This will appeal to those who enjoyed "The Thursday Murder Club" and cosy crime in general.
Rating: 3.5/5
Sometimes you pick up a book that strikes you as a little out of the ordinary. You read the synopsis and your interest is piqued a little more. You then read a few pages and soon come to the conclusion that you need to read the rest of this.
A book that manages to mention HRH Queen Elizabeth II becoming suspicious about the death of a Russian pianist from what appears to be erotic asphyxiation - and then also includes a reference to Spinal Tap's Nigel Tufnel before we have even reached the end of the opening chapter - is the kind of quirky humour that I needed to investigate further!
It will probably come as no surprise that Queen Elizabeth II is shown in a very favourable light in this book, so that may not sit well with any staunch anti-monarchy republicans, but anyone else (even if they are not overtly pro-The Royal Family) should find this is to be an amusing and enjoyable read.
At the heart of the story is the suspicious death of a talented, young Russian pianist at Windsor Castle during a so-called "Dine and Sleep" event, but there is plenty of humour interspersed along the way, as our reigning monarch sets about solving the mystery. The interplay between the Queen and Prince Philip is particularly amusing - and strangely easy to imagine being something that actually occurs behind closed doors!
However, it would be doing the author an injustice to dismiss this as nothing more than a cosy light-hearted yarn. In addition to some quite edgy references to drug use and sexual practices, the events at Windsor Castle and the subsequent investigations are also placed astutely into a real world context of international politics and diplomacy.
A series of these books is planned. This is a promising opener, so I think I will be looking out for the next one too.
Rating: 3.5/5
Sometimes you pick up a book that strikes you as a little out of the ordinary. You read the synopsis and your interest is piqued a little more. You then read a few pages and soon come to the conclusion that you need to read the rest of this.
A book that manages to mention HRH Queen Elizabeth II becoming suspicious about the death of a Russian pianist from what appears to be erotic asphyxiation - and then also includes a reference to Spinal Tap's Nigel Tufnel before we have even reached the end of the opening chapter - is the kind of quirky humour that I needed to investigate further!
It will probably come as no surprise that Queen Elizabeth II is shown in a very favourable light in this book, so that may not sit well with any staunch anti-monarchy republicans, but anyone else (even if they are not overtly pro-The Royal Family) should find this is to be an amusing and enjoyable read.
At the heart of the story is the suspicious death of a talented, young Russian pianist at Windsor Castle during a so-called "Dine and Sleep" event, but there is plenty of humour interspersed along the way, as our reigning monarch sets about solving the mystery. The interplay between the Queen and Prince Philip is particularly amusing - and strangely easy to imagine being something that actually occurs behind closed doors!
However, it would be doing the author an injustice to dismiss this as nothing more than a cosy light-hearted yarn. In addition to some quite edgy references to drug use and sexual practices, the events at Windsor Castle and the subsequent investigations are also placed astutely into a real world context of international politics and diplomacy.
A series of these books is planned. This is a promising opener, so I think I will be looking out for the next one too.