Ratings7
Average rating3.9
“Sheer entertainment… Bennett infuses wit and an arch sensibility into her prose… This is not mere froth, it is pure confection.” — New York Times Book Review on The Windsor Knot Amateur detective Queen Elizabeth II is back in this hugely entertaining follow-up to the bestseller The Windsor Knot, in which Her Majesty must determine how a missing painting is connected to the shocking death of a staff member inside Buckingham Palace. At Buckingham Palace, the autumn of 2016 presages uncertain times. The Queen must deal with the fallout from the Brexit referendum, a new female prime minister, and a tumultuous election in the United States—yet these prove to be the least of her worries when a staff member is found dead beside the palace swimming pool. Is it truly the result of a tragic accident, as the police think, or is something more sinister going on? Meanwhile, her assistant private secretary, Rozie Oshodi, is on the trail of a favorite painting that once hung outside the Queen’s bedroom and appears to have been misappropriated by the Royal Navy. And a series of disturbing anonymous letters have begun circulating in the palace. The Queen’s courtiers think they have it all ‘under control’, but Her Majesty is not so sure. After all, though the staff and public may not be aware, she is the keenest sleuth among them. Sometimes, it takes a Queen’s eye to see connections where no one else can.
Featured Series
4 primary booksHer Majesty the Queen Investigates is a 4-book series with 4 primary works first released in 2020 with contributions by S. J. Bennett. The next book is scheduled for release on 2/6/2025.
Reviews with the most likes.
When I think of mystery, I think of England. Maybe a stereotype, but hey, it made this book a fun read. Its like a crime book that you can curl up with in the winter and fall, and while its a fun story, it also makes little jokes about the actual Queen of England, Philip, etc. Overall a cute read, nothing that'll stick with me, but fun anyway.
I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as the first, but still an excellent cozy-mystery-with-royals.
As an aside: does it say something about the type of mysteries I read and watch that I keep expecting the DCI to be a love interest for Rosie? Yes, yes it does. And I'm so glad he's not!
I really enjoyed this detective story, where Elizabeth II is the detective behind the scenes. The main characters are well fleshed out, so I felt I got to know them as I read the book. One of the characters who was almost universally disliked was humanized by the Queen (for the reader, not for the characters in the book). Each time I thought I knew where the story was going, it went somewhere else instead. As far as mysteries go, it was not formulaic, nor was it too cozy. Apparently this is book #2 in a series, and I am thinking about looking around my library system to see if the first book is available. I would definitely read another book by this author.
I've been keeping my reading light this summer because I have a lot of stressful stuff on my plate. I read this in my back yard over 3 days.