Crowned and Dangerous

By: Rhys Bowen

Narrated by: Katherine Kellgren

Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's Summary

Nothing is simple when you're 35th in line for the British crown, least of all marriage. But with love on their side and plans to elope, Lady Georgiana Rannoch and her beau, Darcy O'Mara, hope to bypass a few royal rules....

With Darcy driving me out of London in a borrowed motorcar, I soon discover that he isn't planning to introduce me to the pleasures of sinning in secret - as I had hoped - but to make me his wife! Of course there are some quibbles to be dealt with, such as my needing special permission from the king to marry a Roman Catholic and the question of where we might live after the honeymoon. Though he will inherit a title, Darcy is as broke as I am. Even his family's Irish castle has been sold to a rich American who now employs Darcy's father as a hired hand.

Throwing these cares to the wind, nothing could deter us from our mission - except perhaps the news that my future father-in-law has just been arrested. It seems the rich American was murdered, and Darcy's father had more than enough motive to do the deed. With the elopement postponed, we head for Ireland, where he insists he's innocent, and it's up to us to prove it - for better or worse.

©2016 Janet Quin-Harkin (P)2016 Audible, Inc.

I always adore Lady Georgiana

What did you like best about this story?

Finally feels like Georgie and Darcy are FINALLY and TRULY getting somewhere.

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

Katherine Kellgren is untouchable as a narrator. She brings every character to life so effortlessly.

Any additional comments?

My only negative is that after 10 books there are some repetitions that could be removed. I feel like they are fillers. But I always enjoy the story and always enjoy the setting of each story.

16 of 16 people found this review helpful

No, it looks like he isn't! Thank goodness!

Most of you will have no idea what that headline was all about. Sorry about that:
It is the answer to the question I asked in the headline to my review of "Malice at the Palace":
"Is Darcy becoming another Daniel Sullivan?". Basically I was all ranting about how Darcy had started to show some very annoying old-fashioned tendencies (just like Sullivan) was being overprotective and mostly absent, and how the wole relationship between Darcy and Georgie was going nowhere and had become boring and superfluous ...

So, now I'm happy to say that this novel basically was more than I could have hoped for! No really: all I had been ranting about has changed. Well, not completely maybe, but finally Georgie and Darcy are working well together, both as a couple AND as detectives, Queeny is less of a pain in the *** and we even get to know more about Darcy and his family. Brilliant!

Thank you Mrs Bowen. In case you ever read this: You really really made my day!!

12 of 12 people found this review helpful

Delightful book

I love this series because it's different, charming, and funny. It's not the run of the mill mystery/love story. The story is really good and I love the characters.

8 of 8 people found this review helpful

Crowned & Dangerous

Love love Katherine Kellgren! Her accents & voices were so good and love the sense of humor by the narrator, Lady Georgiana. Good mystery, funny, clean language ( such a novelty nowadays!).

If you enjoy a good, but lightweight mystery every now and then, Rhys Bowen is clever author.

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

A great and fun listen!

The last couple of books in this series seemed to have lagged a tiny bit, but this book more than brought it all back up to speed! As Lady Georgianna and Darcy O'Mara are en route to Gretna Green to elope, he gets word that his father, Lord Kilhenny, has been arrested for murder. So he must rush to Ireland to be with him. Although he urges Georianna not to come--in fact, tries to break off their engagement so she won't be tainted by the gossip--she, of course, will find a way to be there.

Naturally, they are tackling this new mystery together. Not only has Rhys Bowen crafted a fun story, she seems to have brought some of the original charm back to it, including several new characters--a couple of whom might wind up being in future books perhaps. (I sure hope so!) But most of the characters we have come to love--Queenie the maid, Fig, her wretched sister-in-law, and of course, her beloved grandfather all make appearances. But they are less featured than some new people--Darcy's father and a Polish princess. Plus Darcy's elderly aunt and uncle. They are wonderful characters and I hope to see all of them playing roles in future books.

This book is a five star on every level. Although it is light reading in a way, that does not detract from the twists and turns of the plot. The characters are a hoot, and there were several places I laughed out loud. Love the series, and this is among the best so far! This series has decent mysteries, but the delightful characters and especially the stellar narration are the best reasons to listen!

