CBR12 Bingo: Gateway
I love cozy mysteries, but what I’ve been realizing is that I often love the idea a lot more than the execution. It seems like so many cozies are full of characters I don’t really like, or they’re kind of dull, or they’re just badly written. I’m so happy to have discovered the Her Royal Spyness series, where I love the characters, the plots are interesting, and they’re also funny and engaging.
Naughty in Nice is actually the 5th book in the series (I reviewed the first one a couple weeks ago), but it’s my favorite so far so I chose it for the Gateway square. It finds our plucky heroine, Lady Georgiana Rannoch, 35th in line to the British throne, on a trip to the French Riviera. As it happens Georgie is not actually rich enough to vacation on the Riviera–but her cousin Queen Mary has dispatched her here with a mission–find the antique snuffbox that a dreadful nouveau riche antique collector stole from the queen, and bring it home.
Georgie runs into Coco Chanel (as one does), who asks her to model her latest fashions in her next show. Things go predictably wrong, thanks to Georgie’s legendary clumsiness, and soon after she finds herself wrapped up in a nasty murder investigation where she is, of course, the prime suspect.
All of the Her Royal Spyness books are witty, and while they do become formulaic after awhile, they benefit greatly from Georgie’s likability. The other characters are wonderful, as well–Georgie’s Cockney grandfather from the nonroyal side of her family, her daffy brother Binky and his sour wife Fig, her liberated best friend Belinda, her selfish and distracted mother, and of course her excellent love interest, Darcy O’Mara. I love this whole series, so far, and it would definitely be my first recommendation for anyone starting on cozy mysteries.
Completed bingo: Red, Gateway, Fresh Start, Cannonballer Says, Money!
Happy Half!!!!
Thank you! I didn’t even notice—that was my goal this year! Gotta keep going to get at least one more Bingo, though.