No plot details yet on this latest in the 1930s-set series featuring Lady Georgiana Rannoch, aka Georgie, though from the title we can guess that she's carrying out her amateur sleuthing in the City of Light. From Agatha/Anthony award winner Bowen.

Set in 1936, Bowen's middling 16th Royal Spyness mystery (after 2021's God Rest Ye, Royal Gentlemen) demands even more suspension of disbelief than usual. Though Lady Georgiana "Georgie" Ranoch O'Mara is expecting her first child, she's still roped into a dangerous assignment by her husband, Darcy, who works for a shadowy branch of the British government. Georgie's best friend from school, Belinda, has invited her to Paris, where Belinda is assisting fashion designer Coco Chanel. The scheduled arrival in that city of Gerda Goldberg, a Jewish friend of Nazi leader Hermann Göring's wife, could enable Darcy to get his hands on some valuable microfilm; Gerda's scientist husband has developed a poison gas detector and has agreed to pass the formula to the British. Georgie, who will attend the same fashion show as Gerda, is to get the microfilm from her and convey it to Darcy. That pregnant Georgie would agree to such a risky assignment will strike many as improbable, as will her suspicions that Darcy might actually be working for Hitler. Sadly absent is the laugh-out-loud humor of the series' best entries. This one's for diehard fans only. Agent: Meg Ruley, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (Nov.)

It is 1936. Lady Georgiana Rannoch, thirty-fifth in the line of royal succession, is married to her beloved Darcy, and they are expecting their first child. When Darcy invites Georgie to accompany him on a business trip to Paris--she isn't quite sure what his business is, but thinks he might be a spy--she's delighted at the opportunity to see her best friend, Belinda, who works in Coco Chanel's atelier. The visit starts well, with Georgie meeting Gertrude Stein, Ernest Hemingway, and a host of beguiling Parisians. Then Darcy asks her to help him retrieve microfilm from a German scientist, whose wife will bring it to Chanel's fashion show where Georgie will model a Chanel creation. But things go awry: during the show, the scientist's wife disappears, a woman is murdered, and Georgie becomes the prime suspect. Plenty of suspense (with a full serving of herrings) and a satisfying conclusion make this a fine addition to Bowen's Her Royal Spyness series and will delight those who enjoy visiting Paris vicariously.

A quick trip to Paris turns into a dangerous murder hunt in 1936. Lady Georgiana Rannoch O'Mara may be cousin to King Edward VIII, but she and her husband, Darcy O'Mara, are poor and lucky to be living on an estate belonging to a relative. The pregnant Georgie, who's finally over her morning sickness, jumps at the chance to go to Paris with Darcy and spend time with her best friend, Belinda, who's apprenticing with Coco Chanel. Darcy has a hush-hush job, and Georgie always worries when he's away, so she's especially happy that they won't be separated. Once they settle in Paris, Darcy asks Georgie to do a little job for him picking up microfilm from Frau Goldberg, whose husband, a Jewish scientist, isn't allowed to travel. Georgie enjoys spending time in the city with Belinda and her avant-garde friends. Since she's modeled for Chanel before, though with disastrous results, she's urged to model a dress Chanel designs to hide her pregnancy. The only good thing to come out of the experience is the chance it provides to get the microfilm from Frau Goldberg, who's attending the fashion show with the ladies from a delegation that includes Georgie's mother, who's engaged to a wealthy German. After rude American Mrs. Rottenburger takes Frau Goldberg's seat, Georgie finds the lady dead of cyanide poisoning. Was she the real target, or was it a case of mistaken identity? Georgie had better find out, for the French police think she's the killer. The mystery is meager, but touring prewar Paris with Bowen's irresistible sleuth is a treat. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.