A Three Dog Problem: The Queen investigates a murder at Buckingham Palace

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A beautifully descriptive tale of a young man who inserts himself into a wealthy family, knowing he is not the missing son they want him to be. The mystery he encounters is a slow-burn, but ends up with a not-so-cosy denouement worthy of Iain Banks. Both books are a lovely take on a woman who is arguably one the most famous and yet most unknowable women in the world - the little nods and touches that we know to be true (names of ladies-in-waiting, famous anecdotes) merge with things that feel so similarly plausible but turn out to be fictional that at points the two are totally entwined. 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.

Top 10 cosy crime novels | Crime fiction | The Guardian

Best Supporting Male Role: cheekily outspoken, tongue-in-cheek Prince Philip whose lines and parts are always scene-stealers.

Summary

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. It is the Queen who presses the investigation and senses that something more fundamental may be amiss.

A Three Dog Problem : Sophia Bennett : 9781838774844 A Three Dog Problem : Sophia Bennett : 9781838774844

This novel was a pleasant surprise. It is evident that Bennett put in the effort to get the details right and her talent with the voices of the primary characters shines through.

I grew up on golden age crime fiction, and fell in love with Sayers’ Lord Peter Wimsey as so many readers do. He is Bertie Wooster with Jeeves’s brain, made human by the first world war PTSD that still haunts him in moments of stress. In Strong Poison, he has fallen madly in love with Harriet Vane, a spiky, unyielding, intelligent woman who is condemned to hang for murdering her lover. Sayers clearly made Harriet a successful crime writer because if she couldn’t have her beloved Peter, then no one could. Agatha Christie meets The Crown in A THREE DOG PROBLEM , the much-anticipated second book in the 'Her Majesty The Queen Investigates' mystery series by SJ Bennett - for fans of The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman, Agatha Christie and M.C. Beaton's Agatha Raisin. This novel is primarily written from the perspectives of the Queen of England and Rozie Oshodi. Her Majesty needs no introduction. Oshodi is new to the Royal Staff. She joined as the Queen’s assistant private secretary a few months previous, after a short career in the army and then at a private bank. “She was still relatively young for the role, but so far had performed admirably, including—and perhaps especially—in the more unconventional aspects of it." In the wake of a referendum which has divided the nation, the last thing the Queen needs is any more problems to worry about. But when an oil painting of the Royal Yacht Britannia - first given to the Queen in the 1960s - shows up unexpectedly in a Royal Navy exhibition, she begins to realise that something is up.

A Three Dog Problem - Fantastic Fiction A Three Dog Problem - Fantastic Fiction

And in a development that made for a very happy winter weekend curled under a blanket with a glass of Baileys, the sequel A Three Dog Problem has been released in time for Christmas - presumably because, having been sold to publishers in 14 countries and the subject of a seven-figure bidding war in the US, Zaffre Books know they're onto a very good thing. Once again, the Queen involves Rozie in her investigative process, much to Rozie's delight. She genuinely likes her Boss and is even willing to help arrange things so that, once again, the senior men in the household are convinced that they figured it all out. That takes a generosity that I don't think I have, to let someone else take credit for your ideas and footwork.

LoveReading Says

The Queen with the help of her Assistant Private Secretary Rozie Oshodi investigates the mystery behind the painting's disappearance which leads to the discovery of the Breakages Business. Threatening letters start arriving anonymously targeting the Palace staff. With the death of the housekeeper, the issue escalates and the Queen once again sets out to find the murderer.