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

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During the summer of 2016, the Queen has urgent duties to take care of. They include inspecting the elections in the states, meeting the new prime minister, and recovering a painting she adored that turned up in the wrong hands. Chronologically the story is reasonably up to date makes me wonder where to next for the series. Yet despite all the wonderful, gossipy insights, I found this second in the series not quite as strong as the first. All kinds of deceptions happened at Windsor Castle on the dinner night, including people conducting secret meetings and sexual liaisons. As the mystery unveils, Brodsky’s death is linked to two other people in England. It’s now up to the Queen to put all the pieces together and try to solve the crime. 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.

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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. All the Queen's Men" by S.J. Bennett is the second book in the series 'Her Majesty the Queen Investigates'! On top of all that, the Queen has seen her personal painting of the royal yacht Britannia, given to her by the artist in 1963, in an exhibit of maritime art in Portsmouth. Prior to Portsmouth, Her Majesty had last seen the painting decades ago, hanging outside her bedroom door, and she has no idea how or when it left her possession. eProof gifted by UK publisher, Zaffre/Bonnier Books UK, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review/reaction***The police think Cynthia's demise is an accident, but Her Majesty isn't so sure, especially when she learns Cynthia was a spiteful shrew who'd been receiving menacing notes. 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. In this, the second book in the series, A Three Dog Problem, Her Majesty investigates the disappearance of a painting of the Royal Yacht Britannia which was gifted to her some decades earlier by Australian artist Vernon Hooker. And, soon after the paintings disappearance has been discovered, the body of a staff member is found beside the Palace swimming pool. And so begins this delightfully charming double plotted mystery. When a body is found in the Palace swimming pool, she finds herself once again in the middle of an investigation which has more twists and turns than she could ever have suspected. With her trusted secretary Rozie by her side, the Queen is determined to solve the case. But will she be able to do it before the murderer strikes again?

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

All the Queen's Men doesn't have the revelations of the origin story in The Windsor Knot (2020) which had the extra charm of revealing the REAL Her Majesty's Secret Service, but I can't begrudge that. If anything, S.J. Bennett crafted an even more elaborate story here and again manages to fashion an ending where the Queen maneuvers her somewhat slower witted Palace staff chiefs, managers and police into thinking that they solved the crime on her behalf, when it was actually her hints and prodding that got them there. Her conversations with Philip and her inner thoughts add more humor to the story. The author takes the reader to a world where the Queen reveals her talent. S.J Bennett has plotted the story in real-time and wonderfully revealed a cast of characters highlighted in discreet interviews and a series of English settings. The Breakages Business was about spiriting away and selling royal belongings that wouldn't be missed, like small gifts, plates, rugs, old draperies, half-used candles, tins of food, and so on - small things whose absence wouldn't be noticed. The Queen tasks her Assistant Private Secretary, Rozie Oshodi, with finding out how the painting made its way out of the royal collection and into the hands of the Admiralty, where it now hangs on display in a Royal Navy exhibition in Portsmouth. Once again, the Queen involves Rozie in her investigative process, much to Rozie's delight. She genuinely likes her Boss and is even willing to help arrange things so that, once again, the senior men in the household are convinced that they figured it all out. That takes a generosity that I don't think I have, to let someone else take credit for your ideas and footwork.

Publication Order of Her Majesty the Queen Investigates Books

Its 2016, a women is found dead in the Palace swimming pool, other women are being left threatening sexual notes. What is going on? The Queen is missing a personal painting, “Britannia. [It] used to hang outside [her] bedroom.” As Philip puts it, “What, the ghastly little one by the Australian who couldn’t do boats? That.” The Queen asks Rozie to investigate. It seems for some reason the Queen is fond of that small work. A staff member has been found dead beside the palace swimming pool. A favorite painting that hung outside QEII's bedroom door is missing. And now anonymous and threatening letters are mysteriously being distributed in the palace. I'm in two minds over whether to give this 3 stars or round up to 4. I preferred The Windsor Knot more, if I am being completely honest, as there were elements to this story that I didn't warm to at all. 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.

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When the police investigations start taking an unexpected turn, Elizabeth has to take things into her hands. She doesn’t believe that she hires sleeper agents and decides to start her investigations. Since she can’t go around interviewing people on her own, she asks for help from Rozie Oshodi, her assistant private secretary. Bennett had won several awards for some of her teenage books before she began writing adult crime novels. She also teaches and podcasts on writing. The staff doesn’t know that the Queen is one of the best detectives in the palace. She can see some fine details that no one else can notice. 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.The only thing I can think of is that this wasn't as fun as the first. The fun didn't exactly hit home for me. I like some of the issues and the characters that this book had (I love Rozie and I did like the Queen, but I like them the most when they were together and that wasn't enough for me in this book), but the fun and wonder of Windsor Knot wasn't here. I wonder if it's because it was trying to do too many things - poison pen letters, murder, stolen paintings. Maybe if one of these elements was removed and the story focused on characters a tad more, maybe it would have worked for me...? 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.