Historical Mystery Review: The Proof of the Pudding | Rhys Bowen | Her Royal Spyness #17

A poison garden is at the center of The Proof of the Pudding, when a dinner party is disrupted by a poisoned guest!

About the Book | The Proof of the Pudding

Lady Georgiana “Georgie” Rannoch and her husband Darcy O’Mara are expecting their first child. Though Georgie is a cousin to Kind Edward VIII and therefore connected to the royal family, the couple is distant enough that finances are tight. Georgie and Darcy live on her godfather’s estate in the English countryside. Their current struggle is dealing with the deeply unappetizing food cooked by Georgie’s former maid Queenie while they wait for their new chef Pierre to arrive. Once Pierre takes over the kitchen, Queenie stays on as his assistant (to some initial bumps in the road when Queenie won’t stop flirting with Pierre or accidentally throwing out his ingredients).

Georgie and Darcy are finally able to throw a dinner party, and Pierre wows their guests with his delectable cuisine. So much so that author Sir Mordred Mortimer asks Georgie if Pierre can cook for his fundraiser to raise money for orphans. Sir Mordred hosts the dinner party at his infamous estate. The house and gardens are beautiful, but the real draw is his famed poison garden—a garden filled with poisonous plants. Fitting for an author of gothic horror novels!

Sir Mordred’s party goes off without a hitch, but the next day several of the guests are sick. When one of the guests dies, the death is quickly traced back to some poisonous berries that were in the tarts at dinner. Suspicion quickly falls on Georgie’s chef, Pierre—he prepared the dinner the guests ate. Georgie is convinced Pierre wouldn’t poison the guests, but it may be up to her to find out who did (with a little help from fellow dinner guest and detective, Agatha Christie).

Review | The Proof of the Pudding

The Proof of the Pudding is a light and engaging historical mystery. The poison garden was a great setting to build a story around—it’s such a fascinating and dark hobby. Sir Mordred Mortimer is quickly revealed to be a bit much to handle for more than a dinner party. Still, the charity he is supporting is an admirable cause.

The interesting part of the mystery was piecing together why the two victims ended up as the victims, while most others experienced temporary symptoms of the poison. Since the poison was linked to berries in the tarts, there was a snag in the investigation because Georgie turned down her tart. It was then given to another guest, and that changed the order the tarts were served in. Does this mean that someone else was the intended victim? Thankfully Georgie has Agatha Christie (such a fun cameo in the book!) to assist her in using logic and reasoning to find killer and the motive.

It took a while into the book for the mystery to really kick off, but I found that it didn’t detract from the experience. The beginning was quite humorous—especially the dynamic between Pierre (who is talented but a bit of a diva) and Queenie. The mystery had plenty of space for leads to be explored and suspects to be cleared. Readers will find themselves enjoying the story from start to finish.

A great historical mystery with a fun premise and a delightful cameo!

Thank you to Berkley Publishing for my copy. Opinions are my own.

About the Series | Her Royal Spyness

Her ridiculously long name is Lady Victoria Georgiana Charlotte Eugenie, daughter to the Duke of Atholt and Rannoch. And she is flat broke. As the thirty-fourth in line for the throne, she has been taught only a few things, among them, the perfect curtsey. But when her brother cuts off her allowance, she leaves Scotland, and her fiancé Fish-Face, for London, where she has:

a) worked behind a cosmetics counter—and gotten sacked after five hours
b) started to fall for a quite unsuitable minor royal
c) made some money housekeeping (incognita, of course), and
d) been summoned by the Queen to spy on her playboy son

Then an arrogant Frenchman, who wants her family’s 800-year-old estate for himself, winds up dead in her bathtub. Now her most important job is to clear her very long family name.

Check out more from the Her Royal Spyness series!

About the Author | Rhys Bowen

Rhys Bowen is the New York Times bestselling author of more than forty novels, including The Venice Sketchbook, nominated for the Edgar Award for Best Novel; The Victory Garden; The Tuscan Child; and the World War II-based In Farleigh Field, winner of the Left Coast Crime Award for Best Historical Mystery Novel and the Agatha Award for Best Historical Novel.

Bowen’s work has won over twenty honors to date, including multiple Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity awards. Her books have been translated into many languages, and she has fans around the world, including over 70,000 Facebook followers.

Her Evan Evans series, set in Wales, is currently being reissued by Joffe Books in the U.K.

A transplanted Brit, Bowen divides her time between California and Arizona.

Synopsis | Goodreads

Lady Georgiana Rannoch is looking forward to her first ever turn as hostess for her very own house party when the festivities lead to murder…

Georgie, back home at her estate in Eynsleigh, impatiently awaits the birth of her baby. But she has plenty to occupy her new chef, Pierre, has arrived from Paris, and Sir Hubert, who owns Eynsleigh, is back from his latest expedition. It’s time for Georgie to throw her first house party to celebrate his return and show off her new chef. The dinner party is a smashing success. Sir Mortimer Mordred—famous author of creepy Gothic horror novels—is one of the guests. He recently purchased a nearby Elizabethan manor nearby because it has a famous poison garden. After the dinner, Sir Mortimer approaches Georgie and asks to borrow her new chef for his upcoming party, and Georgie and Darcy, her dashing husband, are invited!

The tour of the poison garden is fascinating, as is Sir Mortimer’s laboratory. Shockingly, just after the banquet several of the guests become sick. And one dies, apparently poisoned by berries from the garden. But how could this be when they all ate the same meal and the same delectable dessert? Georgie has to find the culprit to save her new chef and her own reputation—all before her bundle of joy arrives!