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

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A missing painting, a spate of poison-pen letters to palace staff and the dead body of the head housekeeper found beside the palace swimming pool. I read The Windsor Knot and am now reading All the Kings Men. They are excellent. I started reading them just before the Queens death. She was an amazing woman. Reply eProof gifted by UK publisher, Zaffre/Bonnier Books UK, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review/reaction*** 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...? SJ Bennett was born in Yorkshire, England in 1966, and lives in London. An army child, she grew up travelling around the world. Her first novel was published when she was 42, after a varied career and lots of procrastination. She is the award-winning author of several books for children and teaches and podcasts about writing.

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A Three Dog Problem is a good, old fashioned whodunnit, with twists, turns and the odd fishy red herring thrown in for good measure. I was left guessing right until the end. If you’re a fan of cosy crime, this is the book for you. Queen Elizabeth is an amazing lady concerned about other people’s welfare and is always determined to uphold the dignity of the monarchy. The Windsor Knot is a creative novel where Queen Elizabeth II is delighted in solving the crimes that had happened under her watch. As Her Majesty looks for answers, her trusted assistant, Rozie, is on the trail of a treasured painting that once hung outside the Queen's bedroom. But when Rozie receives a threatening anonymous letter, Elizabeth knows dark forces are at work - and far too close to home. 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. The novel opens up in the fall of 2016 when Queen Elizabeth has a lot in mind. The United States is conducting presidential elections; Philip is almost retiring from public service, while Great Britain has just voted for Brexit.This series is shaping up to be a lot of fun. If you like the idea of a behind the scenes Queen solving mysteries then get into this. The recurring characters are gradually being fleshed out, especially Rozie who was a great help in the first one. This has quite a lot going on at the start. A stolen painting, a creepy bully on the staff, and a murder in the swimming pool. Saddle up, it is all happening here.

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

It's annoying as I can't figure it out and I think I am going to continue with this series. I have plans to read book 3 when it comes out next year, so why do I feel the way I do with Three Dog Problem? Any issues with the book list you are seeing? Or is there an author or series we don’t have? Let me know! 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. 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.I read this book completely for pleasure, and that is such a lovely way to experience a book. Not that I’m adverse to books that impart important messages. I just sometimes need a read that entertains me and that’s it. A Three Dog Problem (All the Queen’s Men in the U.S.) is the essence of an entertaining read. Oh, there’s crime and murder and evil going on, but we know that the Queen, in her calm and methodical manner, will get to the bottom of it with her discreet, capable Assistant Private Secretary Rozie Oshodi. There’s lots of drama, and the twists and turns are more complex than in The Windsor Knott, but I found the multiple threads in A Three Dog Problem easy to follow and well brought together by the end. There are quite a few names to keep up with, but I didn’t find it disrupting to my reading. And, knowing that a case will be solved in no way takes away from the thrill of events leading up to that solution. All the Queen's Men" by S.J. Bennett is the second book in the series 'Her Majesty the Queen Investigates'! There’s much to hang onto in this cozy mystery with a twist of regalit, on the who dunnit level. The intricacies of Palace life, the Queen and her relationship with her dogs, particularly when pondering a situation is a Three Dog problem. I enjoyed the throwaway a lines about real people (Camilla’s charitable work with abused women and her being hysterical in a good way!)

Goodreads A Three Dog Problem by S.J. Bennett | Goodreads

Once again the Queen directs procedures from afar without letting on her involvement. All the while having to disguise from her various Secretaries what is happening. The prodding from behind the scenes, a word dropped here, a participle left hanging there. I began to find some of it quite annoying. All to placate the Queen’s Men, who occasionally needed to be jollied along, to have their egos soothed, even as their unfailing efforts to protect the Queen seemed to sometimes devolve into obstruction by default, to the point of rendering a situation unworkable.

Publication Order of Her Majesty the Queen Investigates Books

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.

S.J. Bennett has done a fabulous job of characterising Queen Elizabeth II; Her Majesty is portrayed just as I imagine her to be in real life. With quite a large cast of characters I did have to take notes and recap on who was who, this slightly spoilt the flow of the story for me. 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. 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.

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.