Heirs and Graces

Light & breezy mystery-thriller. There's none of the threats & violence that seem to blare from our TV sets, laptops, & radios. No, some fat guy who inherited a title, a castle & a mega estate gets whacked & he's replaced by an Australian cowboy. Lady Georgiana saves the day as usual.What makes this book interesting to me is Rhys Bowen's use of the supernatural: there are two siences, dreams to interpret, ouigi boards, & references to classical characters. I was once in a room where a fellow under deep hypnosis made a soda- can slide along a desk, and then, made it fly off into the air. That hooked me on the supernatural. Pay attention to what happens when the family joins hands & the dead are summoned from the beyond.I could easily go on about the interesting characters that Rhys creates, but you know she has that skill. I could mention that Rhys imbues her characters with style & wit, but you expect that. I could also tell you the sentence that will lead you to the "who done it", but you deserve to hunt out the one sentence that doesn't confuse you or muddy the waters, but that would spoil your fun. Just buy the book & read it to escape the talking heads who are driving us all crazy.

This is a fine froth of a book, a tonic for the dragged out days ofAugust. It's 1934 and Lady Georgiana Rannoch is about to be left tofend for herself. Opening lines:"One thing I should have learned about my mother was that I could notcount on her. After all, she bolted from the family home, abandoningmy father and me when I was two, and by the time she resurfaced againin my life she had worked her way through a global list of men.""Mummy" is an actress, the daughter of a policeman but stunning enoughto snare the late Duke of Glengarry and Rannoch. That marriage allowedher to move effortlessly in royal and privileged circles. Deciding towrite her memoirs, she takes a house in London and invites herdaughter to come along as her secretary. Within the month she gets abetter offer. Max, a wealthy industrialist, buys a villa for the twoof them on Lake Lugano.Poor Georgiana. Her mother has only paid rent on the London houseuntil the end of the month. The Great Depression is on "and there wereno jobs even for people with oodles of qualifications. My education ata posh Swiss finishing school had only equipped me to walk around witha book on my head, to curtsy without falling over (most of the time)and snag a suitable husband."Enter Queenie, the maid whose only qualification is that she workscheap. She scorches the ironing and pops off expressions like "Bob'syer uncle," but she has a helpful suggestion: "You got a typewriternow. You could be a proper secretary with a bit of practice."Georgiana ("Georgie" to close friends) begins to practice.(Quote)I sat at my typewriter over the next few days and worked away.The queick brown fox jumps over the lazy dogThtqujivk brown box jumpsd over the lacy dobn.Rats.Ttj quick briwnficjunbpsobnerthf lax ...(End Quote)It's no use. She will never find work as a secretary but she does haveconnections. She's a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria, a firstcousin (once removed) of King George, and 34th in line to the throneof England. Her royal relatives come to her rescue.Quicker than a brown fox jumping over a lazy dog, Georgie isdispatched to Kent. There she meets the family living in a magnificentstately home at the graceless pleasure of Cedric, the Duke ofEynsford. He's an unpleasant man who refuses to marry and produce anheir, preferring to spend his time producing plays and takingphotographs.The family includes three grandchildren, two widowed duchesses and aprincess whose husband was hacked to death during the Russianrevolution. Cedric's only equal seems to be his mother, the formidableDowager Duchess Edwina. She's about to upstage him by welcoming along-lost grandson who was found on a sheep station in the Australianoutback. The title and estate, worth millions, will pass to JackAltringham upon Cedric's death.Jack is the spitting image of Edwina's son John, who was killed inWorld War I. Like his father before him, Jack sees English nobility asshallow and outmoded. Edwina intends to change that opinion. Georgie'sjob is to "show him the ropes and help him to learn his new positionin life."Jack is an attractive young man, not intimidated by his surroundingsor his new status, and he might as well be speaking a foreignlanguage. His favorite expression seems to be "Stone the flamin'crows!" A disgusted Cedric announces his own preposterous plan forproducing an heir.Adding to this development, Princess Charlotte persuades everyone togather round for a séance, hoping to contact Jack's father. Out comesthe Ouija board. To Jack's delight, the board spells out "Bugger off."When asked how to prevent Cedric's plan the board answers "Death." Andthe plot thickens ...Reading HEIRS AND GRACES was pure delight. I plan to read the earlier books in this series.

Another will written British 🏰 family and friends relationships with a little romance murder mystery adventure thriller novel by Rhys Bowen (The Royal Spyness Series book seven). Georgiana is asked by the queen 👑 to help one of her friends get the Australian grandson adjusted to life in England. The older son dies. Who did it? Georgiana and Dorsey investigate and in the end find out the truth. I would recommend this series and author to 👍 readers of mystery novels..Enjoy the adventure of reading 👓 or listening 🎶 to Alexa read books 📚. 2023 🌙👒☺This is the only series I listen 🎶 to by Rhys Bowen available from the local library as an ebook. Happy reading in 2023

I love this series even though it is more for the American market. They are good yarns and very funny. They are "cosy" mysteries and nice to snuggle up to. For those who enjoy Jessica Fletcher and Andrea Frazer.

I really enjoyed this book. The characters are delightful and the plot is clever. Swell story well done indeed.Makes me want to read the next one.

Excellent story.

Very enjoyable.

all good