Queen of Hearts
Rhys Bowen’s latest, Queen of Hearts, offers all the fun her readers associate with her Royal Spyness series. In these light mysteries set in the 1930s, Georgie, penniless cousin to King George, usually finds herself surrounded by famous people and a dead body—with a lurking murderer hiding behind a high society façade. Queen of Hearts continues the light-hearted social satire by carrying Georgie to Hollywood where the “royalty” are eminently spoofable. Georgie’s scandalous actress mother needs a quickie Nevada divorce so she can marry her rich German lover. She decides to take Georgie along for company. On the transatlantic crossing, a serial jewel thief strikes, and the chase begins. While on board, Georgie’s mother is persuaded by a movie mogul, Mr. Goldman (and yes, the echo of a famous movie studio is intentional, I assume), to take a role in his movie about English royals. It’s a preposterous “drama” about a supposed romantic rivalry between Elizabeth I and Mary over Philip of Spain—a situation everyone knows never happened. In the process a dead body does show up in one of Bowen’s more satirical settings—a nouveau riche, tasteless mansion suspiciously reminiscent of Hearst castle with its own zebras and giraffes wandering the grounds. Charlie Chaplin adds sardonic commentary on the proceedings (and off-scene bed hopping) to spice up the mix.
