Summary: Above the Bay of Angels
A single twist of fate puts a servant girl to work in Queen Victoria’s
royal kitchen, setting off a suspenseful, historical mystery by the New
York Times bestselling author of The Tuscan Child and The
Victory Garden.
Isabella Waverly only means to comfort the woman felled on a London
street. In her final dying moments, she thrusts a letter into Bella’s hand.
It’s an offer of employment in the kitchens of Buckingham Palace, and everything
the budding young chef desperately wants: an escape from the constrictions of
her life as a lowly servant. In the stranger’s stead, Bella can spread her
wings.
Arriving as Helen Barton from Yorkshire, she pursues her passion for
creating culinary delights, served to the delighted Queen Victoria herself.
Best of all, she’s been chosen to accompany the queen to Nice. What fortune!
Until the threat of blackmail shadows Bella to the Riviera, and a member of the
queen’s retinue falls ill and dies.
Having prepared the royal guest’s
last meal, Bella is suspected of the poisonous crime. An investigation is sure
to follow. Her charade will be over. And her new life will come crashing
down—if it doesn’t send her to the gallows.
Book Review: Above the Bay of Angels by Rhys Bowen
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 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 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.
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.
My rating: 4 stars /
5Book Details
Print Length: 323 pages
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1542008255
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing (February 11, 2020)
Publication Date: February 11, 2020
Sold by: Amazon.com Services LLC
Language: English
ASIN: B07T6KS3QH
About The Author
Rhys Bowen is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author of two historical mystery series as
well as three internationally bestselling stand alone novels. Her books have
won multiple awards and been translated into over twenty languages. A
transplanted Brit, Rhys now divides her time between California and Arizona,
where she escapes from those harsh California winters. https://rhysbowen.com/bio/
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