If you’re looking for a list of Rhys Bowen’s Royal Spyness books in order, then you’ve come to the right place! Below you will see the complete list with all of the books in order, as well as a printable list that will help you read through the series.
A Royal Spyness Mystery series by Rhys Bowen is truly one of my very favorite series I’ve ever read, of any genre.
I have enjoyed this series so much that I started picking up the occasional copy for my home library. Eventually, I hope to have the entire series in hardback format; I can re-read these over and over so it’s a worthwhile set for my personal library.
Below are some particular reasons I think you should give this series a read!
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A Royal Spyness Mystery Series – A Brief Summary…
But not so much that it will spoil it for you, I promise!
Set in 1930’s England, this series stars a very distant heir to the English throne as the main character and offers up several superb supporting characters – a faithful friend, a quirky maid, and a handsome rogue who is a good guy to the core.
Each book features its own cozy mystery and our down-to-earth heroine plays a key role in solving each and every one. A kind grandpa and even the royal family play interesting parts in many of the books.
There is wit, humor, a very lovely historical setting and a well-done mystery plot in each book in the series. While you do not have to read the books in order to understand what is happening, it’s an easy way to watch the relationships unfold as time goes on.
At the end of each of the books in the series, you will be left with a feeling of cozy warmth with how this mystery is wrapped up but already looking forward to the next installment to see what our heroine and her set get into next. You will want to read the entire series!
My Favorite Parts…
Here are a few of my most-loved components of this series and why it has earned “top recommendation” marks from me! (This means I actually tell others about this book series and highly recommend it to seasoned cozy mystery followers, as well as those new to the genre.)
The Setting
I love ALL stories set in the 1930s era, and this series delivers scene after scene of vivid descriptions that portray many different facets of this time period, from the royal homes and hierarchy to the humble lifestyles of “regular” folks and servants to royal-but-broke people living by their wits just to make it in their world.
While the Thirties did have historically rough times, mostly due to the economic crash, these stories are not depressing descriptions of the harsh times, but focus more on the ability of the characters to overcome the obstacles, including the class system and economic issues, and persevere in a very uplifting way.
The Characters
This series has some very lovely characters. The heroine, royal-but-not-really, Lady Georgiana, is the very definition of plucky and resourceful. She doesn’t sit around and wait to be married off to someone who may take care of her but leave her loveless, and instead sets out to make her own way in the world, even if it’s against custom at that time.
Her dear friend Belinda is a valuable asset in many ways, not the least of which is to help Lady G let go of some of the age old expectations that even very distant royals had at those times. She’s a true friend to Georgie.
Queenie the maid is absolutely the comic relief while Lady G tries to find her new bath between being broke but being royal, and their relationship has a thing or two to teach us about loving people as they truly are and finding infinite patience!
There are so many other wonderful characters – Darcy, oh my; Grandpa; Georgie’s famous mother; and even the Queen. This is truly a cast worth getting to know.
This series is one of those that I can talk about ad nauseum, so suffice it to say that there are enough attributes that I consider this series a must-read.
The Book List: Royal Spyness Books in Order
This series currently has 17 books with the latest one having come out in 2023.
You do not have to read this series in order to really understand it, as each book serves as its own complete story. However, the character relationships do change as the series evolves, so I feel it’s best to read it from the beginning.
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Prequel: Masked Ball at Broxley Manor
The prequel book, Masked Ball at Broxley Manor, technically came out between books 5 and 6, but it acts as a prequel so I put it at the beginning of the list as the first book in A Royal Spyness Mystery series books in order list.
From the Publisher: A delectable prequel to the national bestselling Royal Spyness mysteries featuring Lady Georgiana Rannoch—thirty forth in line to the throne, and England’s poorest heiress.
At the end of her first unsuccessful season out in society, Lady Georgiana has all but given up on attracting a suitable man—until she receives an invitation to a masked Halloween ball at Broxley Manor. Georgie is uncertain why she was invited, until she learns that the royal family intends to marry her off to a foreign prince, one reputed to be mad.
When the prince, dressed as the devil, rescues her from an embarrassing situation at the ball, Georgie is surprised to find her unwanted suitor to be a dashing, charming man—especially when he pulls her aside and gives her the kiss of a lifetime. But as the time comes for the unmasking, Georgie’s rescuer vanishes and the party is thrown into chaos, making it clear that everything at Broxley Manor is not as it appears…
Book 1: Her Royal Spyness
From the Publisher: The first Royal Spyness mystery!
