Royal Blood

By: Rhys Bowen

Narrated by: Katherine Kellgren

Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

The Royal Spyness series continues with an all-new mystery of "the British monarchy...a wedding in Transylvania...[and] wonderful characters." (#1 New York Times best-selling author Charlaine Harris).

Penniless and 34th in line to the throne, Lady Georgiana Rannoch finds herself in a truly draining state of affairs. To escape her hateful brother, Georgie accepts an invitation from the Queen to represent the royals at a wedding in Transylvania. But at the macabre- looking castle, Georgie finds the bride with blood running down her chin, and a wedding guest is poisoned. Now it's up to Georgie to save the nuptial festivities before the couple's vows become: to love and to cherish, till undeath do them part.

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

You need to try this series!

I love mysteries but I'm usually not a fan of what I consider "cosy mysteries". Often the characters in these stories can be caricatures of stereotypes and seem silly. The Royal Spyness series avoids this by setting the series in an interesting historical period, and uses humor to make the more extreme characters an interesting part of the story. I am listening to the series in order and I enjoy it more with each new listen. My greatest praise goes to the narrator, Katherine Kellgren. I don't think I would enjoy the books half as much if I was just reading from the page. Ms. Kellgren gives a true virtuoso performance. Please don't ever try a new narrator for this series! She has such a distinctive voice for each character that you get swept up into this world. Yes, these are light mysteries, but extremely entertaining. If you love anything BBC set back
in time then this is the series for you.

Another wonderful adventure

I really enjoy this series and this story was really well done. I did not figure out what happened until the end.

Intrigue, Comedy and Vampires

Rhys Bowen's installment of the Royal Spynness series has our spunky leading lady heading to the Transylvania to represent the Royal Family at a distant cousin's wedding. Bowen crafts a story of high adventure, intrigue, and comedy. A wonderful new addition to Bowen's cast of characters is a new maid of exactly the caliber the impoverished Lady can afford. I was also thrilled at the continuing romance between Georgie and her mysterious beaux. Katherine Kellgren makes Bowen's characters come to life with her wonderful narration.

Not the Best

I agree with a previous reviewer; the vampire stuff was rather silly. The story, however, was as good as expected - vampires not withstanding.

Entertaining & a few twists

This is a good listening book. Nice array of voices & mishaps. I think it is number 4 of this great series.

fun story with disparaging characters

I enjoy the crazy situations that Lady Georgiana gets herself into and the creative solutions she comes up with. She often gets herself into silly predicaments like those you would see in the I Love Lucy show. The mysteries she encounters are often interesting and it's entertaining to see her work her way through the clues. I'm not a big fan of Darcy or Fig, but her dad is a terrific character and I always enjoy when he makes an appearance. The reader is perfect for this series, and she does a wonderful job of giving different characters their own vocal personalities. I love it when she says, "Golly!"

The main problem I have with this series is that the characters make frequent derogatory comments about other people. They regularly point out that people they meet are ugly, overweight, plain, old, stupid, foreign, common, gay, poorly educated, etc. They'll repeat their observation or opinion multiple times, often joking with others about it, and I find that behavior to be off-putting. Lady Georgiana struggles with poverty and should be more understanding, yet she consistently looks down on anyone she feels is below her based on social class or physical image.

Rhys Bowen hits another one out of the park!

If you enjoy a historically based novel, have a background knowledge of the English royal family, enjoy a strong female character, like mysteries, & enjoy twisted humour - then you will love this series. There is a bit of romance, but it doesn't overshadow the storyline. The reader does a great job depicting the cast of characters. Would love to hear more by this author.

Royal Blood is Bloody Good

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

I was surprised at who-dun-it...

Which character – as performed by Katherine Kellgren – was your favorite?

Katherine is a wonderful reader...Coco

Any additional comments?

All these books are great pot boilers

Great Voices!

This series is so fun to listen to. The narrator does such a great job with all the different accents. I always know which character is speaking even before she tags them. And just when I think I've solved the mystery, there's a twist. I can't seem to get enough of Georgie.

Another good book in the series

I liked the book, but I found it slightly less interesting than the previous ones in the series (3 of them I think). The vampire aspect was a bit strange since it has Lady Georgeanna (sp?) wondering if there really are vampires. She has seemed so down to earth and rational in the prior books that I was a bit put off by her fear that there really might be vampires. It didn't ruin the book. I still liked it, just not as much.