A Royal Pain

By: Rhys Bowen

Narrated by: Katherine Kellgren

Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

The Queen of England has concocted a plan in which penniless aristocrat Lady Georgie is to entertain a Bavarian princess and conveniently place her in the playboy prince's path, in the hopes that he might finally marry.

But queens never take money into account. Georgie has very little, which is why she moonlights as a maid-in-disguise. She must draw up plans: clean house to make it look like a palace; have Granddad and her neighbor pretend to be the domestic staff; un-teach Princess Hanni the English she's culled from American gangster movies; cure said princess of her embarrassing shoplifting habit; and keep an eye on her at parties.

Then there's the worrying matter of the body in the bookshop and Hannis' unwitting involvement with the Communist Party. It's enough to drive a girl crazy.

Listen to more Royal Spyness mysteries.

©2008 Janet Quin-Harkin (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

• Macavity Award, Historical Mystery, 2009

"All the characters from the first book in this rollicking series are present here - Georgie's much-married actress mother, her kind-hearted and resourceful Cockney grandfather, her sophisticated friend Belinda and the enigmatic Darcy O'Mara, a penniless Irish peer to whom Georgie finds herself attracted. There are also fleeting references to the war clouds that are gathering in Europe and the rise of fascism at home and abroad, both of which are neatly tied in with the murders and their solution. It works - both as a grand period piece and a lighthearted and completely diverting mystery." (The Denver Post)

Fun and Engaging

Great story and brilliant narrator! Also happy this was written as nothing more than PG-13 scenes. Difficult to find clean, engaging, entertaining audible content.

Too much exposition

I remember thinking… it’s chapter 18 and no murder….
Also I figured it out way too early made me think Georgie was stupid. Not sure I will keep listening to series

Well done!

Georgie is practical, efficient and pleasantly likeable. Her sleuthing is sensible investigation with a little bit of luck thrown in. (I hate books where the heroine either stumbles across answer after answer with no intelligent deduction. Or worse, does things that stupidly puts herself in harms way over and over.) The 1930s England setting is well researched without any jarring misplaced modern phrases or items. While the murders are not overly descriptive, there is enough detailed reference to sex to keep the story from being a true "cozy" mystery. The narrator does an excellent job with varying the voices and accents. I especially love her friend Belinda.

Entertaining and light

I enjoyed "A Royal Pain." The characters are cleverly drawn for a clever premise and I expect to listen to another eventually. The premise is silly but it works - if you don't examine it too closely! My compliments to the narrator who has an excellent range of voices for the characters and a well-modulated voice (I never found myself reaching for the volume control because she was suddenly very loud or too quiet.)

Great Series

I stumbled across this series and what a refreshing surprise these stories are.. There are plenty of chuckles as well as a good mystery in each book.
The main characters are diverse and fun. The narrator does a great job too. I have a problem leaving once I start listening.

Love this Series

Another great find! With this you get some history, some Royal family which I like and some good characters and mysteries that aren't obvious which I really like!

You know what to expect and you get it.

This series is fluffy fun with a lighthearted approach to solving mysteries. The narrator does a great job and the listener can lose him or herself in this world of the titled class in pre-WWII England. It's fun and easy to listen to.

good book

fun and entertaining story. looking forward to the next book in the series. really like the book

Katherine Kellgren is simply wonderful

I love how Katherine Kellgren narrates this series. She truly has no equal in how well she impersonates all the characters and makes all of them come to life. I listened to the narrator who took over since Ms. Kellgren passed away at 48 years old. It changed the whole perception of the books. I first read the books and then listened to them and cannot believe how much more I enjoyed the stories on Audible. Great fun and the best narrator of any book I have listened to and I have listened to many. The Queen, Belinda and Queenie are such a hoot and she makes Fig truly despicable and her grandfather so lovable. Wonderful!

Best narration ever

The real story only begins after chapter 14 or so, but still very entertaining and a great narration