The New York Times bestselling author of the Molly Murphy and Constable Evan Evans mysteries turns her attentions to “a feisty new heroine to delight a legion of Anglophile readers.”*
London, 1932. Lady Victoria Georgiana Charlotte Eugenie, 34th in line for the English throne, is flat broke. She’s bolted Scotland, her greedy brother, and her fish-faced betrothed. London is a place where she’ll experience freedom, learn life lessons aplenty, do a bit of spying for HRH—oh, and find a dead Frenchman in her tub. Now her new job is to clear her long family name…
Book 2: A Royal Pain
From the Publisher: Lady Georgiana finds herself in a heap of royal trouble in the second novel in the New York Times bestselling Royal Spyness Mystery series.
London, 1932. Poor Lady Georgiana–thirty-fourth in line to the throne–has nothing to serve her Bavarian princess houseguest, even though the Queen of England has requested that she entertain her. Then there’s the matter of the body in the bookshop and the princess’s unwitting involvement with the Communist party. It’s enough to drive a girl mad…
Book 3: Royal Flush
From the Publisher: Lady Georgiana must outwit two clever hunters who are after the Prince of Wales in the third novel in the New York Times bestselling Royal Spyness Mystery series.
Scotland, 1932. Back home until a little London scandal blows over, minor royal Lady Georgiana Rannoch has two equally important objectives. Queen Mary wants Georgie to keep the divorced, American, and entirely unsuitable Wallis Simpson from seducing the Prince of Wales, while Scotland Yard wants her to stop one of the members of the shooting party at Balmoral from turning their sights from the quails to His Royal Highness…
Book 4: Royal Blood
From the Publisher: A royal wedding brings Lady Georgiana Rannoch to Transylvania and lands her in a truly draining state of affairs in the fourth mystery in the New York Times bestselling Royal Spyness series.
London, 1932. With her hateful brother Binky in town, Georgie has been desperately seeking an escape. So when an invitation from the Queen of England arrives asking her to represent the royals at a wedding in Transylvania—legendary home of vampires—she’s delighted to accept. But when the bride starts acting a little batty and a prominent wedding guest is poisoned, something must be done lest the couple’s vows become “till undeath do they part…”
Book 5: Naughty in Nice
From the Publisher: In the fifth Royal Spyness Mystery, Lady Georgiana Rannoch discovers that being a minor royal has its privileges when she visits the glamorous—and dangerous—French Riviera…
London, 1933. Her Majesty the Queen is sending Georgie off to Nice with a secret assignment—to recover her priceless, stolen snuff box from the disreputable Sir Toby Groper. Her Majesty’s trust is an honor, but an even greater honor is bestowed upon Georgie in Nice when none other than Coco Chanel asks her to model the latest fashions.
Unfortunately, things go disastrously wrong on the catwalk and before Georgie can snatch the snuff box, someone’s life is snuffed out in a very dastardly way. With a murderer on the loose—and Georgie’s beau Darcy seen in the company of another woman—how’s a girl to find any time to go to the casino?
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Book 6: The Twelve Clues of Christmas
From the Publisher: In the sixth mystery in the New York Times bestselling Royal Spyness series, Lady Georgiana Rannoch cannot wait to ring in the New Year—before a Christmas killer wrings another neck…
Scotland, 1933. While her true love, Darcy O’Mara, is spending his feliz navidad tramping around South America and her mother is holed up in a tiny village called Tiddleton-under-Lovey with droll playwright Noel Coward, Georgie is quite literally stuck at Castle Rannoch thanks to a snowstorm.
It seems like a Christmas miracle when she manages to land a position as hostess to a posh holiday party in Tiddleton. The village should be like something out of A Christmas Carol, but as soon as she arrives things take a deadly turn when a neighborhood nuisance falls out of a tree. On her second day, another so-called accident results in a death—and there’s yet another on her third, making Georgie wonder if there’s something wicked happening in this winter wonderland…
Book 7: Heirs and Graces
From the Publisher: Lady Georgiana Rannoch learns that not everyone knows their table manners when a knife ends up in a duke’s back in the seventh Royal Spyness Mystery.
London, 1934. Entrusted by Her Majesty the Queen with grooming Jack Altringham—the Duke of Eynsford’s newly discovered heir fresh from the Outback of Australia—for high society, Georgie now has the luxurious opportunity to live in one of England’s most gorgeous stately homes. But upon her arrival at Kingsdowne Place, Georgie finds herself in a manor full of miscreants, none of whom are pleased with the discovery of her new ward.
