Reviewed by Gabrielle Pantera

Rated: 4 Stars

“I thought what fun it would be if Georgie doesn't understand the connotation behind the words ‘Escort Service’ and ‘High Class Girls’,” says  Royal Flush author Rhys Bowen. “I thought it would be time she went home to the castle in Scotland complete with ghosts, haggis and a monster in the loch. I’ve always been intrigued with the mystery surrounded the Duke of Clarence.”

     Royal Flush is the third book in Rhys Bowen’s Royal Spyness Mystery series. Set in 1932, Lady Georgiana is a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria and 34th in line to the English throne. Georgie is sent home to Scotland in disgrace after putting an advertisement in the paper to be a female escort. Georgie meant dinner and dancing, the gentlemen have something else in mind. At Rannoch Castle, Georgie finds accidents happening to members of the royal family and her brother. Georgie searches for answers. Can she solve this before a relative gets killed?

     “I was writing it last summer when I was in England with my two little granddaughters so we had lots of fun exploring old castles,” says Bowen. “Just listening to family members speak as my characters speak is a great source of amusement. They don't realize they’re funny!”

     “I had to do a lot of research on the Gypsy Moth, which is the plane one of my characters flies,” says Bowen. “I used it because Amy Johnson, Britain's Amelia Earhart, set long distance records flying it. Luckily I found a man who flies antique airplanes. He was able to set me straight on lots of things, making me re-write a whole chapter. My main research was just going home to England and being among family members in some lovely manor houses.” Bowen also researched the story of the Duke of Clarence.

     Bowen recently finished writing the next book in her Molly Murphy series. Called The Last Illusion, it's about Houdini. Molly is hired to find out who’s harming illusionists and works with Houdini. “I've just started the next Georgie book, the most fun yet I believe,” says Bowen. “Picture Georgie at a royal wedding in Transylvania in a castle like Dracula's where there may or may not be vampires! Plenty of dead bodies, anyway.”

     Royal Flush is another fun romp through Georgie’s life. The book can stand alone or be read as part of the series. Georgie’s love interest is Darcy O’Mara, an Irish charmer. Will Georgie get her man, too? Bowen uses a plot device used by other authors, but with a new twist. 

     Rhys Bowen was born in the city of Bath, England. She currently lives in Marin County, California. She’s written 22 mysteries. Bowen has won both the Agatha and Anthony Awards for mystery writing.