life people. A great cozy mystery set in the early set during the Hitler/Mussolini pre-war era with a little romance, scandal and lots of royalty.

As I said this was my first book in this series and I am so sad that I haven't been following it all along.
Guess I have some additional reading to do! Look out tumbling TBR pile!

Thanks to Berkley Publishing and Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

When I requested this book, I did not know it was the middle of a series. I do not like to read books out of order therefore, I did not read this. Thank you for the E-ARC though.

re’s what is happening this time:

Description (via Net Galley)

In the new Royal Spyness Mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of Crowned and Dangerous, Lady Georgiana Rannoch juggles secret missions from the Queen, Darcy, and her mother. But it’s all in a day’s work when you’re thirty-fifth in line to the British Crown.
When Darcy runs off on another secret assignment, I am left to figure out how to travel to Italy sans maid and chaperone to help my dear friend Belinda, as she awaits the birth of her baby alone. An opportunity presents itself in a most unexpected way—my cousin the queen is in need of a spy to attend a house party in the Italian lake country. The Prince of Wales and the dreadful Mrs. Simpson have been invited, and Her Majesty is anxious to thwart a possible secret wedding.

What luck! A chance to see Belinda and please the queen as I seek her permission to relinquish my claim to the throne so I can marry Darcy. Only that’s as far as my good fortune takes me. I soon discover that Mummy is attending the villa party and she has her own secret task for me. Then, Darcy shows up and tells me that the fate of a world on the brink of war could very well depend on what I overhear at dinner! I shouldn’t be all that surprised when one of my fellow guests is murdered and my Italian holiday becomes a nightmare…

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Poor Georgie! Will she ever be able to marry Darcy?? Will good friend Belinda ever think of anyone except herself and her enjoyment? Will Georgie’s mother act like a mother for once?
You’ll have to read it to find out!
I hope Ms. Bowen continues writing these novels for quite some time. She’s a bit of an Agatha Christie — you just never get tired of her!
Thank you for my review e-copy!

Georgie's friend Belinda is in trouble and in need of TLC. As it happens, Belinda is staying quite near the place where Prince Edward will soon be visiting with his unsuitable friend, Wallis Simpson. The queen sends Georgie to see what's what with HRH. In the process, Georgie discovers plotting Nazis. Fans of cozy mysteries and historical fiction will love this latest installment in the series.

Rhys Bowen does not disappoint her fans with the last book of her Royal Spyness Series. It is unbelievable, but we have gotten to Book 11 of the series and we are still waiting for Georgie and Darcy’s wedding, it’s getting closer though and I am so looking forward to Book 12. As for Book 11, there are some lifechanging situations taking place for some of the characters, which I thought were well developed by Bowen and according to the period the events take place. One of the reasons I like this series is because the author chose to set it during the years just before the beginning of WWII and I often wonder what is going to happen to our major characters during and after this war. I hope the series ends before WWII begins and that is because I cared about these characters, Bowen has done a great job of endearing her characters to her fans. I know that they will suffer later but I so want to see them happily married and spend some happy months of marriage. Lastly, I just want to say that I hope one day some bright TV producer turns this book series into a mystery/comedy/romantic TV series; I really think that it will be a great success.

3.75 stars

The Royal Spyness series featuring Lady Georgie Rannoch is light, charming, and fun, and this entry continues that trend. Lady Georgie, a distant relation to the royal family, is a delightful and appealing character.

Georgie is at loose ends with her fiance Darcy off on a secret spy mission and her best friend Belinda waiting in Italy for her baby to be born. When the Queen finds out that Georgie is headed to Italy to assist her friend, she "asks" her to attend a house party and check up on the Prince of Wales and his still-married girlfriend, Wallis Simpson. Naturally, in the manner of Golden Age mysteries, the weekend gathering ends up producing a dead body. And it's quite a gathering: Hitler and Mussolini supporters and German officers bent on enlisting the Prince of Wales to their cause, Georgie's semi-estranged actress mother and her German fiance, and even Darcy -- disguised as an estate gardener.

Georgie's candor and basic decentness are refreshing, and humorous shenanigans abound. A fun and readable series. I was given an ARC via Net Galley in return for my honest review.

A frightfully good read! Wow! I'm glad this one wasn't missed by me. I'm new to this author, but this book rocked it. Between wars and mysteries and all of it, this book was historical and yet fun.

My copy came from Net Galley. My thoughts and opinions are my own. This review is left of my own free volition.

