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)

Fun Fun Fun!!

Great fun series , just bought the next book! Wonderful stories and great Narration with her voices!
Leslie😊💕

My least favorite, but still an enjoyable listen

Would you listen to Naughty in Nice again? Why?

I think this was the least favorite of the books in the series so far. I will try not to include spoilers here, but let's just say that I thought Georgie was incredibly stupid in this book. The Queen asks Georgie to recover her "lost" snuff box in a less than legal manner, and even after Georgie is charged with a very serious unrelated crime, she's still thinking about doing the Queen's dirty work. And don't get me started on Georgie flirting with an older man in order to achieve her goal, accepting an invitation to go on his yacht, but thinking that nothing will happen. Did she learn nothing from the escort service debacle? But it was still and enjoyable listen, and as always, surprised me in the end.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Naughty in Nice?

The above-mentioned Georgie being really stupid

Have you listened to any of Katherine Kellgren’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes, she is a master. This one had a lot of French accents, which I don't like, so that may have added to the reasons why this book was not my favorite.

Loved it - but the plot reminds me of...

I've read this entire series (so far) and some of the books are better than others. This, in retrospect, is one of the best of the series, and Katherine Kellgren was always amazing as a narrator. However, I will point out that one of the major plot points of this book significantly overlaps with the plot of the Great Muppet Caper. I don't want to throw out any spoilers for the book (or the movie, if you haven't seen it.) But after you read this book, go back and watch the Great Muppet Caper and see what I mean.

Coincidences with the Muppets aside, this was a very fun read and there were a few twists that were unexpected.

Great series. Fabulous narrator

Read these in order if you can. Just started with the first in the series and read straight through them all!! The stories are great and the reader is one if the best. Her ability to use different accents and voices really makes the stories come to life.

Another fun romp with Georgie

What made the experience of listening to Naughty in Nice the most enjoyable?

I really like the narrator! My husband, however, hates her, so I can only listen when Kevin's not home, but that's okay; it's not much to pay for my total enjoyment!

Any additional comments?

Another simply delightful mystery about Georgie, and my manner of speaking always changes after I listen to them :-). It was full of misleading clues and surprises all the way through. It was certainly not a hard-boiled mystery by any stretch, but it was a lot of fun. Rhys Bowen and her Royal Spyness mysteries are always a breath of fresh air – particularly with US politics being such a mess right now!

Engaging

This series started out "cute", but as I have listened further has gotten better. Now I find it very entertaining. Ms. Bowen is developing the characters quite nicely and is developing a wonderful comedic element that has actually had me laughing out loud. I would equate this series with the Stephanie Plum series without all the swearing. (Which is great to have a BREAK from). It is nice to listen to something set in the 1930's time period as well. VERY enjoyable and I hope there will be many more to come.

Katherine Kellgren and Rhys Bowen are a great mix

What did you love best about Naughty in Nice?

As a novel, I love the wit, the intrigue and the lightheartedness maintained throughout the story. It has substance, mystery and humor wonderfully blended together.

Have you listened to any of Katherine Kellgren’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Katherine was up to her usual excellence going from one voice and persona to another seamlessly.

Fun Addition

I really liked this entry into the spyness series. I thought the mystery was well thought out and I didn't guess the entirety of the mystery. I thought the addition of Jean Paul was fun but I did miss Darcy as he really didn't show up much in the story. The new characters were fun and I always like seeing Georgie's mother. I will say these books don't seem to like policeman, they always seem to be dense. Katherine Kellgren gave a stellar performance as the reader of the book. I'm looking forward to the next book in this series.

Love this series!!

The story continues with Georgie and her extended family going to France for the winter. The Queen of England sends Georgie on another adventure which is naturally fraught with problems. There is a nice addition of Coco Chanel as one of the characters. The narrator continues to do an exceptional job with a continuing array of characters and accents. I love all the characters and am anxiously awaiting the next edition.

Nice Is nice

This is definitely one of my favorites in the series. It's always fun to see what kind of predicaments Georgie manages to get herself into.