Reviews for We three queens
Kirkus
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A new mother’s perfect life is upended when murder comes to Eynsleigh Manor. Lady Georgiana Rannoch is cousin to David (King Edward VIII to you), sister to a duke, and wife of Darcy O’Mara, a spy for Great Britain. Happy to leave her exciting past behind and devote herself to doting on her adorable infant son, she lives with her family on the estate she’ll inherit from her godfather, Sir Hubert. Darcy’s just returned from Germany, where Georgie’s beautiful mother spends a lot of time with her wealthy industrialist lover, apparently unaware of the dark clouds gathering in 1936. Trouble arrives in the form of Wallis Simpson, the mistress David wants stashed somewhere quiet while his subjects absorb the news that he’s determined to marry her despite all the warnings that he can’t. Georgie, appalled at the idea, is aggravated further by her brother, Binky, her bossy sister-in-law, Fig, and their children, who plan to use her home as a base while they investigate boarding schools nearby. Next, Hubert arrives with a Hollywood production company; they may be staying elsewhere, but they still disturb the routine of the estate while they’re filming. Mrs. Simpson vanishes. So does a child star, who seems to have been kidnapped. New mother Georgie is more upset by the second of these developments than the first and in the course of her search for the child, she discovers something distinctly odd about the kidnapping. Things get even worse when Georgie’s dogs find the strangled body of the film’s leading lady. Georgie and Darcy must use all their skills and connections to thwart a murderer. Plausible suspects throng this amusing look at the hidden lives of the aristocracy. Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Publishers Weekly
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In Bowen’s thin if enjoyable 18th adventure for Lady Georgiana “Georgie” Rannoch (after The Proof of the Pudding), Georgie tries to help King Edward out of a jam. The year is 1936, and Edward (“David” to Georgie, his somewhat distant cousin) has fallen madly in love with American socialite Wallis Simpson and plans to marry her. Knowing the announcement will cause a media storm, he’s asked Georgie to put Wallis up at the country estate where she’s staying. Soon after Ms. Simpson arrives, Georgie’s overbearing sister turns up with her entire family, set on scouting boarding schools for her son. Then Sir Hubert, the actual owner of the estate, returns from California with a troupe of Hollywood actors in tow, having given them permission to shoot a film about Henry VIII on-site. The ballooning group’s shenanigans keep the action churning until a murder occurs at the book’s 11th hour, which Georgie ties up swiftly. The plotting lacks tension, even by Bowen’s laid-back standards, but as an amusing glimpse at the upper crust of pre-war British society, this has its charms. Devoted series fans will enjoy themselves. Agent: Christina Hogrebe, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (Nov.)
