Her Royal Spyness

By: Rhys Bowen

Narrated by: Katherine Kellgren

Length: 8 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

Agatha Award-winning author Rhys Bowen’s charming combination of intrigue and romance blended with a touch of humor shines when performed by Audible Hall of Fame narrator Katherine Kellgren, whose deft range and impeccable accent work make it hard to believe this isn’t a multicast performance.

In this irresistible cozy set in 1930s London, Rhys Bowen introduces the lively Lady Victoria Georgiana Charlotte Eugenie—or "Georgie" for short. Despite standing 34th in line for the throne and occasionally having tea with (…and spying for!) Her Majesty the Queen, Georgie is penniless and down-on-her-luck. And just when it seems things might be looking up, she finds a body in her bathtub.

Listeners are sure to be hooked on this royally enjoyable series—and luckily for them, the collaboration between author and narrator only gets richer over the course of 12 books.

©2007 Janet Quin-Harkin (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

Much fun!

This book was a lot of fun and the narrator is absolutely fabulous. Her very distinctive voices for the many different characters is a joy to hear. The story was pretty good, though I kept listening wondering when the mystery was going to begin. It actually doesn't start until about halfway through the book. I really enjoyed the characters and the look at an interesting period of history. I'm going to listen to the next books in the series.

Wish there were more Rhys Bowen titles on Audible.

I absolutely loved this series of books and can't wait for Audible to release the next one. It is interesting how Rhys has managed to portray the Royal Family and events from the early '30's. Fun to read references to a young Queen Elizabeth. Also after release of the movie - The King's Speech - gives some more insights - especially funny how Mrs. Simpsonn is portrayed.
Rhys incorporates a mystery into each of these tales along with a wonderful sense of humour. There is a bit of romance, however it does not overshadow the main story line.
This book is most likely to appeal to those who are interested in historical references and who have some kowledge of the Royal family. Also life in the 1930's.
The main character is a terrific example of a young independent woman determined to make her own way in the world.

A welcome Discovery

I happened across this book and the series (had to buy all of them after the first) looking for something new and was very pleasantly surprised. For me the reader is as important as the story and Katherine Kellgren did a great job with these books. The stories are different & it's fun to hear about real historical characters the heroine meets along the way. It reminded me somewhat of the Amelia Peabody series read by Barbara Rosenblat which is one of my all time favorite listens. This was a welcome diversion.

Nice Mystery in Historical Setting

Would you listen to Her Royal Spyness again? Why?

This is the first time I've ever read or listened to anything by this author and I liked it alot!
I love strong, female heroines, especially ones that go against the social norm. It reminds me of the saying: "Women who behave rarely make history." This was a fun storyline, and I learned about England in the early 1900's; especially about class status and working norms. I would definitely recommend, and I would listen to one of her books again.

Terrific fun!

If you enjoy Brit-lit mysteries, this is a good romp through the aristocracy of the 1930's. What more could you want? A down and out Lady, 34th in the line of succession who cleans houses (not toilets, however) to make ends meet. Crazy relatives and even weirder characters abound. Wallace Simpson appears, and her verbal tussle with the heroine's mother is worth the price of the book. The mystery is fun, and it wasn't until the end of the book that the dastardly villain is revealed. The narration is wonderful!

Too many details, too little plot advancement

I did come into this book completely unaware of the "cozy" mystery genre, whatever that is, so I'm probably not the book's intended audience. Regardless, I was led by the title and description to think that there would be actual spying in this book, which sounded intriguing. Note: There's not really any spying of the actual spy variety. Instead you get a minor royal who has to try to adapt to life as a "penniless" younger sister of a duke and, along the way, does very minimal snooping at the behest of the Queen. The book gets mired down in the day-to-day details of her life. It would have been okay if we didn't get a step-by-step recitation of the things Georgie did, but it gets rather tiresome listening to, "And first Georgie did this. Then she did that. She followed it with that. Something else followed in logical sequence. Here's the next step too. Finally, she finished this small, menial task." To be fair, there are some interesting characters (well, mainly Belinda). Overall, though, this felt like the elevator muzak of reading. Oh, and the final piece of the murder mystery that drops in the last few moments of the book just seems completely out of place, which bothered me more than it should have.

The reader is generally good. She also does the Jacky Faber series. Unfortunately, the things that I find irritating in the reading of the Jacky Faber books are even more irritating here. The voice of panic she uses makes me want to wince. With Jacky, it's a little easier to forgive since she's essentially a child. Here, that whining tinge seems wholly inappropriate for a (minor) royal in her early 20s. Plow through those bits, though, and she does an excellent job distinguishing everyone and giving them character of their own.

Lovely

This is a sweet, charming and very entertaining mystery featuring a heroine you can really enjoy. I loved it because it was light and easy and just made me smile.
The narrator is Katherine Kellgren and I have to admit I picked the book because she was narrating it. She could read me the phone book and I'd probably love it. She is the best narrator by far that I've heard in recent years, and her range and reminds me at times of the great Frank Muller.

Love this start to a series

I’m not usually one to get into a book series especially not in this particular drama but somehow this one got me hooked. As a recent convert to audiobooks I especially love the narrator and her range of voices. Oftentimes if I can’t get into an audiobook a good reason is because the narrator brings nothing to the table and can sometimes even aid to a confusing plot by not having any differences between characters, dialogue and general plot. Katherine Kellgren does an excellent job in keeping you entertained and hooked throughout the whole book (and following series), I would recommend to anyone to give it a try!

Slow and not very mysterious

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

An unoffensive listen, it did help pass the time. However, there was really NO mystery until at least 2/3 way through the book. Character development was extensive and characters were likable. When mystery finally struck it was pretty flat and easily solved.

Would you recommend Her Royal Spyness to your friends? Why or why not?

Perhaps her next books in the series are more intriguing.

Have you listened to any of Katherine Kellgren’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Katherine Kellgren is an excellent narrator. She is easily understood with a wide variety to her character voices and a dynamic style. I chose this book specifically to listen to her again. She does a very nice job with the slow story that she has to work with.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Not likely

Well done little mystery..

Just a fun listen about a poor relation in setting of aristocrats. The narrator is a hoot!