ARC Review: Revenge, Served Royal by Celeste Connally

Revenge, Served Royal
Author: Celeste Connally
Series: Lady Petra Inquires (Book 3)
Publication: Minotaur Books (November 11, 2025)

Description: Bridgerton meets Agatha Christie in this dazzling third instalment to the captivating Regency-era Lady Petra Inquires mystery series.

September, 1815. Autumn is in the air as Lady Petra Forsyth and some of the most illustrious members of the ton descend upon Windsor Castle for a week of royal celebrations, with the highlight being Queen Charlotte’s inaugural patisserie contest for the best bakers employed by England’s finest houses. Not only is Lady Petra’s own cook one of the contestants, but Her Majesty has requested that Petra herself serve as one of the judges.

Petra’s happiness at tasting delicious cakes and biscuits only increases at finding her beloved Aunt Ophelia in attendance at Windsor, as well as Sir Rufus Pomeroy. As England’s most famous former royal chef-turned-cookbook author, Sir Rufus is slated to present his best recipes to the Queen during the festivities, with Petra being granted an early viewing in the royal library.

Yet upon arrival, Petra instead encounters a frantic housemaid pointing to a body of one of Her Majesty’s guests―and to the valet still tugging at the silk ribbon used to strangle the victim. What’s more, the valet turns out to be Oliver Beecham, the ne’er-do-well brother of Petra’s own lady’s maid, Annie. But as Oliver is hauled away to the dungeons, he protests his innocence, claiming the late guest argued with several aristocrats, including the Prince Regent and Petra’s Aunt Ophelia, and boasted about hiding a potentially scandalous document within the vastness of Windsor Castle.

When some poisoned tea meant for Petra is consumed by one of her fellow judges, it’s clear the real killer is still walking the castle’s halls. Indeed, in order to prove the innocence of Annie’s brother and find the incriminating document, Petra will need to act like a lady, eat like a chef, and think like one of Her Majesty’s best spies before a murderer can turn the celebrations from sweet to royally deadly.

My Thoughts: The third Lady Petra mystery has her at Windsor Castle for a week of celebrations. One of the events is a patisserie contest. Her cook Mrs. Bing has been invited to participate, and she has been invited to be one of the judges. Another judge is Sir Rufus Pomeroy who is a famous chef. He once cooked for her family when she was a child. He also cooked for the Royal family before turning to writing very successful cookbooks. 

When he is found dead after planning a meeting with Petra and his valet is accused of the crime, Petra begins her own investigation. The valet happens to be her lady's maid's younger brother which piques her interest. 

Petra soon learns that Sir Rufus was not very well-liked. In fact, her aunt was one of the people who disliked him and who met with him early the same morning when he died. She is one of five people who were up and about very early that morning for reasons that might have included murder. 

It seems that instead of writing a new cookbook, he was writing a novel revealing the secret's he'd learned while working among the Royals and the upper classes. The manuscript is missing and someone is willing to commit murder to find it.

I enjoyed the setting and the time period. I liked the mix of real and imagine characters. I thought the mystery was nicely plotted. I like the way Petra had to battle with herself when she learned that her beloved aunt might be a suspect. 

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.