Murder Most Royal

When Queen Elizabeth II died this past September, some were grief-struck, others in shock, while many merely shrugged. I, however, had one thought: what would this mean for Bennett’s delightful Her Majesty the Queen Investigates series? I’m pleased to say that the third book is being released, set over the 2016/2017 holidays, picking up where the second book left off. Since it’s the holidays, the Queen and Prince Philip, along with family and hangers-on, are holed up for six weeks in Sandringham House on the Norfolk coast. As if there isn’t enough to worry about with Brexit and that new American president, a severed hand, wrapped in a plastic bag, washes up on a Norfolk beach. Its one identifying characteristic? A signet ring, although only the Queen recognizes it as belonging to the aristocratic St Cyr family. Between the lying media and the incompetent police, the Queen eventually launches her own investigation, along with the ever trustworthy Assistant Private Secretary Rozie Oshodi. While in previous books the Queen took a directive approach, here she is more actively involved in sussing out the murderer. Luckily for us, Bennett confirms that she plans to write more in the series “as there is still so much of her life to explore.”