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)

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!

The joy continues!

The Royal Spyness series is, in my opinion, Rhys Bowen's best effort so far and Royal Flush is definitely a worthy addition to the series. Katherine Kellgren is marvelous and becomes the characters. I enjoyed this series to the max . If you haven't heard them, definitely start with the first one in the series and continue on through them all - you won't regret it!

Cute series

The description of this book is just so misleading. Her Royal Spyness is a fun series of light mystery stories that take place in late 1930's England. The royal storyline mentioned in the description is tangential to the main plot. Accidents are happening, people are getting killed and it's Her Royal Spyness Lady Georgiana, 34th in line to the throne, who figures it all out and helps to capture the bad guy.

If you want a lighthearted, easy listen, try this series.

Worth a credit

Would you listen to Royal Flush again? Why?

Yes, I would. I just a real FUN listen and the characters are well developed. I have to say, sometimes all the books in the series are a bit predictable, but as I said, it's not a "deep listen", rather than a fun listen.

What other book might you compare Royal Flush to and why?

I have only read this genre from Rhys Bowen, so cannot really compare.

What about Katherine Kellgren’s performance did you like?

Great skill, variety of true sounding accents, sometimes she does get a bit to carry away and gets very loud.

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

Royalty and Mischief

Any additional comments?

Just get the series. If you are looking for superb English, and deep and meaty books, than this is not the one. But this is a lighthearted, fresh read. Highly recommend it.

A Royally Good Time

I have purchased and listened to all Rhys Bowen's Royal Spyness books. The narrator is marvelous, with a command of a wide range of accents. The setting is well-illustrated, the writing hilarious and thrilling by turns. I strongly recommend this series.

not as good as the first ones

I still love the character and the narration, but the aviation parts (and character) were reaching, I thought. I hope the next in the series is better, or I'll probably stop - which would be a shame.

Great light entertainment

What made the experience of listening to Royal Flush the most enjoyable?

It moves along at a good pace, was interesting but didn't require that I hear every word. There are some humorous moments as well.

What about Katherine Kellgren’s performance did you like?

She is easy to listen to...

Any additional comments?

This is a great book for a car trip where you need to pay attention to the road first and the book second. It isn't so complex that you get lost in the plot but it is fun and moves along. I have listened to several in this series and they are just "fun"!

Continues the "Royal Spyness" storyline

This is fun, entertaining listening. The humorous portrayal of the English aristocracy, with a nod to real historical figures, was enjoyable, and the performance is flawless. But I don't know how long I'll be be able to sustain interest in the ever-thwarted romance between Georgie and Darcy.

Light but still entertaining

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

Fluffy, fun, frivolous

If you’ve listened to books by Rhys Bowen before, how does this one compare?

I have enjoyed the whole series except the Queenie character (maid). Really, the woman is as stupid as a ton of bricks and so Georgiana must be too, to keep her.

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

Georgiana herself, star of her own life, and also Belinda - love that breathy little voice.

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

No extremes...good listening for when you don't want to be challenged or intrigued too deeply.

Any additional comments?

I listen to this kind of book in between longer, darker or deeper historical and crime novels. It's a great balance! I have to admit that I have fallen asleep to most of these books, but because I intended to, not because they were boring!

Second Time Around

Love this series enough to listen to it a 2nd time. You will love it too.

love this collection of books

these books are brilliant and the narrator is brilliant but only thing her Scottish accent is not great but her voices for each person are great. queenies is my favourite. I can wait to read more from this writer amazing books with a little bit of a base on Scottish history. ps I'm Scottish 😊🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

A throughly good listen

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

This book would be in my top ten, along with the previous two by this author.

What other book might you compare Royal Flush to, and why?

Very similar in style to previous books from this author.

What about Katherine Kellgren’s performance did you like?

Love the different accents she comes up with, very easy to put a face to the accent. She is almost (but not quite) in the same league as Ian Carmichael. Coming from me that is high praise indeed.

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

Several times I had a giggle, especially with the haggis hunting!

Any additional comments?

This is the third in the series, and is every bit as good as the first two. I actually bought three extra credits so I could buy more. Looking forward to listening to those, by which time my regular credits should be due. I will be spending those on the remaining two books in the series. Then what am I going to do?

Accidents in the Highlands.

Would you listen to Royal Flush again? Why?

I shall leave it a month or two and then listen again. This series is so easy to listen to and is great in the background for trips to see my grandchildren who are about 4 hours away by car.

What did you like best about this story?

It is fiction but with a hint of possible truth in the storyline. Wallis Simpson and the future King and other scandals in royal circles.

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

Belinda always stands out as favorite. The way she shouts 'Georgie' when they meet in that posh voice.

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Accidents or planned sabotage against the royals?

Ruined by Mangled accents

A decent cozy crime totally ruined by the narrators appalling attempts at accents. Appalling southern Irish, Scottish, cockney and ‘Belindas ‘posh’ succeed only in entirely distracting from the story itself. And can someone please tell the narrator that you don’t need to lower your voice to come over as male? Awful awful.

Great story

Another great story which I thoroughly enjoyed

It has to be said that the narrator makes the story a great experience!

Narration

The narrator reads beautifully, until she attempts accents, the Scottish and Irish accents are atrocious, but the greater irritation for me is the pronunciation of certain words, using American English rather than the Queen’s English for certain words,
eg “progress”. The books are set in England so the narrator should use English pronunciation. I was also rather perturbed by one of the ladies using a “purse”, instead of a handbag, which presumably was not down to the narrator. However I do enjoy these stories, perfect for relaxing at bedtime.

Another wonderful time killer

I have become somewhat addicted to this series mostly due to the fact that it’s easy going, fun, and never all too much. Yet again the audiobook is stunningly executed, and Darcy O’Mara is the dazzling hero that swoops in at just the right moment. This was a better book than the last, and I can’t wait to get to the next one!

Not for me

A little overly twee, may appeal to some, but not to me. Narration was good

Royal Flush

This is a funny story starting with Lady Georgina not realising her new escort agency did not mean just accompany a gentleman on a social occasions. To the attends murder of the Prince of Wales. Read brilliantly again by Katherine Kellgren.

Loved It!

Really enjoyed this book, light hearted and lough out loud funny in places it's well worth a listen!