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  • God Rest Ye, Royal Gentlemen

  • Royal Spyness, Book 15
  • Written by: Rhys Bowen
  • Narrated by: Jasmine Blackborow
  • Length: 9 hrs and 8 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (39 ratings)

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God Rest Ye, Royal Gentlemen

Written by: Rhys Bowen
Narrated by: Jasmine Blackborow
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Publisher's Summary

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 best-selling 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.

©2021 Janet Quin-Harkin (P)2021 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about God Rest Ye, Royal Gentlemen

Average Customer Ratings
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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Not her best.

I still loved the mystery and having more of Darcy with Georgie, but I detest Queenie. I don't believe that anyone, no matter how nice. Would keep Queenie as an employee.

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Lot of excitement all yhe way through the book.

I have been reading/listened to her books with patients. could not wait for the next book.

I hope to find more book series from her like that.

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  • Nat
  • 2022-04-11

next?

Awaiting the next installment of this series. I do hope it continues. I find it entertaining and floats me to another world.

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Can’t wait

I think this is my favourite series. I felt so sad to read the last pages. I certainly hope that Georgie and Darcy continue to work as a team and the series continues for many many more books. I do wish there was a little more naughty bits like there were in previous books in the series.
Being married does not the end of mischief and desire. Keep them coming please

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Georgie Solves it again!

I absolutely loved this instalment of the Royal Spyness series. The story was fun and the narration was very good.

There were several places where I laughed out loud and was guessing all along the way of who the killer was... I didn't get it right.

This is my favorite series and I look forward to what's next for Georgie and Darcy

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  • Gabrielle Chartley
  • 2021-10-18

Loved the story, endured the narration.

Possibly the best plot since 12 clues of Christmas, royal intrigue, a surprising villain, all the people we love to love (minus ZouZou) and those we love to hate (Mrs Simpson at her awful best!)

HOWEVER. Kellgren's Georgie sounded earnest, courageous, naive, but determined. Blackborow's Georgie actually sounds like Fig: whiny, arrogant, entitled, and just not very likable.

Blackborow does a good job with Mrs. Simpson, a decent job with Belinda & Mum, a passable job with Grandad, but Darcy sounds soft and effeminate rather than strong and sexy, and the narration has lost Kellgren's impressive (and accurate) range of Scottish, Irish, and English accents.

PS: We thankfully avoid the xenophobic "stupid foreign policeman" caricature which has been carbon-copied throughout the series and is rather insulting for those of us who are neither British nor American.

19 people found this helpful

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  • Amber Youngblood
  • 2021-12-09

Narrator not as awful as everyone says

I almost didn't buy this book bc of all the bad reviews on the narrator. Yes, I loved and preferred Kellgren, but she unfortunately passed away and this narrator does a great job in my opinion. Just wanted to put this out there for those debating on whether to get this one. This series is best listened to instead of read IMO as it adds so much depth to the story.

18 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Amy S
  • 2021-12-20

Her Royal Spyness is Fully Back to Good Form!

The Story:
Credit where credit is due. I was ready to quit this series a couple books ago. It seemed Bowen could not further the characters along and Georgie would always be a virginal, poor relation, Darcy would be a figure who shows up to the save the day and then disappear again, and Queenie would be a terrible and annoying maid. All other characters would be resigned to be caricatures dropping in. I had to give up on M.C. Beaton years ago because of the lack of development and I was worried that was where Rhys Bowen would end up. Thankfully, that is no longer the case.
With the last two books we got to see Georgie grow up a bit with the focus on her and Darcy in Cheetahs and Belinda with Mrs. Summers. Vast improvement in the storytelling.

In this outing, it feels like Bowen has found her form again in this series. Georgie and Darcy are a wonderful, real couple. They disagree on somethings, but Georgie doesn't tailspin into doubting their entire relationship and Darcy treats her with respect and not a girl who he has to come in and save (quite the opposite). We get a lot of the familiar features like a country manor, her royal relations (including David and "the awful woman"), and even her mother and grandfather (no Noel Coward this Christmas though). Also, Georgie does not second guess everything she does, and- no spoilers- the ending was maybe the strongest in the series. After several books of stalling and then finding the right voice for Georgie's changes in her life, this one hits all the right notes and I hope Bowen continues to build on the series now that it has found its footing again. We need more of Darcy's father and ZouZou, we need to get her mother back from Germany, and find out how Belinda is fairing beyond a passing sentence. It feels like this series has life again.