This was my first foray into this fun, well written, and well-developed series; and I must say, can't believe I missed ten 10 previous books! Well at least I can back I start from the beginning. Not to worry if you haven't read any either. Just pick one up and jump right in and join the sleuthing, you won't be lost. In this one, Georgie Rannoch, cousin to the Queen Mother, and 35th in line for the royal Crown, is on several missions. Her best friend, Belinda is hiding out in the Italian country-side because she is with child, i.e pregnant but without husband. Society did not look very fondly on this situation back in the 1930's. Georgie is trying to figure out and way to see Belinda when the Queen asks her to attend a gala party in the, guess where, yes: the Italian Lake Country conveniently near Belinda. The Queen wants to make sure the Prince of Wales is not planning to secretly wed Mrs. Simpson! Meanwhile, Georgie's boyfriend, so to be fiance, once she gets permission to marry him, is on a dangerous undercover mission. Of course, everything that could go wrong will go wrong once Georgie gets to the party. Would this be a fun mystery if it didn't! Add this series to your list. It's wonderful.

The title of Rhys Bowen’s 11th Royal Spyness mystery, On Her Majesty’s Frightfully Secret Service, accurately conveys a certain madcap insouciance. And, of course, Lady Georgiana—informally known as “royal sleuth Georgie Rannoch”—is the perfect choice to undertake a delicate assignment for Her Majesty Queen Mary since she is a member of the British Royal family, albeit frightfully remotely.

When royal sleuth Georgie Rannoch receives a letter from her dearest friend Belinda, who’s in an Italian villa awaiting the birth of her illegitimate baby, she yearns to run to her side. If only she could find a way to get there! But then opportunity presents itself in a most unexpected way—her cousin the queen asks her to attend a house party in the Italian Lake Country. The Prince of Wales AND the dreadful Mrs. Simpson have been invited, and Her Majesty is anxious to thwart a possible secret wedding.

The request from the queen comes at a very opportune time since Georgie is at a crossroads in London. She is engaged to the love of her life, but he’s an Irish Roman Catholic, so she is nervous the king and queen may not approve of her marriage. As always, money is tight, particularly since her brother—the duke—and his tight-fisted wife are very parsimonious. Darcy, her fiancé, is on a top-secret assignment, and lastly, she is worried about her old school friend Belinda and wants to get to her side.

As it happens, there couldn’t be a better time to toddle off to Lake Maggiore, near Stresa, because Belinda’s temporary home is in the neighborhood of an aristocratic house party that Queen Mary is anxious that Georgie attend. Who could possibly say no to a request from the wife of the British monarch that her relative join the gathering? How fortunate the hostess, now a countess, is an old “school chum” of Georgie’s, proclaims the Queen.

Oh no. Not another supposed dear friend I had either never heard of or long forgotten about? She had sprung these on me before when she wanted me to do something for her—usually something difficult or unpleasant.

“We were?”

“Well, maybe not bosom friends, as she must be a little older than you, but you were at the school in Switzerland at the same time. Waddell-Walker is the name.”

Ah yes, Camilla Waddell-Walker, or as Belinda referred to her, “Miss Cami-Knickers.” Georgie is legitimately nervous: will the queen want her “to crash the house party and steal some antique for her?” But the reason is both personal and a matter of state. The Prince of Wales and his lady-love, or as the queen phrases it, “a certain American woman I will not name,” are expected to be at the house party. Queen Mary is afraid David, as he is known within the family, plans to secretly marry Mrs. Simpson. Can Georgie be her “eyes and ears on the spot” and report back?

Now that she has gotten her own way, the queen feels “so much better.” Georgie, perhaps not so much.

I wasn’t quite sure what she wanted me to do. If they were actually getting married, I could hardly rush in as they were saying, “Do you know any cause or just impediment why these two may not be joined together in holy matrimony?” and shout out, “He’ll be the head of the Church of England and it forbids divorce and furthermore his mother forbids it.”

Of course, there’s no question that Georgie will undertake a mission for Queen Mary. Eventually, she arrives at her destination and everything goes awry. Perhaps “coffee and a rather sinful-looking pastry” will restore her spirits.

As I was trying not to eat too greedily I heard a laugh that I recognized and I looked up to see the last person I expected to meet. A small dainty person with platinum blond curls poking out from beneath a scarlet pill-box hat. She was wearing scarlet linen trousers and a royal blue jacket. Nobody could have gotten away with this attire but my mother.

It shows that Georgie is truly overwrought that she is actually happy to see “the most self-centered person in the world.” Can it be that her mother and her mother’s most-recent paramour are also guests at the house party by Lake Maggiore? Indeed. In fact, Georgie discovers that David and Mrs. Simpson are not the most alarming guests—there are Nazis!

Who should also appear but Georgie’s fiancé, Darcy, hot on the trail of the secret negotiations (and undercover as a delectable Italian gardener)?

“So you think this is a serious meeting between Hitler’s top chap and Mussolini’s man?”

“I do.”

A thought just occurred to me. “But the Prince of Wales? Where does he come into this?”

