Naughty in Nice

By: Rhys Bowen

Narrated by: Katherine Kellgren

Length: 9 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's summary

The national best-selling author of Royal Blood whisks her heroine away to the French Riviera for fun-and danger.

Lady Georgiana Rannoch has once again been called into service by Her Majesty the Queen. This time she's sent to Nice on a secret assignment that's nothing to sneeze at: recover the Queen's stolen snuff box.

As much of an honor as it is to be trusted by Her Majesty, an even greater honor awaits Georgie in Nice - as Coco Chanel herself asks Georgie to model her latest fashion. But when a necklace belonging to the Queen is stolen on the catwalk, Georgie has to find two priceless items - and solve a murder. How's a girl to find any time to go to the casino?

Listen to more Royal Spyness mysteries.

©2011 Janet Quin-Harkin (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Katherine Kellgren's performance encompasses an astonishing range of personalities while remaining true to her impoverished sleuth's impeccable enunciation…Kellgren, undaunted by the burgeoning cast of characters, supplies plenty of distinctive accents and jaunty tones. The delighted listener wants the story to go on and on.” ( Audiofile)

"Fans of Peter Lovesey''s hilarious books transforming the future Edward VII into an unlikely sleuth will relish Bowen''s whimsical fifth Royal Spyness mystery starring Lady Georgiana Rannoch, 34th in line to the British thrown (after 2010''s Royal Blood). Bowen successfully melds a whodunit with comedy as few contemporary writers can." ( Publishers Weekly, starred review)

"The best part of this delicious series is the cast of characters (well known and otherwise), led, of course, by the level-headed and stiff- upper-lipped Georgiana, who tackles whatever is in front of her, be it murder or romance, with uncommon relish. A royal romp." ( Booklist)

my favorite cozy series

this is my favorite series and for me, the best book in the series.

Entertaining

I love these stories. Narrator does an excellent job and holds my interest in the story. Georgie is very entertaining.

Devoured it

I will keep this short. I started listening to this series earlier this week. I am all caught up now and feeling really despondent that there are not anymore to listen to now. A great mix of mystery, humor, history and romance. There is not a dull moment. The heroine is fabulous, fun supporting cast and a truly fabulous setting.

Katherine Kellgren could read the phone book and make it sound fun.

Such a delight

I enjoy this series so much and this book in partuclar because the getting-repetitive love interest figures very little. However, Coco Chanel and the often absent mother are nice additions. The main character, who is a minor and penniless royal, is sent by the Queen of England to the French Riviera to quietly retrieve stolen item of her majesty's. Of course it's never as simple as it starts out. The mystery is challenging, yet not too dour or dark in tone. The author does a good blancing act in this respect. The setting is well described and lively. The reader is top notch and I enjoy every word and detail.

One of my favorite series!

STORY - (fun mystery) OMG, I just love these books! The mysteries are cleverly complicated, the characters are wonderful and it's all intertwined with just plain fun. Georgiana, the main character, is 35th in line to the throne of England, but the story is set during the depression and she is penniless. She survives through the help of friends, her own cleverness, and spying for the Queen. In this book she is sent to Nice, France to quietly recover (steal back) a snuff box that was stolen from the Queen.

Seems like all the zany main characters end up in Nice as well, and Georgie ends up in another of her many predicaments. I enjoyed this book immensely from beginning to end. It is an easy listen but will keep you guessing about many mysterious things that pop up along the way, and you will likely laugh out loud at Georgie's antics and those of her friends.

PERFORMANCE - Katherine Kellgren reads this book. Her work is always amazing, and this is no exception. If you listen to the sample, you will learn that some of the characters are kind of "overdone," like the snobby British royalty and Georgie's promiscuous best friend Belinda, but IMHO that just adds to the delightfulness of the story and the performance.

OVERALL - There is no cursing in this book. As far as sex, there are mentions of passion and Georgie is chased around a yacht by its fat, amorous owner, but nothing else. There are a couple killings, but they just create mystery and are not gory. Each book in this series stands alone, but the slow-moving romance between Georgie and Darcy grows a little bit with each book. Darn it, I want them to get together!!! Highly, highly, highly recommended for girls of all ages, maybe not so much for guys because of all the girly fun.

More good fun, even out of order

I seemed to have missed this book when I was reading the series, but even listened to out of order, it's still ripping good fun. Our heroine travels to the Riviera on assignment from the Queen, manages to solve 2 mysteries, return the Royal jewels, uncover a forger, and still have time for sun, fun, and romance. What more could a reader want?

The only shortcoming in this installment is the over-the-top cliche of the French police detective, made worse by the Inspector Clouseau accent used by the narrator. I wish the narrator (otherwise wonderful) had toned it down a little and made the character still annoying but less of a laughable cliche.

Funny and Foolish

The Royal Spyness series is like a tray of eclairs. So delicious, so full of flavor and little bursts of surprises. You promise yourself you aren't going to have another, but they are simply irresistible.

This is not serious lit-ra-chure. It is entertainment, and I recommend it highly as such.

Great Fun Fantastic Narrator.

I am listening to the series and I really love it. There is nothing special I could say about this particular book other than I love the Narrator and the time period the whole series is set in. Start with book one and work your way through and you will have a blast.

Interesting Cast of Characters

Didn't enjoy this is much as the last one, but the location was lots of fun and the cast of characters quite entertaining. And of course, Katherine Kellgren was wonderful.

Predictable but oh such fun to listen to

I must admit that this is like a Italian meringue, sweet, light without much substance. But it sure is fun to listen to. I will say it got a little too Perils of Pauline-y for me at one point but, quelle surprise, it all comes out OK .