Murder Most Royal by S. J. Bennett

 

A severed hand is washed up on the Norfolk coast. Being Christmastime The Queen is in residence at Sandringham and recognises the hand as belonging to an old friend of the family. With the aid of her assistant private secretary, Rozie, The Queen is determined to discover what happened. In the course of her investigation she stumbles across a range of crimes including money laundering, a hit and run, and drugs.

Murder Most Royal is the third book in the Her Majesty The Queen Investigates series from S. J. Bennett. In the first book, The Windsor Knot, the setting was Windsor Castle. The second book, A Three Dog Problem, took place at Buckingham Palace. In the third book the action takes place at Sandringham. The change of setting for each book gives us greater insight into the lives of the royal family. You get a real sense that being at Sandringham The Queen is able to relax and really enjoy being with her family, it's a chance for her to recharge her batteries before returning to formal duties at "the gilded office block" that is Buckingham Palace.

This book, more than the previous two, made The Queen seem much more "normal". From all the books we are well aware that The Queen enjoys being out of doors, keeps boots in the car just in case and loves being around animals. In this story we see that at Sandringham there are lots of family traditions and a chance to live life away from the prying eyes of the press and public. All of this really humanised her.

Writer S. J. Bennett has done a fantastic job of portraying all members of the royal family. As I was reading the interactions between The Queen and Prince Phillip I could hear their actual voices. The rest of the family spring to life from the pages as we discover their Christmas traditions.

Subtle humour is seen throughout the story, from the comment about Buckingham Palace being a "gilded office block on the roundabout" to the "problem solving" as The Queen calls her investigations. We also have the silly gifts that the royal family exchange at Christmas, after all what do you give someone who already has everything?

There are some very modern elements to the story. The village grapevine still consists of the queue at the Co-op but has now been supplemented by WhatsApp groups for knitters, embroiderers and crocheters. The environment is featured by the mention of rewilding by some landowners and the craze for wild swimming is highlighted.

There were times when I struggled a bit with the story. I loved all the different crimes that appeared throughout, showing that even royalty are never far from the seamier side of life. However, I struggled to keep track of the vast array of characters and their inter-connections. Thankfully this doesn't detract from the overall story, one which is very poignant.

Murder Most Royal by S. J. Bennett will be published on 10th November 2022 in hardback, ebook and audio format. My thanks to NetGalley and Zaffre Books for a review copy.