20 of 22 people found this review helpful

More background on Darcy

Crowned and Dangerous is the tenth book in this cozy mystery series. Georgie is 35th in line to the throne in the late 1930s, put penniless. Darcy is the son of an Irish lord and just as penniless. The pair of them, while trying to survive, continue to solve mysteries and take care of problems for both the royal family and their friends. But they are getting a bit frustrated with propriety keeping them from getting married. So Darcy decides to whisk Georgie away to get married and worry about propriety later. As is normal in the series, a problem happens and they are prevented.

Darcy’s father is accused of murder, so Darcy goes away to support his emotionally distant and unlikable father. And because the situation looks grim, attempts to break things off with Georgie so that her (and the royal family) will not be associated with the crime. Georgie flutters around a bit before going to him.

Crowned and Dangerous corrects several of the problems that have been going on in the series for a while. Queenie, Georgie’s incompetent maid, is mostly out of the book and by the end seems to have mostly stopped being a punch line and allowed to be a real person. Georgie mostly stops worrying about Darcy’s past and whether he really loves her or not. There is not a lot of whining in the book.

The actual mystery in Crowned and Dangerous and its discovery is pretty thin. I kept expecting there to be more. Solving the mystery is less about smarts and intuition than just following the leads and being hopeful in light of the early bad news. But the character development and the central relationship make some real progress. All in all, this is better than the past couple of books. It is more believable and has some good potential for future books. I breezed through it in less than two days. But after several heavy books, it was a nice chance.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Loved it!

I enjoy Georgie so much! I'm looking very forward to enjoying the next story. I know Georgie is Rhys Bowen's creation- but I have truly enjoyed getting to know Georgie and Darcy and love all the crazy fun things that happen. I'm sure 'Mom will be in the next story- she's a kick! Please keep Queenie. She's Good for Georgie- plus she's a scream!

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Fantastic!

Love love love!

We need more Georgie/Darcy corroborations! I loved to see them working together.

This is one of my favorite Georgie books. I'm so sorry that I have to wait for the next one.

The only negative was Queenie. I am ready for her to find a place and Georgie to move on. She's not funny anymore.

Narration by Katherine Kellgren is, again, flawless.

13 of 15 people found this review helpful

We need more

Love the family, dad, auntie, and Zulu. Can't wait for the next installment. Love that Queenie finally improved some and may have ended up in the right household! Really hope for great details on the wedding!

8 of 9 people found this review helpful

Back to good fun and well done

I was really, really hesitant to get this audiobook, because I was disappointment in the last few in this series -- but this one is back to the old style of fun and adventure with a little mystery thrown in. Much, much less Queenie (thankfully) and Georgie's grandfather, more Darcy and his family history, and a few new characters thrown in the mix. A new setting too -- most of the story takes place in Ireland, and involves Darcy's family's former manor home and the death of the mysterious American who bought it. While out to prove the innocence of Darcy's father, they uncover (and solve) a mystery that spans two continents.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Very enjoyable

Where does Crowned and Dangerous rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Lovely addition to the series, as always interesting and very entertaining.

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

Yes, but it was too long to do this

Another fun royal shyness mystery

This is a great listen. The narrator brings all the characters to life and having listened to so many now - they all feel like part of the family. Can't wait for another ........will Darcy and Georgie finally make it to the alter? I am buying a hat Jin readiness and just in case!

The Winter Warmer

I love these books, they are so easy to listen to while I work and are both funny and highly enjoyable. They have a very vintage feel to them and lack bad language or any real violence, all in all they are wonderfully twee!

Like a roaring fire -cozy and relaxing

I love the Royal Spyness books. They are fun, easy going but a charm that is really compelling. The mysteries are not complex but that does not make them any less entertaining. In this book Georgie travels to Ireland meeting Darcy's relatives, and local people. There are no spoilers but the stereotypical stupid local police inspector makes an appearance. For a relaxing Sunday afternoon listen you won't be disappointed in the continuing tale.

Grating Narration

The poor performance ruined what is a good light story. I read the book instead. I wanted to return this audio book but the system wouldn't allow me. The Irish accent was an insult. No one in Ireland speaks that way. Just appalling

1 of 3 people found this review helpful