Her Royal Spyness

Rhys Bowen, who has already achieved a certain notoriety because of Evan Evans, a Welsh policeman, and Molly Murphy, an Irish immigrant, launches a new series and a new heroine with Her Royal Spyness. The lady in question is a lady indeed--Lady Victoria Georgiana Charlotte Eugenie, thirty-fourth in line for the British throne. Georgie, as she is called by her intimates, has a position to uphold, but no income upon which to uphold it. Her family offers the unappetizing options of unpaid governess for her step-nephew, or marriage to an unattractive sprig of European royalty, so Georgie bolts to London to find her fortune. And does she? She finds old friends (Beatrice, Whiffy, and Tristram) and relations (her mum and her granddad), attractive new acquaintances--and a body in a bathtub. Oh, and a special assignment from Her Majesty...

This new series has a certain cachet--a whiff of England-between-the-Wars that has a peculiar charm--and Georgie is a delightful new character. I would rate this book PG for a irritating fixation on virginity, or lack thereof, but can still recommend for an afternoon's entertainment.