A Royal Pain

By: Rhys Bowen

Narrated by: Katherine Kellgren

Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

The Queen of England has concocted a plan in which penniless aristocrat Lady Georgie is to entertain a Bavarian princess and conveniently place her in the playboy prince's path, in the hopes that he might finally marry.

But queens never take money into account. Georgie has very little, which is why she moonlights as a maid-in-disguise. She must draw up plans: clean house to make it look like a palace; have Granddad and her neighbor pretend to be the domestic staff; un-teach Princess Hanni the English she's culled from American gangster movies; cure said princess of her embarrassing shoplifting habit; and keep an eye on her at parties.

Then there's the worrying matter of the body in the bookshop and Hannis' unwitting involvement with the Communist Party. It's enough to drive a girl crazy.

Listen to more Royal Spyness mysteries.

©2008 Janet Quin-Harkin (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

• Macavity Award, Historical Mystery, 2009

"All the characters from the first book in this rollicking series are present here - Georgie's much-married actress mother, her kind-hearted and resourceful Cockney grandfather, her sophisticated friend Belinda and the enigmatic Darcy O'Mara, a penniless Irish peer to whom Georgie finds herself attracted. There are also fleeting references to the war clouds that are gathering in Europe and the rise of fascism at home and abroad, both of which are neatly tied in with the murders and their solution. It works - both as a grand period piece and a lighthearted and completely diverting mystery." (The Denver Post)

Royal Fun Again!!💖❤️

This book is fun and delightful!! The narrator is wonderful!! Katherine Karen is terrific with all her different excellent voices! I’m ready for Rhys Bowen next book in this series .
Thank you
Leslie😊

Put that cupcake down!

Looking for a fun sweet read during the Pandemic while painting the garage. This is the series for you. Start and stop easy to follow. Turn off the news and accomplish something with a good read in the background. What's next why the next volume of the series of course and another project.

Outstanding Story

Loved the story. I had to force myself to stop listening to pursue other necessary activities. I

Georgie at her best

What did you love best about A Royal Pain?

She is so funny...so innocent. Loved her as a maid...and as an escort LOL

Fun

What made the experience of listening to A Royal Pain the most enjoyable?

Great book for light, fun, listening. Good in the car, or while out walking.

What does Katherine Kellgren bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I find the naraters voice a bit grating, but ok.

Love the easy listening, british humor genre

If you love british humor, love mysteries and love to make some fun of the "stiff british upper lift" than these series are for you. They are easy listening and delightful. I'd say if on sale, get two, regular priced, wait til you have listen to number one, and if you enjoy it, go for it.

Great

Loved it! I'd even pay for it with real money. Great series and excellent narration!!!!

Light and Fluffy

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

If my friend were looking for something that required almost no brain power to understand and enjoy, then, yes I would recommend this audiobook. But if that friend were looking for even a hint of mystery or intrigue, I would guide them elsewhere. This book is great if you just need to let your mind relax and unwind after a long, stressful day. It's a no-thought-required storyline.

Would you be willing to try another book from Rhys Bowen? Why or why not?

I'm still undecided on whether or not I'll continue this series. The first book was fun and fresh. But this time around, I had hoped for a little something more in terms of plot and character development. It seemed to me as though Rhys Bowen played it safe in this second endeavor. The things that I loved from the first book were either completely missing, or just got on my nerves this time around. The storyline is completely predictable, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it just felt like a carbon copy of the first novel. Going into the book, I knew to expect something light, with very little thinking required, and that's exactly what this book gave me. And there was absolutely no character development. Our heroine Georgie is ditzy and naive, but completely likable in the first book, but this time around, it's just too much. She spends the majority of the book worrying about her possible exile to the countryside to become her great aunt's companion, and barely even concerns herself with the number of people dying around her. I had hoped that after the events of the first book that she would've become a little more savvy, but she seems to have gone the opposite direction instead.But, having said all of that, I'm still not sure if I'll abandon the series or not. Some of the side characters, like Georgie's grandad and mother were absolutely hilarious and I always looked forward to the scenes that they were in. And as I said before, it was a nice book to use to relax and unwind. I never worried if I zoned out and missed part of the story because there wasn't really a lot to miss in terms of moving the story ahead.

Love Series

Its such a wonderful lighthearted listen with just the right amount of seriousness, love it!

An Enjoyable Second Outing with Lady Georgiana

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend this book to a friend who was interested in the period of time between WWI and WWII who also had an interest in the Royal Family of Great Britain and who also loved mysteries.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

It did in a way that kept me guessing on who I suspected to be the villain as well as where the plot was going. It is by no means a hardcore mystery, but enough clues and red herrings are set out to where it is fair in the grand tradition of English mysteries.

What about Katherine Kellgren’s performance did you like?

She is very expressive and to my non-native ear good at the various regional and societal dialects. I

Any additional comments?

I recommend this audiobook for the story as well as it's performance. This is especially recommended to someone who is interested in light mystery without criminal procedural bogging down the story. I believe mystery novels set in or written during this time place are more entertaining as novels because many modern criminal detections were not yet invented or widely used.