Keir, Linda. The Royal Game. Narrated by Barrie Kreinik & Shiromi Arserio. Blackstone Publishing – Audiobooks, 2024. 10 hours. ISBN 9798212017619. $19.95.

** 1/2

This novel of contemporary court intrigue masquerades as a romance, but is actually a mystery, and although I am not a fan of that particular genre, having just completed binge-watching The Crown, the romantic elements and excellent narration were strong enough to compel me to listen all the way through.

Jennie Jensen, adoptee of nice regular Iowan folks, is a singer-songwriter with a significant following. When she’s doing a set in England, she doesn’t recognize the latecomer who requests her hit song (after she’s already performed it) as the heir apparent. He invites her out, and when he finally discloses who he is, she’s charmed. She hadn’t planned on falling in love with Hugh, but a number of months later, they’re engaged. Royal life grows more and more confining as the wedding date nears, and Jennie starts to get the feeling that someone doesn’t want her to marry into the family: she becomes ill on the boat during her bachelorette party, her cake topper is snapped in half, and documents she stores in her safe deposit box go missing. When she finally relays her fears, they are dismissed.

Hugh’s mother was killed in a plane crash during his teen years; from here, the storyline closely follows the royal family’s history. Hugh is an amalgam of Harry and William, and Jennie, an American, seems to be getting the same ostracizing treatment as former actress Megan Markle. The story moves back in time with excerpts from her diary as Jennie’s adopted mother, who happens to have an obsession with the royals, provides context for the conspiracy that the Princess of Wales was murdered, and the plane crash, outright murder. Jennie goes to the princess’s ex, a retail tycoon, to discover that Scott Corbin has a whole room dedicated to solving the mystery.

Listening in to this tale was like coming upon a crash: I couldn’t turn away, and also had a sense I was contributing to a privacy issue faced by many royals, celebrities and people of note by allowing their lives to become tabloid fodder. What worked so well in The Royal We fails here; the story feels outright disrespectful, copycat, and opportunistic. The cattiness of ladies in waiting will resonate with fans of Phillipa Gregory looking for a historical, monarchy-themed palette cleanser.

Narrator Barrie Kreinik portrays the Princess of Wales with an elegant, throaty voice, and Shiromi Arserio’s Jennie is a delightful contract with a younger, more innocent, midwestern tone. Their energy, Jennie’s curiosity, and the Princess’s anxiety were conveyed with conviction.

I received a free, advance reader’s review copy of #TheRoyalGame via NetGalley, courtesy of Blackstone Publishing.