Crowned and Dangerous by Rhys Bowen

Crowned and Dangerous (Royal Spyness Mystery, #10)

by Rhys Bowen

Lady Georgiana Rannoch knows nothing is simple when you’re thirty-fifth in line for the British crown, but her upcoming marriage proves to be the ultimate complication in the tenth mystery in the New York Times bestselling Royal Spyness series.

As Lady Georgiana's beloved Darcy drives her out of London, she soon discovers that he isn’t planning to introduce her to the pleasures of sinning in secret—as she had hoped—but to make her his wife! 

Of course, she'll need special permission from the king to marry a Roman Catholic. Though he will inherit a title, Darcy is as broke as Georgie. Even his family’s Irish castle has been sold to a rich American who now employs his father. 

Nothing will deter them from their mission—except perhaps the news that Georgie's future father-in-law has just been arrested for murdering the rich American. With the elopement postponed, they head for Ireland, where the suspect insists he’s innocent, and it’s up to them to prove it—for better or worse.

Reviewed by MurderByDeath on

3.5 of 5 stars

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In just about any other cozy series, this one would be a 4 star read, but Bowen has set her own standard rather high, and this one comparatively speaking, doesn't quite match up.   

My biggest beef with it was the oh so worn out trope of weddingtus interruptus, followed by the even worse "we can never be together again; I'm only thinking of you" cliche.  I get that she's trying to string this romance out as long as possible but I expected better from this author.   

Even still, the read was a lot of fun; you can't help love these characters and in this adventure Bowen even gets me to warm to Queenie, the living embodiment of TSTL.  We get an up close and personal introduction to Darcy's family and a visit to the ancestral castle in Ireland.   The mystery was, so-so.  I think it was sort of obvious who the players were but not how the story was going to come together.  

The author notes at the end what is historical fact and what she's taken liberties with and turned into (slight) fiction.   All in all a pleasant way to while away the afternoon.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 26 August, 2016: Finished reading
  • 26 August, 2016: Reviewed