This is the follow up to SJ Bennett's The Windsor Knot, the start of this series which is based on the premise that Queen Elizabeth II is a sleuth to be reckoned with, she has been solving mysteries for years, all below the radar. I listened to this light and entertaining mystery on audio, once again beautifully narrated by the terrific Samantha Bond, of 9 hours duration. It is 2016, in the wake of a troubling Brexit referendum which has divided the nation, the Queen is having to meet PM Teresa May with her kitten heels, and following the American elections in which Donald Trump becomes President. The last thing the Queen needs is any more problems to worry about, but when an oil painting gifted by an Aussie artist of the Royal Yacht Britannia, given to the Queen in the 1960s and hung outside her bedroom, shows up unexpectedly in a Royal Navy exhibition in Portsmouth, she tasks her able and discreet assistant private secretary, Rozie Oshodi, to investigate.
However, when Rozie struggles to get anywhere, the Queen, 'the Boss', knows something is terribly wrong. Matters are exacerbated when the dead body of an unpopular housekeeper, Cynthia Harris, is found in the Buckingham Palace swimming pool by a shocked Simon, the Queen's Private Secretary. Whilst the death is deemed to be an unfortunate accident, the Queen is not so convinced as she finds herself once again in the middle of an investigation which has more twists and turns than she could ever have possibly imagined. With her reliable secretary Rozie by her side, the Queen is confronted by more murder, the existence of a criminal breakages system that continues to operate in the present right under her nose, art fraud, and vicious poison pen letters.
It is the 3 male advisors and a police officer who are drip fed the relevant information to make it appear as if it is they who solve the crimes, and we learn at the end just why that painting was so important to the Queen and Rozie inherits a painting that makes her joyously happy if slightly guilty. This is a fun and engaging listen, I really appreciated how the Queen's character continues to be fleshed out, although there were occasions when I felt that perhaps the narrative was at times more complicated than it needed to be. To conclude, I can see many crime and mystery readers enjoying this addition to a wonderful series.
However, when Rozie struggles to get anywhere, the Queen, 'the Boss', knows something is terribly wrong. Matters are exacerbated when the dead body of an unpopular housekeeper, Cynthia Harris, is found in the Buckingham Palace swimming pool by a shocked Simon, the Queen's Private Secretary. Whilst the death is deemed to be an unfortunate accident, the Queen is not so convinced as she finds herself once again in the middle of an investigation which has more twists and turns than she could ever have possibly imagined. With her reliable secretary Rozie by her side, the Queen is confronted by more murder, the existence of a criminal breakages system that continues to operate in the present right under her nose, art fraud, and vicious poison pen letters.
It is the 3 male advisors and a police officer who are drip fed the relevant information to make it appear as if it is they who solve the crimes, and we learn at the end just why that painting was so important to the Queen and Rozie inherits a painting that makes her joyously happy if slightly guilty. This is a fun and engaging listen, I really appreciated how the Queen's character continues to be fleshed out, although there were occasions when I felt that perhaps the narrative was at times more complicated than it needed to be. To conclude, I can see many crime and mystery readers enjoying this addition to a wonderful series.