Four Funerals and Maybe a a Wedding - Cozy Mystery Review

Goodreads:Four Funerals and Maybe a Wedding (Royal Spyness #12) by Rhys Bowen

Rating: Very Good

Source: Publisher

Description:  Georgie is finally able to plan for her wedding in the summer. It is going to be a summer of weddings: her mother is marrying Max, her German beau; Georgie's grandfather is marrying his next door neighbor, Mrs. Huggins; and Darcy's father is getting up the courage to ask the princess to marry him. Georgie is staying at the princess's London house when she receives a letter from one of her mother's former husbands, Sir Hubert Anstruther. Georgie is now his sole heir, and he's offering her the use of his lovely country house. He suggests she move in right away to keep an eye on the place because all might not be well since his butler died.

Georgie talks this through with her husband-to-be, Darcy, who is off to Europe again, this time to Berlin. They decide that she will take Sir Hubert up on his offer. However, when Georgie arrives, it becomes clear that she is definitely not wanted in the house. Strange things are happening, including a lively ghost and a less than friendly reception from the new butler. When a body shows up, Georgie realizes that Sir Hubert's invitation may not have been entirely altruistic and begins to wonder if she'll even make it to her wedding day.

Genre: Mystery - Cozy

Why I Picked This Book:  I've really enjoyed this series even though I've missed a few in the middle and I'm excited to see if Darcy and Georgie actually get married.

My Impression: So I always enjoy the Royal Spyness books.  I can always depend on them to be fun and light with a great 1930s and touches of royalty.  However, for some reason this one really grabbed me and I was all in from page one!  I think Georgie just feels a little bit more grown up and a little bit more comfortable in her own skin even when she's having a bit of a (very justified) meltdown.  The mystery took a little while to get to but I was so caught up in the wedding planning and all the other life arranging that Georgie is in the middle of figuring out that I didn't even notice!

But the mystery - it was such a good one!  I love a good country house upstairs/downstairs mystery and this had that in spades with hijinks and all kids of craziness.  It had kind of an Agatha Christie feel but with a bit more humor.  I found the pacing to be super fast without being rushed and this one was one of those books I found myself sneaking off to read "just a page or two".

This was such a quick read with all the fun I've come to expect from this series but with a mystery that surpassed my expectations. 

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?  Absolutely!  I really enjoyed this one which makes me excited for the next book!

Would I Recommend this Book?  I would though this is one of those series that might be better to start with an earlier book.  I felt like this one was better than earlier books but there are a lot of characters with complicated relationships and that could get confusing if you're new to the series.