by Rhys Bowen
Part of Her Royal Spyness, book 1
First published 2007
Lady Victoria Georgiana Charlotte Eugenie has royal blood but empty pockets. The cousin of King George V must fend for herself in 1932 London, where she has mastered the basics of lighting fires and boiling eggs. Georgiana crashes weddings for free meals and earns money by scrubbing floors in secret. The Queen recruits her as a spy, adding intrigue to her already complicated life. Then Georgiana discovers a corpse in her bathtub. Someone wants her dead, and she must use her wits to survive while navigating the treacherous waters between her noble heritage and her desperate circumstances. This royal has traded her tiara for a mop, but murder may cost her everything.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, adventure, mystery, amateur-sleuth
Vibes: suspenseful, thought-provoking, whimsical
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: London
Period: 1932
324 pages · Paperback · Berkley Publishing Group