Malice at the Palace: A Royal Spyness Mystery

Bowen's ninth Royal Spyness mystery (after 2014's Queen of Hearts) is the best yet in this lighthearted series set in 1930s England. Queen Mary summons amateur sleuth Lady Georgiana "Georgie" Rannoch, a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria, to the palace, where she learns that the king's fourth son, George, is engaged to marry Princess Marina of Greece. Georgie is pleased to accept a royal offer to serve as Marina's companion and guide before the wedding day, since that duty gives her a much-needed place to live in Kensington Palace. It also affords ample opportunities for Georgie's maid, Queenie, an anti-Jeeves who leaves disaster in her wake, to break objects and protocol. The legends of ghosts infesting Kensington Palace appear to have substance, and Georgie sees a strange glow just before she happens upon the corpse of party girl Bobo Carrington. Unfortunately for Prince George, he was one of Bobo's beaus, leading to fears that he directly or indirectly caused her death. The solution to the murder is both clever and logical. Agent: Meg Ruley, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (Aug.)