Royal Gambit

A Novel

De: Daniel O'Malley

Narrado por: Moira Quirk

From the brilliant and hilarious author of The Rook, a delightful new supernatural adventure: When the heir to the British throne suddenly dies under mysterious circumstances, Checquy operative and reluctant aristocrat Alix is assigned to be lady-in-waiting/personal bodyguard to the new Crown Princess, and must navigate the halls of power and privilege while investigating the supernatural murder of the Prince of Wales.

Alexandra "Alix" Dennis-Palmer-Hudson-Gilmore-Garnsey, the twelfth Lady Mondegreen, has never had any control of her life. Her supernatural ability to shatter bones with a touch made her the automatic property of the Checquy, the secret British government agency that deals with the supernatural. Her aristocratic ancestry made Alix the perfect asset for the Checquy to deploy close to the royal family. Since childhood, Alix has been coached to befriend Princess Louise, second in line to the throne, but despite all machinations, the two have never been close. Now an adult and a full Pawn of the Checquy, Alix is a skilled investigator unravelling supernatural manifestations for the security of the nation.

Everything changes when Louise's brother, the Prince of Wales, dies abruptly, and all signs point to an unnatural assassination. To protect Louise, the new and unwilling heir apparent, Alix is assigned to be her lady-in-waiting. Thrust into the limelight overnight—both in the everyday world and in the underground world of the Checquy—Alix must juggle her responsibilities and her loyalties as she attempts to unravel the murder, keep Louise safe, and learn how to smile graciously while eerie threats loom around every corner.

©2025 Daniel O'Malley (P)2025 Little, Brown & Company

Fantastic story,even better narration

I’m a huge fan of this series and Daniel O’Malley’s writing and this latest instalment was brilliant.Alex was a very likeable character and the supporting cast were well developed.As usual, Moira Quirk did a fabulous job in bringing the story to life. Couldn’t stop listening.Cant wait for the next one 👍🏽

So well-written and fun!

I have enjoyed these books ever since The Rook was published. This one might be my favorite!

Great Followup to the World of the Rook

O’Malley’s “the Rook” is one of my all-time favorite books. The world of the Checquy where the bizarre and supernatural blend with super spies was delightfully introduced in the Rook and then continued on in “Stiletto” - the 2nd of the series. O’Malley’s 3rd book “Blitz” was rather a disappointment and I thought nothing was going to live up to the Rook. I am pleased to say that “Royal Gambit” is every bit as much mysterious supernatural fun as the Rook with the addition of the British Royal family to the plot. The story makes more sense if you’ve read the Rook and Stiletto first so you get the background and meet some of the characters but Royal Gambit stands on its own with a delightfully satisfying main character in Alix. Alix is burdened with her own unique supernatural powers and an aristocratic family that make her an ideal companion for the Royal Princess. Alix finds herself in the position of body guard and Lady in Waiting to the Princess while trying to solve a royal murder. Great story well-read by Moira Quirk - I couldn’t stop listening!

How is this not a Netflix series?

Clever, clever, clever and fun! Now I’m bummed that I’ll have to wait for the next book. I highly recommend this book

refreshing humor and fun adventure with amazing narration

refreshing humor and fun adventure with amazing narration. A worthy sequel to The Rook. Recommended to everyone.

Great addition to the Checquy World

If you have read O'Malley's series, The Rook Files, you are likely to pick up his latest, Royal Gambit, without reviews considering this author has such an engaging style of writing. And if you are wavering, I can confirm that Royal Gambit is another fantasy adventure that is hard to put down. Although it can certainly be read as a stand-alone, if you haven't read The Rook, I'd suggest you start there. Royal Gambit is set in the same "world" as the The Rook Files, but the detailed world building is done in The Rook Files - I suspect that without that background introduction to the Checquy, Royal Gambit would not be quite as fun. RG gives us a new female protagonist, Alix, who has not only a unique power, but a unique personal history that makes her an insider to the royal family so the POV with this book is quite different from The Rook Files. It makes for a fascinating story and a setup for some future branching adventures since the plot ultimately leads to the revelation of a secret that is deeper than the Checquy itself. Alix indulges in quite a bit of internal dialog (not the navel gazing kind, more the snarky internal commentary on the action kind) mixed in with the external dialog. Although internal and external is probably easy to distinguish on the written page, narrator, Moira Quirk, doesn't differentiate that much in the audio so it is a little difficult for the listener to tell what Alix said out loud and what was side note to self. Otherwise, Quirk is very easy to listen to and I enjoyed her performance.

Happy return to a world of wonder

I have loved this series since we woke up in a park surrounded by men wearing gloves. O’Malley weaves a wonderful world of magic and bureaucracy, using beloved legacy characters and introducing new heroes seamlessly together. I love especially that this book focuses on a character referenced but not seen in an earlier book and gives us more time with a member of the court who has always been mysterious. Hope for many more stories from the world of the Chequey.

loved being back in this world

Supernatural Beauracracy meets British Aristocracy; everyone is very prim, proper and quietly hilarious. and there are boots.

Excellent characters!

An awesome story of the Checquey! Loved the main character and seeing some of the other secondary characters from earlier books.

Another Fantastic Cheque Novel

These are some of my very favorite books. This one is easily as good as the previous books - though the American cover did exaggerate the role of the quokka somewhat.