Darcy shook his head. “We have no idea. We were as curious as you are when we learned that he was coming here. This isn’t his usual type of hedonistic party with beautiful people. He doesn’t seem to be a close friend of any of the participants. So this is where you can be really helpful to me. I can only overhear snatches of conversation out in the grounds or near open windows. You can overhear whole conversations. Nobody sees you as a threat. You can wander into rooms by mistake, claim to be looking for a missing book in the library.

I went to say “crikey” again but swallowed it back. “You want me to be a real spy,” was what I managed to say.

Yes, Lady Georgiana, your country is in need of your service as a “real spy.” The turbulent events leading up to the Second World War make a fascinating backdrop to the 11th Royal Spyness Mystery, On Her Majesty's Frightfully Secret Service. There’s mayhem and madcap galore, up to a point, but with serious and sobering underpinnings. Rhys Bowen deftly weaves historical facts throughout this mostly lighthearted mystery.

Absolutely love Rhys Bowen's books. As WWII draws near, the Germans and Italians are banding together in a 'house party' in an over the top Italian villa, with, of course Prince David and his awful Mrs. Simpson joining the guests. Georgie - who is going to the area to visit her dear friend, Belinda, is asked by the Queen to stop by the house party and make sure David and Mrs. Simpson aren't marrying in secret. Then things get even more interesting. Can't wait for the next one in this series!

I had never read anything by Rhys Bowen, but recently I noticed reviews of her books popping up here and there. When Netgalley offered On Her Majesty’s Frightfully Secret Service, I was intrigued. What I found was a frothy story of intrigue. This novel is the 11th in her “Her Royal Spyness” historical mystery series.

Bowen’s heroine is Georgie Rannock, the sister of a duke and 34th in line for the throne. She is on the impoverished side of the family, though. It is 1935, and Georgie is staying at the ancestral home of her fiancé, Darcy, at Kilkenny Castle in Ireland while they plan their wedding. Since Darcy is Catholic, Georgie may not marry him unless she renounces all claim to the throne, and to do so, she must have permission from the throne.

Darcy is employed by the government in some secret capacity, and he is called away. In his absence, Georgie decides to pop over to London after receiving a belated summons by Queen Mary. In her late mail, she also finds a plea from her friend, Belinda, who is in Italy. Belinda has gotten pregnant and is hiding out in Italy until she goes across the lake to Switzerland to have her baby. She wants Georgie to stay with her.

Summoned to tea at Buckingham Palace, Georgie goes to discuss her wedding difficulties with Queen Mary. When the Queen learns her immediate destination in Italy, she proposes getting Georgie invited to a swank house party there. The Prince of Wales and Mrs. Simpson will be attending, and the Queen wants to know if Mrs. Simpson has her divorce.

At the house party, Georgie finds herself enmeshed in more than one drama. Her mother, the famous actress, is there, and she is being blackmailed. Some of the party are German generals, and something seems to be going on with them. And soon there is a murder.

I mildly enjoyed this little romp, although I knew who the murderer was even before the murder (if that makes sense). That is, I noticed something immediately and once there was a murder, knew who it was as a result. Perhaps I would have enjoyed the novel more if I had started with the beginning of the series. Georgie gets herself into some ridiculous situations, the murder is worked by a bone-headed Italian policeman, and the novel is just silly fun.

On Her Majesty's Frightfully Secret Service is hands down my favorite read so far this summer. I wasn't sure exactly what to expect when I first sat down to read it but after the first few pages I was hooked.

Georgiana Rannoch is ready to be married to the love of her life but there is one little snafu. Georgie is thirty-fifth in line to the British throne and the only way she can marry her love is to renounce her claim to the throne. The Queen has one little mission for Georgie before she can continue with her wedding plans, and before long she is at a house party in a beautiful villa in Italy. Georgie is supposed to be keeping an eye on her cousin Prince David and his lady friend Wallis Simpson but soon everyone's attention goes to solving a murder that has happened inside the house.

As the story unfolds everyone becomes a suspect and every time you think you know who could be the murderer there is another twist in the story. There are parts of the story that are a little predictable but all in all it was such a fun read. If you've never read any of the other Royal Spyness books, like myself, that is not a problem. The author did a wonderful job of filling in the gaps so I never once felt lost.

This is the first book that I've read by Rhys Bowen and I can honestly say that I am in love with both the author's writing style as well as her attention to detail. The imagery is amazing and even though On Her Majesty's Frightfully Secret Service is set in the 1930's, and in Europe, you can see the characters, the villa, and the beautiful Italian countryside.

I would highly recommend On Her Majesty's Frightfully Secret Service to anyone who likes a good mystery. You fall in love with the characters and genuinely want to know what's going to happen to them. I plan on reading the other books in the Royal Spyness series and cannot wait to see where the next book takes Georgie Rannoch.