Then the duke announces he wants to choose his own heir and causes quite the hubbub. Somewhere along the way Jack’s hunting knife ends up in the duke’s back. Eyes fall, backs turn, and fingers point to the young heir. As if the rascal weren’t enough of a handful, now he’s suspected of murder. But while Jack may be wild, Georgie would bet the crown jewels it wasn’t he who killed the duke…
Book 8: Queen of Hearts
From the Publisher: Lady Georgiana Rannoch is off to solve a Hollywood homicide in the eighth mystery in the New York Times bestselling Royal Spyness series.
England, 1934. Georgie’s mother, the glamorous and much-married actress, is hearing wedding bells once again—which is why she must hop across the pond for a quickie divorce in Reno. To offer her moral support, Georgie agrees to go along on the all expenses paid voyage across the Atlantic.
While her mother meets movie mogul Cy Goldman—who insists on casting her in his next picture—Georgie finds herself caught up in the secret investigation of a suspected jewel thief. Lucky for her, the lead investigator happens to be her dashing beau, Darcy!
Her mother’s movie and Darcy’s larceny lead everyone to Cy’s Hollywood home, where the likes of Charlie Chaplin are hanging about and there’s enough romantic intrigue to fill a double feature. But they hardly get a chance to work out the sleeping arrangements before Cy turns up dead. As if there wasn’t enough drama already…
Book 9: Malice at the Palace
From the Publisher: Thirty-fifth in line for the British throne, Lady Georgiana Rannoch becomes embroiled in royal wrongdoing in the ninth mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of Crowned and Dangerous.
Caught between her high birth and empty purse, Georgie is relieved to receive a new assignment from the Queen. The King’s youngest son, George, is to wed Princess Marina of Greece, and the Queen wants Georgie to be her companion: showing her the best of London—and dispelling any rumors about George’s libertine history.
The prince is known for his many affairs with women as well as men—including the great songwriter Noel Coward. But things truly get complicated when one of his supposed mistresses is murdered.
The Queen wants the whole matter hushed. But as the case unfolds—and Georgie’s beau Darcy, as always, turns up in the most unlikely of places—their investigation brings them precariously close to the prince himself.
Book 10: Crowned and Dangerous
From the Publisher: Lady Georgiana Rannoch knows nothing is simple when you’re thirty-fifth in line for the British crown, but her upcoming marriage proves to be the ultimate complication in the tenth mystery in the New York Times bestselling Royal Spyness series.
As Lady Georgiana’s beloved Darcy drives her out of London, she soon discovers that he isn’t planning to introduce her to the pleasures of sinning in secret—as she had hoped—but to make her his wife!
Of course, she’ll need special permission from the king to marry a Roman Catholic. Though he will inherit a title, Darcy is as broke as Georgie. Even his family’s Irish castle has been sold to a rich American who now employs his father.
Nothing will deter them from their mission—except perhaps the news that Georgie’s future father-in-law has just been arrested for murdering the rich American. With the elopement postponed, they head for Ireland, where the suspect insists he’s innocent, and it’s up to them to prove it—for better or worse.
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Book 11: On Her Majesty’s Frightfully Secret Service
From the Publisher: When royal sleuth Georgie Rannoch receives a letter from her dearest friend Belinda, who’s in an Italian villa awaiting the birth of her illegitimate baby, she yearns to run to her side. If only she could find a way to get there! But then opportunity presents itself in a most unexpected way—her cousin the queen asks her to attend a house party in the Italian Lake Country. The Prince of Wales and the dreadful Mrs. Simpson have been invited, and Her Majesty is anxious to thwart a possible secret wedding.
What luck! A chance to see Belinda, even if it is under the guise of stopping unwanted nuptials. Only that’s as far as Georgie’s fortune takes her. She soon discovers that she attended finishing school with the hostess of the party—and the hatred they had for each other then has barely dimmed.
Plus, she needs to hide Belinda’s delicate condition from the other guests. And her dashing beau, Darcy’s (naturally) working undercover on a dangerous mission. Then her actress mother shows up, with a not-so-little task to perform. With all this subterfuge, it seems something is bound to go horribly wrong—and Georgie will no doubt be left to pick up the pieces when it does.
Book 12: Four Funerals and Maybe a Wedding
From the Publisher: In the days leading up to her wedding to Darcy O’Mara, Lady Georgiana Rannoch takes on the responsibilities of a grand estate, but proving she can run a household just may be the death of her…
If only Darcy and I had eloped! What I thought would be a simple wedding has been transformed into a grand affair, thanks to the attendance of the queen, who has offered up the princesses as bridesmaids. Silly me! I thought that withdrawing from the royal line of succession would simplify my life. But before Darcy and I tie the knot in front of queen and country, we have to find a place to live as man and wife.
