All the Queen's Men (Her Majesty the Queen Investigates, 3)

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This novel was a pleasant surprise. It is evident that Bennett put in the effort to get the details right and her talent with the voices of the primary characters shines through. Simon Holcroft, Queen’s private secretary, tries as much as he can to keep her unaware of the latest discovery. However, Elizabeth is too smart to be fooled with half a story and insists on being given all the information. What Holcroft doesn’t know is that she has been solving cases since a young age. Bennett has created a wonderful cast of characters of courtiers and palace employees around Her Maj, and of course using the built in people too, with Prince Philip and Princess Anne playing roles here. The star of course is Rozie Oshodi, who becomes a more fully rounded person in this second book. We get to see her in her natural habitat when she visits her family and also see her desire for nice things when she goes to the Cotswolds one weekend to interview a former palace functionary. SJ Bennett was born in Yorkshire, England in 1966, and lives in London. An army child, she grew up travelling around the world. Her first novel was published when she was 42, after a varied career and lots of procrastination. She is the award-winning author of several books for children and teaches and podcasts about writing.

Goodreads A Three Dog Problem by S.J. Bennett | Goodreads

Furthermore, the royal family entertains nearly a hundred thousand people each year, and every event is a major undertaking. For a banquet honoring the president of Colombia, for example, the dinner tables sport golden dessert stands and branching candelabras from the Grand Service, flowers from Colombia and Great Britain, and place settings that are measured with a ruler, to make sure the knives and forks are the correct distance from the edge of the table. Moreover the Queen wears the Victorian Suite diamonds and sapphires with matching tiara, to spread a little extra dazzle. The Queen with the help of her Assistant Private Secretary Rozie Oshodi investigates the mystery behind the painting's disappearance which leads to the discovery of the Breakages Business. Threatening letters start arriving anonymously targeting the Palace staff. With the death of the housekeeper, the issue escalates and the Queen once again sets out to find the murderer.

Publication Order of Her Majesty the Queen Investigates Books

S.J. Bennett has done a fabulous job of characterising Queen Elizabeth II; Her Majesty is portrayed just as I imagine her to be in real life. With quite a large cast of characters I did have to take notes and recap on who was who, this slightly spoilt the flow of the story for me.

Book Series In Order S.J. Bennett - Book Series In Order

I loved the humorous elements in the book such as Prince Philip’s petname for his wife being Cabbage, the idea of the Queen googling herself on her iPad to find out where she was on a particular date, and that she spent some of her time at Balmoral binge-watching Murder She Wrote. The last time she saw it was hanging outside her bedroom door decades ago, and she can’t think of how and when it was stolen. At the same time, Rozie learns that her friend Mary van Renen, secretary to one of the Queen's advisors, is quitting her job because of nasty poison pen letters. Other women have also received vicious missives, including a royal housekeeper named Cynthia Harris and Rozie herself.Rozie examines palace records, consults with past and present royal art curators, speaks to palace staff, and calls a Royal Navy vice admiral, but has trouble tracing the peregrinations of the Britannia painting. All across the USA, people are showing up dead. The deaths don't appear to be connected in any way until one particular death occurs and gets the Secretary of Defense's attention. He arranges for a task force to investigate. The Windsor Knot is the debut in the Her Majesty the Queen Investigates series. Queen Elizabeth II is preparing to celebrate her 90th birthday and is looking forward to all the festivities. After hosting a dine and sleep party at Windsor Castle during spring, she wakes to the news that a guest was found dead. Am going to honest with you, dear reader: I am not entirely sure where I sit on this. I like this, but up to a point. There's several things that make me stop from enjoying this as much as I did with Windsor Knot, and the worst part is that I can't exactly put my finger on what the problem is. The second book in this series, once again, features Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II secretly solving crimes with the assistance of her Assistant Private Secretary Rozie Oshodi.