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A Novel (Her Majesty the Queen Investigates, 1)
by SJ Bennett
The bestselling first book in a highly original and delightfully clever crime series in which Queen Elizabeth II secretly solves crimes while carrying out her royal duties.
It is the early spring of 2016 and Queen Elizabeth is at Windsor Castle in advance of her 90th birthday celebrations. But the preparations are interrupted by the shocking and untimely death of a guest in one of the Castle bedrooms. The scene leads some to think the young Russian pianist strangled himself, yet a badly tied knot leads MI5 to suspect foul play. When they begin to question the Household's most loyal servants, Her Majesty knows they're looking in the wrong place.
For the Queen has been living an extraordinary double life ever since her teenage years as "Lilibet." Away from the public eye and unbeknownst to her closest friends and advisers, she has the most brilliant skill for solving crimes. With help from her Assistant Private Secretary, Rozie Oshodi, a British Nigerian officer recently appointed to the Royal Horse Artillery, the Queen discreetly begins making inquiries. As she carries out her royal duties with her usual aplomb, no one in the Royal Household, the government, or the public knows that the resolute Elizabeth won't hesitate to use her keen eye, quick mind, and steady nerve to bring a murderer to justice.
SJ Bennett captures Queen Elizabeth's voice with skill, nuance, wit, and genuine charm in this imaginative and engaging mystery that portrays Her Majesty as she's rarely seen: kind yet worldly, decisive, shrewd, and, most important, a superb judge of character.
"A veritable love letter to England's current monarch… a triumph full of royal tidbits and international high jinks. The pivotal character of Rozie adds just the right note of modernity… Readers will be thrilled... Strongly recommended." —Library Journal (starred review)
"Her Majesty, … unshockable and mystery-savvy, … uses her long but subtle reach, powers of observation, and decades (and decades!) of sizing up people to solve several crimes… Mystery readers—and royalists, of course—will enjoy their audience with QEII." —Booklist
"Bennett portrays the perceptive, resourceful Queen—her thought processes, intuitions and actions—with great wit and affection… A fast-moving, spirited and suspenseful plot. Readers will be enchanted by Bennett's inventive portrayal of a deeply engaging icon." —Shelf Awareness
"The delightful first in a series featuring Queen Elizabeth II as sleuth… Bennett's depiction of the warm, wise, and witty queen and the insights into her royal life are fascinating. Fans of Netflix's The Crown will have fun." —Publishers Weekly
"[An] amusingly decorous debut…the queen makes a wonderfully self-effacing sleuth." —Kirkus Reviews
This information about The Windsor Knot was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
SJ Bennett wrote several award-winning books for teenagers before turning to adult mysteries. Born in Yorkshire, England, she lives in London and has been a royal watcher for years. The Queen, to the best of her knowledge, does not secretly solve crimes.
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