The author starts this instalment with an apology in advance; the book is set in Africa - Kenya - during the late 20's/early 30's, a time when race relations and the views of the British Empire (as were the rest of the world) were shameful.

This had me braced for difficult reading, but I have to say, that was not the disclaimer I needed. In true cozy style, Bowen acknowledged the dichotomy and inequality between white and black without really verbalising it. What caught me unawares (and shouldn't have; I can only wonder if the pre-apology diverted me), was the casual references to hunting big game. Of course it was a thing back then, and of course I should have seen it coming.

The other unexpected part of the story was the behaviour of the upper class in Kenya; a risqué path for a cozy, but done well by the author, and based on actual events and a real person: Lady Idina Sackville. Bowen closes with a short bibliography of texts she used in an effort to write about the times accurately.

All in all, another enjoyable instalment in a long-running series that has remained fairly strong throughout, balancing cheeky naiveté and interesting murder plots. ( )

Lady Georgiana & Darcy travel to Kenya and get involved in murder, possible treason & much more! A fun entry in the series but not as much mystery detection as in some of the books. ( )

In this latest edition of Rhys Bowen's Royal Spyness series, Georgie and Darcy are finally married and honeymooning on a barge on the River Thames. All is love and romance until they come up for air and realize they've run out of food. What to do?

Darcy decides to take one of his Foreign Office assignments to track down a stolen jewel to Kenya and combine it with an extension of his honeymoon. Once there, the couple finds themselves amid the notorious Happy Valley set wwhere, at a sex and drug fueled party , once of teh prominent guests turns up dead.

No need to go into th4e details, as this is another cozy romp from Ms. Bowen with a happy ending and a set up for the next volume to come. I cannot wait. ( )

Georgiana and Darcy are finally wed, but a dream honeymoon in Kenya turns out to be yet another opportunity to serve the Empire as high jinx among the high living upper crust lead to murder, with the Prince of Wales and Wallis Simpson once again in the vicinity. ( )

I thoroughly enjoyed the Royal Spyness Series and Love and Dead Among the Cheetahs provided a journey into Africa and an experience in that culture in the 1940’s. I was very surprised by many aspects of the story which Rhys Bowen explained at the end of the story were the truth. Spouse swapping, alcoholic drinking, and drugs among the English settlers were a common occurrence. I had never known that at night, Africa is extremely cold. The story opened my eyes to the rawness of life in Africa that Rhys Bowen dramatically presented. I felt that this book showed Rhys Bowen as an eloquent novelist. ( )