From Cradle to Grave - Cozy Historical Mystery Review

Goodreads:  From Cradle to Grave (A Royal Spyness Mystery #19)

Rating: Really Liked It (4 Stars)
Source:   Publisher

Description:  Georgie may not have much in common with your average new mother, but she does have one a new nanny she despises. Knowing she must find a nanny more suited to her young son, Georgie travels to London to see her old friend ZouZou, only to find her about to depart for a funeral, after the unexpected death of a young man. It quickly becomes clear there’s more than one mysterious death around town, when another friend, Georgie Gormsley, reveals he’s just returned from the funeral of a school friend, who seemingly drowned while swimming. And then Georgie's best friend, Belinda, receives a telegram informing her that the son of family friends has died tragically. It begins to seem like too much of a coincidence to Georgie. Yet the victims didn’t seem to have any connection to one another.

Georgie returns to ZouZou, who puts the final nail in the coffin—she’s sure that the deaths were not an accident and begs Georgie to solve the case. As Georgie begins investigating, she can’t help worrying that her own husband, Darcy, may be next. She begins to suspect there might be a serial killer at work and as she delves deeper into the case, realizes that the young men may all share a link to a crime many years ago. Will Georgie solve the murders before it’s too late for Darcy, and manage to find the perfect nanny all at the same time?

Genre: Mystery - Cozy Historical

Why I Picked This Book:  I've read the most recent books in this series and am enjoying catching up on the earlier books so of course I had to pick this one up!
 
My Impression:   I felt a bit sorry for Georgie in the beginning of this.  She basically wants to be left alone with her family at her home in the English countryside.  Things are quickly turned on their ear when a formable woman appears at the door to be the nanny to Georgie's 7 month old son James.  Soon after,, the reason for the nanny appearing in the first place also turns up a the door.  Georgie isn't the most outspoken confident person and Nanny and Fig most definitely are so I couldn't help but feel sorry for her as she tried to stand up for what she actually wants while trying not to offend anyone.  I did kind of want to shake Darcy for not being more supportive.

In all the household chaos the mystery kind of sneaks in as the death of one young man after the other gets mentioned and bit by bit begins to stack up.  It's an interesting concept and proves to be an interesting mystery.  I enjoyed how Georgie gets involved as well as more time with ZouZoe who we haven't seen very much of in the last few books.  I also love what the author has done with Queenie who was easily one of my top 5 least favorite cozy mystery side kicks.  She has a valuable role in the household but is only a side character in Georgie's life and normally the chaos she unleashes impacts some of the unlikable characters visiting the house (in this case Fig and Nanny).  

I really enjoyed this book and wasn't sure how any of the various plots would work out.  There is a lot about Georgie's life which as a long time reader of the series I really enjoyed but may be a bit much if you start the series with this one.  If you're starting the series from the beginning just remember while Fig doesn't get better Queenie most definitely does.  I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series and finishing up the books in the middle of the series that I've missed.

Would I Read More of this Series/Author? Absolutely!  I've enjoyed everything I've read by this author and am looking forward to reading more.

Would I Recommend this Book?  I recommend this series but do recommend starting earlier in the series so you can get to know the characters.

* I received this book in exchange for an honest review.  As always my opinions and impressions are completely my own. *