"Peril in Paris" A Royal Spyness Mystery By Rhys Bowen: Review/Giveaway

Review by Terrance McArthur

Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win a copy of the book and a link to purchase it.

Paris, 1936: Lady Georgiana (“Georgie”) Rannoch and her husband, the dashing Darcy O’Mara, are there for different reasons. He is doing clandestine work for the British government. She is expecting a baby, and will stay with her bosom buddy, Belinda, who is working for famed fashion designer Coco Chanel. It’s an exciting time in an exciting place, perfect for Peril in Paris, a historical cozy mystery by Rhys Bowen.

Georgie tries to hide from Chanel because of their previous meeting when she caused chaos at the designer’s fashion show in Nice. However, Coco jumps at the chance to create a maternity fashion, swathing Georgie in a form-fitting, movement-constricting dress. The showing is disrupted in a different way when Georgie, trying to help Darcy with one of his missions, discovers a dead body, and is labeled a murder suspect.

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Image Source Berkley

Georgie explores the city, meeting up with some famous people of the time, including Chanel, Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas, Ernest Hemingway, some not-so-famous wannabe artists and writers who stayed in France after the First World War’s Armistice, and a group of German women connected to Nazi bigwigs. Georgie’s mother, a much-married actress engaged to a German munitions manufacturer, shows up, as well as mother’s and daughter’s least favorite social climber, Wallis Simpson, who wants to marry the not-yet-crowned King of England, Edward VIII.

Georgie finds herself in the thick of things, putting herself and baby-to-be at risk, going to great heights to prove her innocence. She starts to understand the kinds of risks Darcy takes, and she can’t wait to get back home to England and her untrained puppies.

I’ve been a Rhys Bowen fan from Constable Evans (her first series, set in Wales) to Molly Murphy (an Irish-born immigrant-turned-private-detective who had escaped to America in the Ellis Island era) to her A Royal Spyness (the Georgie series), as well as all Bowen’s stand-alone books (many set in the years before/during/after World War II), and the books of the last five years are some of her strongest. She makes the places, people, and events of the past come to vibrant life (even ones that never really existed), and she can deftly turn Paris, the City of Light, into a City of Spies, without losing its status as the City of Love.

To enter to win a copy of Peril in Paris, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line "paris,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen January 14, 2023. US residents only and you must be 18 or older to enter. If entering via email please include your mailing address in case you win. If entering via comment please include your email address so we can contact you. You can read our privacy statement here if you like.

Check out other mystery articles, reviews, book giveaways & mystery short stories in our mystery section in Kings River Life and in our mystery category here on KRL News & Reviews. And join our mystery Facebook group to keep up with everything mystery we post, and have a chance at some extra giveaways. And check out our new mystery podcast which features mystery short stories and first chapters read by local actors! A new episode goes up soon.

You can use this link to purchase the book or click here. If you have adblocker on you may not be able to see the Amazon link:

Terrance V. Mc Arthur is newly retired as a Librarian in Fresno County, California. He is also a storyteller, puppeteer, magician, and maker of pine needle baskets. On top of that he writes stories that range from rhymed children's tales to splatterpunk horror. He's an odd bird, but he's nice to have around.

Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.