Royal Flush

By: Rhys Bowen

Narrated by: Katherine Kellgren

Length: 8 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

A Royal Spyness mystery starring Lady Georgiana, 34th in line for the throne - and the mystery world's favorite penniless heiress.

With its posh clientele in the country for the summer, Georgie's housecleaning business has fizzled. So she tries hiring herself out as a dinner and theatre companion. But her first client has quite the wrong idea.

To avoid further scandal, Georgie's shipped home to Castle Rannoch, where her summer plans include honoring a promise to Her Majesty to keep Castle Rannoch's divorced houseguest from seducing the Prince of Wales. She's also been coerced into helping Scotland Yard with a top-secret mission - namely keeping an eye on the shooting party at Balmoral and preventing someone from shooting the Prince. And Georgie must manage all this without strangling her odious sister-in-law Fig or spineless brother Binky.

©2009 Janet Quin-Harkin (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Katherine Kellgren is completely winning as guileless, gullible, plucky Georgie. With the castle overrun by visitors - including the notorious American Mrs. Wallis Simpson; her paramour, the Prince of Wales; and an assortment of gentry and staff - Kellgren shifts accents and attitudes with ease. Phryne Fisher fans will love Kellgren’s Lady Georgiana." ( AudioFile)

A Royal Adventure

Where does Royal Flush rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Very high up there, if not the very top. This series is one of the best I have listened to on Audible.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Royal Flush?

Oh goodness, there are so many! I loved seeing Fig in a different light as she is panicked and frantic with all the guests coming, and then when Georgie changes the water pressure & hires the bagpiper at dawn to scare off the Americans. That got a good laugh!

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

Oh goodness, this is a really tough choice, because they are all SO good. I love Georgie, she is wonderfully narrated, but I also love Belinda!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Absolutely. It's such a treat to listen to, and such a joy that you definitely wont want to put it down!

The Best…

…narrator I’ve ever heard! I could tell who the characters were before she even stated their names.

Best of the Early Spyness Novels

If you could sum up Royal Flush in three words, what would they be?

Fabulous engrossing story.

What did you like best about this story?

The characters were brilliantly done, the humor was superb and the narrator suited the story perfectly. The plot was superior to the plots in the two earlier books; the villain was far less obvious and there were more twists to the plot. There is one minor error in the book but it is not annoying or major [a character is said to be Brazilian but has a Spanish name and speaks in Spanish].

Which scene was your favorite?

The scenes with the Americans at Castle Rannoch often made me laugh out loud. The action scenes were excellent, too. The author writes details very convincingly, making it easy to create a mental picture of what she describes.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The book made me laugh many times.

Any additional comments?

This is an extremely funny book that definitely takes the reader away from the world and into the author's world. The narrator is brilliant with the ability to give each character the absolutely perfect voice. If you want a cheap vacation, listen to this book!

great entertainment

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

I would recommend this to all my gal pals. Very entertaining and Katherine Kellgren gets the acents down perfectly. This is the type of book that i would prefer listening to as the reader sets the tone and makes you laugh and feel you are there.

Fun and quirky...

Any additional comments?

I love non-gruesome murder/mystery novels so I had fun with this one. It's a cute story with endearing characters. I look forward to reading the rest of the series!

Darcy to the rescue!

STORY (light historical mystery) - Royal Flush is Book 3 in the Royal Spyness series, which is set in Europe back in the 1930's. This particular book involves a series of mysterious attempts at murdering members of the Royal Family. As always in this series, there's a complicated mystery, action, romance and tons of fun! I'm very hard to please when it comes to humorous fiction and usually think it's just cozy fluff, but not this series. You will need to pay attention to try to figure out whodunnit, and you will be pleasantly surprised to see how it ends.

What I love best about this series is the slowly budding romance between the main character, Georgianna, and the mysterious Darcy O'Mara. (Is he a spy? If so, who does he spy for?) They flirt and progress just a little bit in each book, and he always shows up to rescue her when she gets into dangerous situations. There's one scene between them at the end which was so adorable it had me smiling as I was driving. I'm sure people wondered what was on my mind!

PERFORMANCE - Katherine Kellgren is amazing. She does so many accents and voices -- a true artist. The voice she gives promiscuous Belinda is an absolute hoot.

OVERALL (actual rating 4.5) - The mysteries in this series begin and end in the same book so they can stand alone, but you should listen in order to follow the romance and character development. I don't think there's any cursing or sex, although there are references to sexual attraction and loose lifestyles. I wouldn't really recommend this for men because of Georgie's girlish antics, but highly recommended for women!

Enjoyable fluff.

Light reading indeed. But pleasant and thoroughly enjoyable. Top marks (as always) for narrator Kellgren.

Perfect narration

Narration is just perfect! The story is a bit more farfetched than the previous ones, but entertaining.

Enjoyable story

Where does Royal Flush rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I would listen to these again. They are funny and entertaining.

What did you like best about this story?

There is lots of humor. The main character is lovable and fun. The story isn't deep or philosophical, it's just pure entertainment. There is quite a bit of talk about sex but no X rated sex scenes that are so predominant in today's literature. They leave enough to imagination.

Which scene was your favorite?

I like the scenes where she is learning about cleaning houses.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

34th in line for the throne and poor as a churchmouse.

Fun Book Very Sweet

Looking for a fun sweet read during the Pandemic while cleaning out he attic. 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.