House hunting turns out to be a pretty grim affair. Just as we start to lose hope, my globe-trotting godfather offers us his fully staffed country estate. Mistress of Eynsleigh I shall be!
With Darcy off in parts unknown, I head to Eynsleigh alone, only to have my hopes dashed. The grounds are in disarray, and the small staff is suspiciously incompetent. Not to mention the gas tap leak in my bedroom, which I can only imagine was an attempt on my life. Something rotten is afoot—and bringing the place up to snuff may put me six feet under before I even get a chance to walk down the aisle…
Book 13: Love and Death Among the Cheetahs
From the Publisher: Georgie and Darcy are finally on their honeymoon in Kenya’s Happy Valley, but murder crashes the party in this all-new installment in the New York Times bestselling series.
I was so excited when Darcy announced out of the blue that we were flying to Kenya for our extended honeymoon. Now that we are here, I suspect he has actually been sent to fulfill another secret mission. I am trying very hard not to pick a fight about it, because after all, we are in paradise! Darcy finally confides that there have been robberies in London and Paris. It seems the thief was a member of the aristocracy and may have fled to Kenya.
Since we are staying in the Happy Valley—the center of upper-class English life—we are well positioned to hunt for clues and ferret out possible suspects.
Now that I am a sophisticated married woman, I am doing my best to sound like one. But crikey! These aristocrats are a thoroughly loathsome sort enjoying a completely decadent lifestyle filled with wild parties and rampant infidelity. And one of the leading lights in the community, Lord Cheriton, has the nerve to make a play for me. While I am on my honeymoon! Of course, I put an end to that right off.
When he is found bloodied and lifeless along a lonely stretch of road, it appears he fell victim to a lion. But it seems that the Happy Valley community wants to close the case a bit too quickly. Darcy and I soon discover that there is much more than a simple robbery and an animal attack to contend with here in Kenya. Nearly everyone has a motive to want Lord Cheriton dead and some will go to great lengths to silence anyone who asks too many questions. The hunt is on! I just hope I can survive my honeymoon long enough to catch a killer. . . .
Book 14: The Last Mrs. Summers
From the Publisher: Lady Georgiana Rannoch is just back from her honeymoon with dashing Darcy O’Mara when a friend in need pulls her into a twisted Gothic tale of betrayal, deception and, most definitely, murder. . . .
I am a bit at loose ends at the moment. My cook, Queenie, is making my new role as mistress of Eynsleigh something akin to constant torture as Darcy is off on another one of his top secret jaunts. And Grandad is busy helping wayward youths avoid lives of crime. So when my dearest friend, Belinda, inherits an old cottage in Cornwall and begs me to go with her to inspect the property, I jump at the chance.
After a heart-stopping journey in Belinda’s beast of a motorcar, we arrive at the creaky old cottage called White Sails and quickly realize that it is completely uninhabitable.
Just when I’m starting to wonder if I would have been better off trying to get Queenie to cook a roast that hasn’t been burnt beyond all recognition, we meet Rose Summers, a woman Belinda knew as a child when she spent time in Cornwall. Rose invites us to stay at Trewoma Hall, the lovely estate now owned by her husband, Tony.
Belinda confesses that she never liked Rose and had a fling with Tony years ago, so staying with them is far from ideal but beggars can’t be choosers as they say. Trewoma is not the idyllic house Belinda remembers. There’s something claustrophobic and foreboding about the place. Matters aren’t helped by the oppressively efficient housekeeper Mrs. Mannering or by the fact that Tony seems to want to rekindle whatever he and Belinda once had right under his wife’s nose.
Our increasingly awkward visit soon turns deadly when a member of the household is found murdered and all clues point to Belinda as the prime suspect. I soon learn that some long buried secrets have come back to haunt those in residence at Trewoma Hall and I’ll need to sift through the ruins of their past so Belinda doesn’t lose her chance at freedom in the present. . . .
Book 15: God Rest Ye, Royal Gentlemen
From the Publisher: Georgie is back and hanging the stockings with care when a murder interrupts her Christmas cheer in this all-new installment in the New York Times bestselling Royal Spyness series from Rhys Bowen.
