Rozie examines palace records, consults with past and present royal art curators, speaks to palace staff, and calls a Royal Navy vice admiral, but has trouble tracing the peregrinations of the Britannia painting. Miss Marple, Jessica Fletcher, Mrs Bradley, Nancy Drew and Queen Elizabeth II. While this formidable bunch of women might not commonly be grouped together, they are all united by one particular attribute: they’re all exceptionally talented and prolific amateur sleuths. Yet, although the myriad cases solved by the first four are well known to crime fiction fans, the investigative exploits of the Queen largely passed unnoticed before SJ Bennett decided to chronicle them in the Her Majesty the Queen Investigates series, which began with The Windsor Knot. It just reminds you of the simple joy of reading a really good book that transports you into another world and makes you see something in a way you've never seen it before. The second book in this series, once again, features Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II secretly solving crimes with the assistance of her Assistant Private Secretary Rozie Oshodi.

A Three Dog Problem — SJ Bennett

A staff member has been found dead beside the palace swimming pool. A favorite painting that hung outside QEII's bedroom door is missing. And now anonymous and threatening letters are mysteriously being distributed in the palace. There's also a lovely tongue-in-cheek observation that runs through the whole thing that, whether you're one of the richest women in the world or not, eventually as an older woman you become somewhat invisible and underestimated - but you can actually turn this to your advantage in lots of ways. All the Queen's Men" by S.J. Bennett is the second book in the series 'Her Majesty the Queen Investigates'! and the Queen is a very busy woman. In addition to dealing with red boxes full of paperwork every day, Her Majesty sits for portraits and sculptures, has garment fittings, walks her dogs, visits friends and relatives, and binge watches Murder She Wrote.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. 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. Establishing Queen Elizabeth II in the Nero Wolfe role and positioning Rozie as her Archie Goodwin-like assistant is a great move that allows SJ Bennett to pull off a pretty outlandish setup and render the unlikely scenario of the Queen as a secret supersleuth strangely believable. While the solving of crimes might not tie in with the popular image of a reigning monarch, the fact that the Queen has to fit her sleuthing in among various royal engagements and seemingly endless paperwork does ring true, as does the fact that she is able to achieve so much because people simultaneously underestimate her life experiences and capabilities and overestimate her reserve and reticence. The need to keep up appearances gives rise to a number of funny scenes, particularly the circumstance that leads to the Queen hiding in a cupboard while eavesdropping on some staff and being concerned about the state of her joints.

A Three Dog Problem By SJ Bennett | Used | 9781838774820 A Three Dog Problem By SJ Bennett | Used | 9781838774820

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. 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.During her inquiries, Rozie ventures into an underground tunnel system that connects royal palaces and learns of a 1980s scheme called the Breakages Business, which was carried out by some members of the Queen's staff. Not since another authorial Bennett wrote The Uncommon Reader has our reigning monarch been so charmingly and affectionately portrayed in print and S.J. Bennett has surely put herself in the running for an MBE for “services to Royal literary inventiveness.” It is an honest-to-goodness, laugh out loud, wonder of a book filled with regal delight. Because Her Majesty is unable to run around looking for evidence, she makes Rozie Oshodi her deputy detective, and the duo investigate both Cynthia's death and the source of the poison pen letters. When the Queen and Rozie find clues, Queen Elizabeth subtly points the police and her inner circle of male advisors in the right direction. Thus the men think they're resolving cases, when it's really the Queen and Rozie. 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. The premise of both books is pleasingly simple and wonderfully well drawn. She might be the modern world's longest-reigning monarch, but that doesn't stop the Queen solving mysteries in her spare time.

A Three Dog Problem: The Queen investigates a murder at

It all shows and, while undoubtedly not getting to work in the Palace was a wrench for Bennett, the Palace's loss is most definitely readers' gain. 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. But when Rozie receives a threatening anonymous letter, Elizabeth knows dark forces are at work - and far too close to home. After all, though the staff and public may not realise it, she is the keenest sleuth among them. Sometimes, it takes a Queen's eye to see connections where no one else can . . . She writes about the Queen and her wider family with clear affection and warmth and an in-depth knowledge and research of Palace life that shines through every scene. 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.

When a body is found in the Palace swimming pool, she finds herself once again in the middle of an investigation which has more twists and turns than she could ever have suspected. With her trusted secretary Rozie by her side, the Queen is determined to solve the case. But will she be able to do it before the murderer strikes again? Something is broken in the palace and it’s up to the Queen and her private secretary, Rozie Oshodi to fix it. I am so pleased that this second book is continuing the success of the first. After an auspicious beginning to a series, the fate of that series is in a precarious position with the publication of book two. The series has that delightful wit that infuses just the right kind of humor and entertainment. And, I have to retract or clarify part of my statement made in the beginning of the review, as I indicated that this book and this series was pure pleasure reading for me and not one of imparting important messages. That is misleading. Although the book was a pleasure read for me, there is lots of learning to be had here and beyond. From the Royal operations and Royal offices of the Palace to the Queen’s daily schedules to the Baroque art of Artemisia Geniteschi, an Italian 17th century painter. And, if you’re like myself and many other readers I know, you will go down all the rabbit holes of those subjects, some of which I’ve provided links below. Also, the poison pen notes bring up racism and misogyny, as does the choice of the artist Artemisia Geniteschi whose paintings are featured. And, as the Queen is the main character, there is the overriding issue of how older or “old” people are dismissed in their contributions to or understandings of situations. The Queen certainly puts the falsehood of old meaning useless to rest.

A Three Dog Problem - Manchester Evening News The Reviews Club: A Three Dog Problem - Manchester Evening News

PRAISE FOR THE 'HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN INVESTIGATES' MYSTERY SERIES: A witty whodunit starring our very own HM The Queen as an amateur sleuth - GOOD HOUSEKEEPINGAs 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. Written before the second world war, this Poirot novel is full of tightly wound characters hiding seething emotions. The plot contains masterful misdirection about place and time, but its success was also due in part to its depiction of summer sun, silk pyjamas, blue skies and sandy beaches. By the time it came out in 1941, the peacetime Devon coast where it’s set had become a fantasy world. The victim is obvious from the start, as so often in Christie’s novels, but by whose hand will she die, and why? And what about those silk pyjamas? Bennett has created a wonderful cast of characters of courtiers and palace employees around Her Maj, and of course using the built in people too, with Prince Philip and Princess Anne playing roles here. The star of course is Rozie Oshodi, who becomes a more fully rounded person in this second book. We get to see her in her natural habitat when she visits her family and also see her desire for nice things when she goes to the Cotswolds one weekend to interview a former palace functionary.