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Georgie, who is thirty-fourth in line for the throne, has started to settle in her new life in London. She continues her cleaning service. However, she must do this in secret because it would cause a scandal if the Queen or anyone in her social circle found out. The fact that she cannot earn an honest living because she is royalty, even though her family is low on money, is ridiculous. The social rules of the elite during the Great Depression seem almost laughable.
Georgie’s life is turned upside down, though, when the Queen asks her to host a Bavarian princess—Princess Hanni in hopes that her son, the Prince of Wales, will meet her at social functions and fall in love with her. The Prince of Wales is currently having an affair with an American married woman (who is rather rude and nasty). The Queen is trying to put a wedge between them. On a side note, it is hilarious that I have not come across a positive American portrayal in the series yet.
Princess Hanni’s English language knowledge is limited, loves American gangster movies, and likes to shoplift. Additionally, she just left a convent, so she is inexperienced with the opposite sex. Georgie is overwhelmed in taking care of her. Since Georgie does not have servants, she must bring her grandfather and his female neighbor up to London to pretend to be her servants to the princess and her companion, a baroness.
One day, when Hanni and Georgie are out walking, they come across a Communist demonstration. Hanni seems sympathetic to the cause and becomes friendly with a young man named Sydney Roberts. He invites Hanni to the bookshop he works at in a shady part of London. They pay a visit one day and find his dead body. Two more people die in the novel. Georgie wonders if all these deaths are connected. Does any of this have to do with the Communist movement that is being pushed by some citizens in the country?
Motivated by getting Hanni back to her home country and by the insistence of the Queen, Georgie devotes herself to solving these murders. This series is growing on me, and I am really enjoying it. The Royal Spyness series is funny and thoughtful on social commentary for the time.
I am particularly intrigued in finding more about Darcy O’Mara, Georgie’s love interest. All the reader knows is that he is the son of a lord in Ireland, and he keeps involving himself in these murder cases. The reader receives a little clue at the end of the novel about his “job.” It does not answer everything, but hopefully, it is a step to uncovering the truth about him later in the series.
Next book in the series: Royal Flush
Review will probably be posted in February.