Above the Bay of Angels is the first novel I have read by Rhys Bowen, and I found it a pleasure to read. It features Isabella Waverly who, by a series of incidents, takes another woman’s identity, gets her job as under-cook at Buckingham Palace and gets to be on the queen’s cooking team travelling to Nice. When a member of the party dies of poisoning, Bella is suspected of the crime.
To recover from a nasty cold after her stay at The Isle of Wight Her Majesty goes to Nice. As the pastry chef is indisposed, Bella gets to go as the only female on staff.
While in Nice there is an attempt on Her Majesty’s life which goes wrong. Instead a member of the queen’s entourage is graced by the bullet. Later he dies of poisoning. While Bella is harboring the secret of her real identity, she tries to aid the police to make them too busy with the poison investigation to focus on her.
I loved the parts of the book with descriptions of life in Buckingham Palace, which gave me a vibe of the TV-series Victoria. I loved the descriptions of the splendid interiors of the Palace. The descriptions of the grand entryways and hallways with marble, paintings and cases resemble footage I have seen of how it looks.
Coming from aristocracy falling on hard times, Bella has worked as assistant cook in a nouveau-riche household where she has discovered her talent for cooking.
I found Bella to be a nice girl, but she has some personality traits and an attitude which brings her into trouble in this story. Instead of telling the truth and take her chances, she decides to steal another person’s identity, lie and cheat her way into the position at Buckingham Palace. But I’m pleased to see her conscience is bothering her, which shows she has a good heart and it’s in her character to do the right thing. I very much appreciate the crafting of what I found to be a multi-layered and realistic character.
While the queen was trying to remain anonymous, she would travel with the Highland Pipers who attracted masses of attention in France with their kilts and their sturdiness, which I found thoroughly amusing.
I enjoyed the easy flow of the writing with all the vivid descriptions of royal life from the downstairs perspective. I appreciate the research conducted to present a work like this.
The ending felt somewhat predictable and rushed, as the clues were leading in a certain direction throughout the plot. While the story was entertaining, I would have appreciated a few surprises and twists along the way. It was a very quick and easy read. As a lover of English historical fiction, I found the setting of the plot right up my alley.
Above The Bay of Angels is recommended for fans of Rhys Bowen and readers of historical fiction.
Thank you to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for this eARC, which gave me the opportunity to share my honest review. All opinions are completely my own.
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