The Narration:
Jasmine Blackborow is not Katherine Kellgren. No one is Katherine Kellgren and the world lost a legend when she passed. She was a rare talent and people will enjoy the work she left behind for generations.
All that said, Jasmine Blackborow has vastly improved over the last few books. Queenie is not screechy, Darcy is real and does not sound almost mysterious and aloof, and Georgie sounds like a proper lady of her time. New and recurring side characters have true, distinct voices.
There are great narrators out there still, but I am not sure anyone else would do as well as Blackborow does now. I actually went back and listened to The Twelve Clues of Christmas (Kelgren) before listening to this and the difference was not as stark as when the series was forced to change after On Her Majesty's... to Blackborow in Four Funerals. If people are listening to the whole series and still cannot listen to Blackborow, then they might want to switch to reading because no one will be Kellgren.

14 people found this helpful

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  • Augusta
  • 2021-10-15

Fun story but narration was disappointing

I enjoy these books as fun little escapes but this narrator was disappointing her “Darcy” was particularly sub par.

13 people found this helpful

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  • Zoey
  • 2021-11-03

New narrator please!!

LOVE..the Royal Spyness series and Rhys!! I just cannot handle this narrator. Oh how I miss Katherine Kellgren, never to be replicated. I continue to listen because I love all the characters however, Lady Georgie has lost her sweetness, let’s not speak of the other characters. I agree with those who expressed the loss of continuity.

12 people found this helpful

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  • Wayne
  • 2022-03-07

Domesticated Georgie

This episode of the wonderful Royal Spyness cozy historical mystery series has Georgie and Darcy finally married and establishing a household as Christmas 1935 approaches. As always there is lots of fun with most of the marvelous series characters, along with some new ones, being present. The plot includes multiple murders and it may be the strongest plot of any of the novels in the series.

I disagree as strongly as possible with those reviewers who find the narration by Jasmine Blackborow to be poor. Her narration is consistently excellent. The great Katherine Kellgren, the best and most accomplished audiobook narrator ever, narrated the first 11 Royal Spyness novels before she died early in 2018. Ms. Blackborow is not as good as Katherine Kellgren but neither is any other audiobook narrator, male or female.

7 people found this helpful

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  • Mary Alice Wojciechowski
  • 2021-10-19

Christmas Fun!

Rhys Bowen has gifted us with another of her fine mysteries, skillfully weaving historical facts through her imaginative narrative. The glimpses into British Christmas traditions are especially fun. When I finished reading and paused to evaluate the story, I realized that what is missing is the sexual tension between Darcy and Georgiana that ran through most of the earlier series, making it feel more generic murder mystery and less “Her Royal Spyness.” That said, it is still a highly enjoyable read that I can recommend to fans of the series, historical fiction, or mysteries in general. Anxiously awaiting the next installment!

5 people found this helpful

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  • AmazonianCat
  • 2021-11-09

Another good story

I love Georgie and Darcy. This is a fun book since they are together for the entire story. I still miss Katherine Kellgren as narrator, but Jasmine is growing on me. If you are a Spyness fan, I recommend...if you are just a fan of sweet Christmas romance (with a bit of cosy murder) then also I recommend. I hope Ms. Bowen keeps them coming!!

4 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Michael
  • 2021-11-08

Excellent, as usual

Rhys Bowen has done it again. A truly excellent story — exciting, well-written, and well told. You truly get the impression of being in the Royal’s Norfolk estate, eating the food, seeing the environment, inhaling the atmosphere.
All the interesting characters you’d expect in her novels are there, including real life people such as the king and queen and other members of the royal family. And Mrs. Simpson.
Can’t wait to read the next book in the series and discover what’s in the future for Georgiana and Darcy, especially since war is looming.
But all in all, an excellent book.

4 people found this helpful

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  • Kathy in CA
  • 2021-10-16

Another Great Georgie Story

I love the Royal Spyness series and have devoured every one in the series within a few days of release. I thought this was one of the better ones, partly because it has more interaction with the royal family than some of the others. And with Mrs. Simpson, which makes it especially delicious, especially when Georgie's mother is also on the scene.

Some personal hints with Georgie and Darcy are quite obvious, but who cares when there's another delightful Royal Spyness tale!? I did miss Belinda in this one, but all of the other usual characters are present.

I still miss the original series narrator, but the current one does a marvelous job. She's a great replacement.

4 people found this helpful