Georgie is excited for her first Christmas as a married woman in her lovely new home. She suggests to her dashing husband, Darcy, that they have a little house party, but when Darcy receives a letter from his aunt Ermintrude, there is an abrupt change in plans. She has moved to a house on the edge of the Sandringham estate, near the royal family, and wants to invite Darcy and his new bride for Christmas.
Aunt Ermintrude hints that the queen would like Georgie nearby. Georgie had not known that Aunt Ermintrude was a former lady-in-waiting and close confidante of her royal highness. The letter is therefore almost a royal request, so Georgie, Darcy, and their Christmas guests: Mummy, Grandad, Fig, and Binky all head to Sandringham.
Georgie soon learns that the notorious Mrs. Simpson, mistress to the Prince of Wales, will also be in attendance. It is now crystal clear to Georgie that the Queen expects her to do a bit of spying. There is tension in the air from the get-go, and when Georgie pays a visit to the queen, she learns that there is more to her request than just some simple eavesdropping. There have been a couple of strange accidents at the estate recently. Two gentlemen of the royal household have died in mysterious circumstances and another has been shot by mistake during a hunt. Georgie begins to suspect that a member of the royal family is the real target but her investigation will put her new husband and love of her life, Darcy, in the crosshairs of a killer.
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Book 16: Peril in Paris
From the Publisher: Lady Georgiana Rannoch and her dashing husband, Darcy, are awaiting a bundle of joy, but an unexpected trip to Paris will thrust them straight into a tangled web of international intrigue in this all-new mystery in the New York Times bestselling Royal Spyness series from Rhys Bowen.
What a delight it is to finally be able to enjoy a simple meal again! I have been in the throes of morning sickness for the last few months as Darcy and I prepare to welcome a brand-new addition to our little family. Now that I am feeling better, I have realized I am dreadfully bored!
It seems that all my nearest and dearest are off leading their own busy lives while I sit at home and attempt to train our two adorably naughty puppies. Fun as it may be, it is hard not to long for a little adventure, a change of pace, before my true confinement begins when the baby comes.
Happily, it seems that Darcy has read my mind. When I receive a letter from my glamorous best friend, Belinda, Darcy suggests we take a trip to Paris to visit her. It seems he also has a spot of business of which to take care, so I will be staying in Belinda’s flat as she works feverishly on Coco Chanel’s fall collection. I happen to know Coco from a disastrous encounter in Nice years ago, and I am hoping this visit will go much more smoothly. But I soon learn that nothing about my time in Paris is going to be simple . . . or safe for that matter.
Darcy has asked me to take on a small chore as a part of his latest assignment. I am to covertly retrieve something from an attendee of Coco’s show. It seems easy enough, but I discover that this little errand could have terrifying consequences for a world on the brink of war. When things go horribly wrong, I am left to find a killer all while trying to fend off a French policeman who is certain that I am a criminal mastermind. But I have no plans to deliver my darling little one in a prison cell, and so I will muster every ounce of my courage to save the day . . . and, quite possibly, the world!
The latest book – royal spyness Books in order
Book 17: The Proof of the Pudding
From the Publisher: Lady Georgiana Rannoch is looking forward to her first ever turn as hostess for her very own house party when the festivities lead to murder…
Georgie, back home at her estate in Eynsleigh, impatiently awaits the birth of her baby. But she has plenty to occupy her: her new chef, Pierre, has arrived from Paris, and Sir Hubert, who owns Eynsleigh, is back from his latest expedition. It’s time for Georgie to throw her first house party to celebrate his return and show off her new chef. The dinner party is a smashing success. Sir Mortimer Mordred—famous author of creepy Gothic horror novels—is one of the guests.
He recently purchased a nearby Elizabethan manor nearby because it has a famous poison garden. After the dinner, Sir Mortimer approaches Georgie and asks to borrow her new chef for his upcoming party, and Georgie and Darcy, her dashing husband, are invited!
The tour of the poison garden is fascinating, as is Sir Mortimer’s laboratory. Shockingly, just after the banquet several of the guests become sick. And one dies, apparently poisoned by berries from the garden. But how could this be when they all ate the same meal and the same delectable dessert? Georgie has to find the culprit to save her new chef and her own reputation—all before her bundle of joy arrives!
I hope you join Lady Georgiana and her friends and give this series a read. I would love to join in any discussion and hear any thoughts you have as you read through this series! Come back and comment and let’s talk books!
Gallery of The Royal Spyness Books in Order
Complete Molly Murphy Mystery Series Books In Order
Have you been looking for a complete list of the Molly Murphy series books in order? Then look no more!
