The Royal Assassin

In Parker’s frothy third Victorian Bookshop mystery (after 2014’s The Counterfeit Lady), London bookseller Georgia Fenchurch, a leading light of the Archivist Society (a covert group “dedicated to getting justice for people when the police fail”), gets ample opportunity to spend time with her dream man, the Duke of Blackford, and help the British Empire. The Russian bodyguard of Princess Kira, a Romanov engaged to be married to a cousin of Queen Victoria, has been murdered, and the British government authorities fear that Kira will be next. Georgia goes undercover as Kira’s secretary and soon learns that her charge is guarding some secrets very tightly. A subplot concerning the man Georgia holds responsible for her parents’ murder somewhat distracts, as do plot contrivances that function purely to put people’s lives in jeopardy. Smart pacing and a hefty dose of chaste romance may be enough for most cozy readers. Agent: Jill Marsal, Marsal Lyons Literary Agency. (July)