If you’ve binge-watched The Crown or marveled at Helen Mirren’s Oscar-winning performance of The Queen, have I got a treat for you! Elizabeth watchers understand there is much more depth to Queen Elizabeth the second than meets the eye. No, the royal family’s history is not at all pretty, but Elizabeth is no light weight on the world stage. Just think of the prime ministers she has handled!
It seems that the British children’s author SJ Bennett (https://www.suffolklibraries.co.uk/posts/meet-the-author/meet-the-author-sj-bennett) arrived at the same conclusion while searching for a theme that would propel her into the adult fiction genre. “The Windsor Knot” has picked up lots of buzz and with good reason. This book is so much fun!
The Queen, at Windsor Castle for the Easter holiday, has a busy week ahead of her. The Obamas are coming for their final visit as president and first lady, there’s an important horse show scheduled in which she hopes her favorite filly will shine, and Charles and Camilla have asked her to host a last-minute soiree for a large gaggle of monied Russians from whom Charles wants a favor.
Imagine the queen’s dismay when her private secretary, the delightfully obsequious Sir Simon Holcroft, informs her the morning after the party that the handsome and talented pianist who had twirled her around the dance floor the previous evening, was found dead in his guest quarters, naked and hanging by the cord of his velvet robe.
Bennett’s plotting is intricate, this is no little cozy mystery. As the investigation gets underway, much is made of the case for secrecy, after all the royal family has a long history of poor relations with the press. MI-5 is brought in and the rush to judge the Russians is on, but the queen has her back-door channels, her own suspicions, and a whip smart assistant, Rozie Oshodi, whose previous service in the Royal Horse Artillery will serve her well as the two follow their own line of inquiry.
I cannot say enough about this witty, clever mystery, which combines historical details about the queen’s various castles with smart commentary on the current political climate in Great Britain and beyond. Bennett imbues the queen with a wry sense of humor and the ability to size people up in an instant, coupled with a personality that refuses to suffer fools gladly.
Best of all, it appears that this is the first in a series, “Her Majesty the Queen Investigates,” and the second novel set at Buckingham Palace is already in the hopper. I read an advanced copy provided by publisher Harper Collins. The hard copy won’t be out until March but place your holds now.
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