Summary: Georgie is now out of morning sickness and decides to go to Paris to visit her best friend Belinda while Darcy is there “on business.” Trouble ensues.
As I said in my post about Thrones, Dominations, I picked up Peril in Paris on audiobook as I was finishing reading Thrones, Dominations on kindle. I have long thought that Rhys Bowen was drawing some inspiration from Dorothy Sayers, and these two books, more than any except the first books in the series, contributed to that suspicion.
I really like the Her Royal Spyness series as fluffy fun. I often read them when I need a change of pace and some humor. I do get tired of some of the lack of confidence that Georgie has in herself. But generally, I like the series. I wouldn’t still be reading the 16th book if I didn’t.
It took forever for Georgie and Darcy to finally get married. But now that they are, there are still some adjustments that need to take place. Darcy has a job that no one will quite say, but it is a spy/fixer role for the British Foreign Office. Going off for long periods was not a big deal when he was single. Now that he is married, it is a bigger deal. He likes his work, but it is not particularly stable, it doesn’t pay well, and it is dangerous. And Georgie is also increasingly aware, especially of the danger. But she knows he loves the work, and she wants him to do it, but she doesn’t particularly want to think about the danger.
The book regularly jokes about how Georgie has seen bodies and knows quite a bit about murder investigations and intrigue. But Darcy tends to underestimate her and worries about her, especially because she is now pregnant. I get that Georgie worries about Darcy, and Darcy may not want to stress Georgie out. But when Georgie has helped to solve over a dozen murders and done other work for the Queen, he should probably talk to her more about what is happening.
A couple of books ago, Belinda inherited quite a bit of money. So her money concerns are gone, but she still is interested in being a designer, and so is doing an internship with Coco Chanel. Georgie met Coco in a previous book, and that relationship gets renewed when Georgie visits Belinda.
As has been a regular part of the series for a while, the second world war is getting closer, and issues of Germany keep coming up. Georgie’s mother is still living with a German millionaire. But as I said in my post on Thrones, Dominations, the series still feels fluffy even when the subject matter gets more serious. The book has a running theme of how war harms soldiers and families. It is referring to WWI, but wanting to avoid war again. And there is a discussion of concentration camps and fascism, and the horrors in Germany. But that is driven by the era of historical fiction, not because the series handles it particularly well.
I have been enjoying the books more since Georgie and Darcy have gotten married. But there are annoyances that I still have.
Peril in Paris by Rhys Bowen (Her Royal Spyness #16) Purchase Links: Hardcover, Kindle Edition, Audible.com Audiobook