Brought to you by OBS reviewer Kayt

Synopsis:

Lady Georgiana Rannoch, thirty-fifth in line for the British throne, knows how to play the part of an almost royal—but now she’s off to Hollywood, where she must reprise her role as sleuth or risk starring in an all-too-convincing death scene … 

My 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 my moral support, and since all expenses are paid by her new hubby-to-be, Max, I agree to make the voyage with her.

Crossing the Atlantic, with adventure in the air and wealthy men aboard, Mother all but forgets about Max and matrimony—especially when movie mogul Cy Goldman insists on casting her in his next picture.

Meanwhile, I find myself caught up in the secret investigation of a suspected jewel thief. Lucky for me, the lead investigator happens to be my dashing beau, Darcy!

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 we hardly get a chance to work out the sleeping arrangements before Cy turns up dead—as if there wasn’t enough drama already…

Review:

Queen of Hearts is a fun and fast paced historical mystery set in 1934. Lady Georgiana Rannoch, cousin to His Majesty King George, is whisked away from the dreariness of sitting with 3 elderly sisters. Her mother Claire Daniels needs to get to Reno, NV right away. She swoops in and insists her daughter join her. Claire needs a quickie divorce and Reno is just the place for one. Her German fiancé wants to get married and doesn’t know she is already married.

The two ladies and their maids travel to America by ship. The wonderful cruise ship, The Berengaria, was the ship of the millionaire before the depression. They meet Cy Goldman, impresario of Golden Pictures and Stella Brightwell, famous actress, at the captain’s table on their first night. And so begins the adventures for all of them on the ship and off. With appearances of friends from back home and once in Los Angeles they even meet up with Charlie Chaplin.

Georgiana (Georgie) is shocked when her boyfriend Darcy appears in her room on board. He is on a mission from Scotland Yard that ends up intersecting with the ladies’ plans. Everyone ends up in Hollywood. As one man is murdered, the suspects are too numerous to get a handle on at first. But Georgie is too inquisitive and intelligent to let that stop her.

I have not read any of the other books in this series and I do not think one needs to in order to enjoy this one. There is so much going on that I hated to put the book down.  Rhys Bowen’s writing style is easy and entertaining. The characters came to life in the wonderful descriptive writing and their conversations. I thoroughly enjoyed this mystery. I would recommend Queen of Hearts to any mystery reader, historical fiction lover and any Anglophile.

*OBS would like to thank the publisher for supplying a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review as part of their ongoing blog tour*