by Rhys Bowen
Part of Her Royal Spyness, book 3
First published 2009
Lady Georgiana finds herself broke when her London housecleaning service loses its wealthy clients for the summer season. Her attempt at working as a social companion goes badly wrong when her first client expects more than dinner conversation. To escape the resulting scandal, Georgiana retreats to Castle Rannoch in Scotland. There she faces multiple impossible tasks. The Queen has asked her to prevent a divorced American woman from seducing the Prince of Wales. Scotland Yard secretly recruits her to protect the Prince from a potential assassin during the shooting party at Balmoral. Meanwhile, she must endure her manipulative sister-in-law Fig and her weak-willed brother Binky. Georgiana navigates royal protocol, family drama, and genuine danger while trying to fulfill her conflicting duties. The thirty-fourth in line to the throne discovers that being a penniless aristocrat comes with unexpected responsibilities that could determine the fate of the monarchy itself.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, adventure, mystery, cozy-mystery
Vibes: fast-paced, intimate, suspenseful
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: Balmoral, Castle Rannoch, London, Scotland
Period: 20th-century
306 pages · Hardcover · Berkley Publishing Group