Murder by Death

I'm on a serious historical fiction/mystery binge.  Apparently I have a temporary need to vicariously live in 19th century England; luckily I have quite a stack of books in my TBR pile that allow me to do just that.

The Royal Assassin is the third book in a series that would be better off called The Archivist Society mysteries, as almost nothing happens in the bookshop that Georgia Fenchurch owns.  Going a step further, the focus of the series is truly Georgia's interaction with the Duke of Blackford, the Archivist Society mostly being a convenient framework allowing the two to spend time together as equals, investigating crimes and threats against country and queen.

For all that, it still works as a great cozy historical mystery.  I enjoy Georgia and the Duke as well as most of the secondary characters (Sir whatshisname, the head of the Archivist Society, feels like a bit of a caricature), and I think the mysteries are interesting and entertaining.  The series story arc about Count Farkas and the death of her parents, however, leaves me ambivalent.

The Royal Assassin puts the Russian aristocracy front and center with the murder of a princess' body guard and a threat on the life of the princess herself.  The suspects are varied, and although I didn't guess who the culprit was, I wasn't surprised either; I'm not sure it could have realistically been anyone else.  Still a rather dramatic ending for a cozy and one that held my attention.  

I'm looking forward to the next book.