Heirs and Graces 貧乏お嬢さま、恐怖の館へ 英国王妃の事件ファイル by Rhys Bowen

"今回もジョージーは、兄や母に頼らない生活をするため女王から紹介された公爵未亡人のために、ある手伝いをすることに。この話は今までのようなワクワク感をあまり感じなかったのですが、前半の状況説明部分が長くてなかなか事件が起こらなかったのと、ジョージーが事件の渦中にいるというより、傍観者であったため、かと思っています。それに事件を解いたのはジョージーであっても、交霊会でのウィジャボード（コックリさんのようなもの）が助けになっているし。それでも、ミステリーとしてはおもしろかったし、ダーシーとの目配せによる意思疎通ぶりなど、相変わらず二人がいい関係であることがわかって安心できるし、シリーズもここまでくると安定しています。血のつながりや貴族の大変さを改めて考えさせられ、最後にほろりとする場面もあって、楽しめました ....." "Georgie has been sent by the royal family to help orient a lost heir to a duke. Jack has been in Australia, working on a sheep ranch and is quite rough around the edges. She is delighted to find out that Darcy has been involved with tracking down and returning Jack to England and hopes to sneak some time with him. While the dowager duchess is determined to make Jack fit in, the current duke is less than pleased and shocks the whole family with his intent to adopt his valet as his heir. When he ends up dead, all signs initially point to Jack, but Georgie is concerned that things don’t add up. With a host of potential suspects, she and Darcy will be kept busy trying to find out who the killer is. With a few twists and turns along the way and a host of quirky characters, this cozy mystery keeps you guessing....."

장르는 역사허구 미스터리이다. 인색하고 변덕스러운 상속자의 죽음과 그를 둘러싼 의심스러운 인물들의 등장, 귀족 승계, 위장된 자살, 어리석은 자들의 실험, 용기, 심령회, 교육, 여성들에 대한 시대적 한계 및 차별, 새로운 삶의 의미와 의무를 자각, 희망 등이 주요한 핵심어이다. 코지 미스터리가 가지는 요소를 잘 보여주는 작품이고 다른 시리즈처럼 편안하게 읽을 수 있는 작품이다. 긴장감 넘치는 묘사나 화려한 장면들이 없지만 재밌게 읽을 수 있는 작품이다. 난해하지 않은 문장들이고 영국적이고 특수한 의미의 표현들이 좀 등장하기도 하지만 이해하는데 큰 어려움이 없는 거 같다.